Production company Lucky 21 has added executive producer Brandon Tapp. He will be based out of Camp Lucky, Lucky 21’s new Austin office.
“Brandon is woven in fabric of the Austin community so this appointment feels full circle,” said Lucky 21 EP/partner John Gilliland. “We have worked together for more than a decade so not only do we have a shorthand, but we have been fortunate to see the work Brandon has developed through the years. His leadership is important to the company as we move to better serve our clients as creative partners.”
Tapp has a deep history and multifaceted experience in film and entertainment, starting as a student of cinema while at the University of Texas. Tapp spent his early years in Los Angeles touring as a drummer for an indie-rock band before transitioning back into film working on features “The Return” and “Infamous” as well as television series “Friday Night Lights” and A&E’s “Rollergirls.”
Delving into commercial production, Tapp found a passion in short-form and worked his way up from production assistant to production manager and line producer. Over the years, he has produced spots for brands GMC, AT&T, Walmart, 7-Eleven, McDonald’s, Blue Cross Blue Shield, RAM Trucks, and Valero. In addition to live action, Tapp simultaneously produces for music houses and performs/co-produces musical compositions for national commercial spots including Google, John Deere, Tide, Toyota, Southwest Airlines and Nissan.
Tapp’s knowledge runs the gamut and his stewardship of long and short form narrative work made him the right fit to be at the helm of Lucky 21’s Austin expansion.
“There is a big town/small community in Austin that has always kept me here, no matter where projects have taken me,” said Tapp. “I look forward to representing Lucky 21’s talent and carrying forth the ingenuity rooted in Austin.”
Featuring six bungalows, Camp Lucky was inspired by the original 1930s’ residences flanking Austin’s iconic South Congress neighborhood. Originally created to foster a thriving work environment and strong community, this spirit is re-ignited in Camp Lucky–a creative community of storytellers, artists, filmmakers, and the headquarters for Lucky 21’s Austin office.
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
The one rule to follow is that... Read More