German director Andreas Link has signed with Bodega, a production house with bases of operation in N.Y. and San Francisco, for U.S. commercial representation. He has already wrapped a two-spot package via Bodega for Toyota out of MMB, Boston. Link’s other recent credits include a visually driven spot for LOT Polish Airlines produced by Poland house Cut/Cut for DDB Warsaw.
Link was previously repped in the U.S. by HSI. His spotmaking over the years spans such clients as BMW, McDonald’s, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Panasonic.
After growing up in a small village near Frankfurt, Germany, Link began exploring his visual aesthetics working as an assistant photographer in fashion and advertising throughout Europe. Seeking to branch out on his own, he moved to Berlin in the late 1990s where he worked as a freelance photographer for five years. Seeking a more serene scene, Link went back to Munich where he jumped into the world of broadcast design, crafting station and programming identities for German television networks and episodic programming.
In 1998, he began shooting spots for top German production companies including Markenfilm, Tempomedia and Gap Films until June 2009, when he was seriously injured in a helicopter crash during a Porsche shoot in Portugal. He spent the next 16 months in the hospital and fully dedicated himself to recovery, returning to spots with the visually inventive all CG spot “Touch” for Audi A6 out of Phillip und Keuntje, Hamburg.
“Andreas brings such a broad skill set to the table–design, direction, editing, photography, visual effects,” assessed Clint Goldman, Bodega executive producer/partner. “His recent work for Toyota and LOT is truly exemplary and his soup to nuts thinking complements the Bodega production model effortlessly.”
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More