Cutters Studios, based in Chicago with a revamped L.A. office and new locations in Detroit and Tokyo, has extended its geographic and creative reach further with the launch of a New York office. The core team assembled for the Big Apple venture, located in SoHo, consists of executive producer Elizabeth Krajewski, former EP of Beast NYC, and editors Steve Bell and Nadav Kurtz.
Bell comes over from Cosmo Street while Kurtz started his career at Cutters in Chicago and has continued to work through all of its offices.
“We didn’t want to entertain the idea of a New York office until we could offer the kind of opportunities that would attract the best talent,” said Tim McGuire, Cutters Studios CEO and president. “We’ve had unprecedented growth and we are able to give editors an opportunity to work in other large markets where we have a strong presence. So the timing couldn’t be more perfect for us to tackle an advertising hub like New York City.”
Cutters Studios EP Craig Duncan added, “We knew opening an office in New York would be an exciting challenge. Tim and I both agreed that in addition to a world-class editorial roster it was imperative that we have great leadership. Five minutes into our first conversation with Elizabeth I knew she was the one. She had an immediate understanding of our culture and what we wanted to achieve.”
Bell’s editing credits include such clients as the National Hockey League, Coke, Absolut, Mercedes, Nivea and Google Labs. Kurtz’s ad endeavors span collaborations with such directors as Tony Kaye (Blue Cross/Blue Shield), Vincent Haycock (Absolut), Sean Thonson (Central Dupage Hospital) and Jordan Brady (Chicago Crystal Meth Task Force). Kurtz also made a notable directorial debut with the short film Paraiso, which tells the stories of three immigrant window cleaners who risk their lives every day rappelling down some of Chicago’s tallest skyscrapers. Paraiso was screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and earned inclusion on last year’s Oscar Short Subject Documentary shortlist. Paraiso was co-produced by Kurtz’s The Strangebird Company and Dictionary Films, which is part of the Cutters’ family of shops. Kurtz noted that he would have never been able to bring the short film to fruition without the production resources of Dictionary and post support from Cutters.
Kamala Harris Receives Chairman’s Prize At NAACP Image Awards
Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
"While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the oval office nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said after receiving the NAACP's Chairman's Award. "The American story will be written by you. Written by us. By we the people."
The 56th annual Image Awards was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles area.
Harris, defeated by Trump in last year's presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general.
In her first major public appearance since leaving office, Harris did not reference her election loss or Trump's actions since entering the Oval Office, although Trump mocked her earlier in the day at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Harris spoke about eternal vigilance, the price of liberty, staying alert, seeking the truth and America's future.
"Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask 'What do we do now?'" Harris said. "But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path."
Other winners of the Chairman's prize have included former... Read More