Directorial duo thirtytwo–consisting of London-based Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace–has signed with production and management company Anonymous Content for commercial and music video representation in the U.S. and U.K.
Southern and Lovelace’s iconic documentary about the final days of LCD Soundsystem, Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012), was met with widespread critical acclaim after it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has since been named one of the greatest music docs ever made by Rolling Stone, NME, and The Guardian. Most recently, the directors reassembled a mythological picture of New York, with Meet Me In The Bathroom, based on Lizzy Goodman’s 620-page best seller chronicling the early 2000s’ NY music scene. The documentary, which premiered at this year’s Sundance, features interview and archival footage from the Moldy Peaches, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Strokes and LCD Soundsystem, and pays homage to the post-punk revival. Lovelace and Southern’s music documentary exploits additionally include For No Distance Left To Run, a Grammy Award-nominated rockumentary delving into British rock band Blur.
Southern, who is also a writer, has adapted Max Porter’s novel “Grief Is the Thing with Feathers” for the screen with Film 4, and is currently working on the pilot of a TV show he created and is developing with Amazon Studios.
Duo thirtytwo tapped into its rock star bona fides for its commercial directorial debut “Slow The Pace” for Kronenbourg, featuring legendary (and legendarily prickly) Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilminster playing a stripped-down version of the classic “Ace Of Spades” in a French bar. As thirtytwo expanded its work into commercials, clients such as Apple, Nike, Samsung, VW, BBC, and American Airlines followed, along with awards from Cannes Lions, British Arrows, Creative Circle, Kinsale Sharks, and D&AD. Prior to joining Anonymous Content, thirtytwo was handled by Pulse Films in the commercialmaking space.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More