Crooked Cynics, the duo comprising directors Tom Middleton and Jack Scott, has signed for exclusive U.S. spot representation with bicoastal Cultivate.Media, the commercial and content production company overseen by managing director/executive producer Mark Thomas and executive producer Stuart Wilson. This marks the first U.S. spot roost for the directors who hail from the middle of England, but have been raised on an all-American diet of World Wrestling Entertainment, MTV and The Mighty Ducks. The result is an oeuvre that includes the popular UK mockumentary series Community Patrol, and spots for Angi, Visit Florida, MeUndies, and a project for Arsenal starring the legendary footballer Ray Parlour in his new role…as a fashion designer.
“Our style is rooted in the delusions of everyday people,” shared the directors in a joint statement. “We let the self-deception play itself out without nods or winks to the audience.”
It was “Ray Parlour: Fashion Designer” for Arsenal that caught Wilson’s eye initially. He and Thomas were bidding on a sports comedy project at the time. “The spot succeeds or fails based on how straight Ray and the Arsenal team members play it,” Wilson said. “It succeeds brilliantly, because the audience expects something completely different from these footballers.” The directors hopped on a call with Cultivate, and while the project went away, the relationship clicked.
“Mark and Stu immediately grasped our sense of humor and what we’re trying to do,” Middleton recalled. “We appreciated what Cultivate is about in terms of developing and working with new talent to draw out the potential they see.” Scott added, “They’ve been great in helping us look at our work differently as well.”
“We see our role as nurturing and investing in directorial talent, growing them into filmmakers who can artfully bring stories to life,” Wilson said. “Emerging commercial directors like Crooked Cynics should be bidding on and winning some of the best creative opportunities in the industry, and we’re excited to introduce them to the U.S. market.”
Of the Crooked Cynics moniker, Scott said, “We showed my dad a list of our favorite names to call ourselves. He said you’ll never get a day’s work being called Crooked Cynics. That made us laugh. It was perfect.” Middleton affirmed that, “Me and Jack naturally take the piss out of ourselves, so comedy is really the only option.”
Scott and Middleton share a love for professional wrestling, and for the MTV shows they grew up on, like Jackass. “We’re also too weak to get in the ring, and too scared to be like Johnny Knoxville,” they said. “But we excelled at watching it on TV.” When they met through a mutual friend, Scott was working full-time as a commercial editor, cutting branded work for Adidas and the Olympics. Middleton was a band videographer, gaining lots of experience documenting reality in the U.K., U.S, and more.
“We started directing music videos together, where ideas often got all too serious,” Scott recalled. As music video directors, the guys found themselves succeeding in a medium where bizarre ideas were routinely treated with tremendous gravity. “It’s the things people have no sense of humor about that can be truly funny,” Scott said.
Clearly, Crooked Cynics are funny, having been featured in British Comedy Guide, popular comedy aggregator Mr Box, and having screened at a number of film festivals where they picked up the Top Short Festival award for “Best Comedy.” Together, they have worked with a wealth of award-winning music artists and BAFTA-winning comedy performers, but deep down all they really want is to be the WWE duo, Dudley Boyz.
“Crooked Cynics could very well become the winningest tag-team in sports-entertainment,” Thomas deadpanned. “And that’s a story they would tell with a very straight face.”
California Gov. Newsom Signs Laws To Protect Actors Against Unauthorized Use Of AI
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off Tuesday on legislation aiming at protecting Hollywood actors and performers against unauthorized artificial intelligence that could be used to create digital clones of themselves without their consent.
The new laws come as California legislators ramped up efforts this year to regulate the marquee industry that is increasingly affecting the daily lives of Americans but has had little to no oversight in the United States.
The laws also reflect the priorities of the Democratic governor who's walking a tightrope between protecting the public and workers against potential AI risks and nurturing the rapidly evolving homegrown industry.
"We continue to wade through uncharted territory when it comes to how AI and digital media is transforming the entertainment industry, but our North Star has always been to protect workers," Newsom said in a statement. "This legislation ensures the industry can continue thriving while strengthening protections for workers and how their likeness can or cannot be used."
Inspired by the Hollywood actors' strike last year over low wages and concerns that studios would use AI technology to replace workers, a new California law will allow performers to back out of existing contracts if vague language might allow studios to freely use AI to digitally clone their voices and likeness. The law is set to take effect in 2025 and has the support of the California Labor Federation and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA.
Another law signed by Newsom, also supported by SAG-AFTRA, prevents dead performers from being digitally cloned for commercial purposes without the permission of their estates. Supporters said the law is... Read More