Bonfire Collective, a NYC-based music supervision company founded by creative head Stephanie Diaz-Matos, is getting in the advertising game with the addition of creative principal Eric Stamile. The company made its new venture known during the recent Billboard Latin Music Awards with vibrant Target spots out of Mother New York. Working with well-known music influencer DJ Afro, the spots feature a remix of the classic Latin hit “Oye Como Va” in a variety of genres. Jumping from various locales and atmospheres, they mix cumbia, bachata, reggaeton and salsa, perfectly matching sonic styles with the visuals.
Diaz-Matos is more than familiar with the commercial landscape. Prior to opening Bonfire Collective, she worked at mcgarrybowen as executive music producer for the Verizon Wireless account. She also was a founder of Search Party Music, where she worked on Lost, The Vow and Grey Gardens.
In addition to Diaz-Matos’ experience in advertising and beyond, the leadership of Bonfire Collective now includes Stamile, who composed House of Z, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and who will be taking on responsibilities as lead composer/creative for Bonfire Collective’s commercial division; and Sarah Bromberg, who started as associate director of music and talent at Creative License. There she worked on spots for Walmart, Subaru, and Budweiser and handled several Super Bowl commercials, which led to work on film and TV projects including Smash, Pitch Perfect 2, and The Affair.
Until this announcement Bonfire Collective has mostly focused on music supervision for television and film. Fresh off of Diaz-Matos’ two wins at the 7th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards for season one of the Netflix series The Get Down, Act 2 of Season 1 premiered on Netflix on April 7, with the 2nd soundtrack installment released on April 21.
On working with Baz Luhrmann on The Get Down, Diaz-Matos said, “It’s an incredible experience to work within this genre of music with a director like Baz, who is an artist with an inspiring and unique creative process, and to be able to work on a show that at its core is about the power of music.” As to the mission of Bonfire Collective, she said we “strive to create strong creative bonds with all of our partners that result in compelling and timeless work.”
Bonfire Collective’s multi-talented creatives have expertise in all aspects of the music world, and can operate in an advisory capacity or manage the entire project from inspiration to end.
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More