Mike Frank, former VP, group creative director at Razorfish, has joined Deutsch as SVP, creative director. In his role, Frank will provide creative leadership to Deutsch’s 35-person Volkswagen platform team. He starts at Deutsch this week, and will report to Tara Greer, EVP, executive creative director.
“Mike’s deep automotive experience, coupled with his passion and understanding of product development, makes him a conceptually and creatively strong platform leader,” said Pam Scheideler, chief digital officer of Deutsch’s Los Angeles office. “Few people are strong at both product design and branding. Mike knows both sides well and has been on our radar for quite some time.”
Prior to joining Deutsch, Frank spent seven years at Razorfish, most recently serving as the creative lead for the L.A. office. During his tenure, he created groundbreaking campaigns, experiences and products for brands including Visa, Motorola, Target, Acura and BlackBerry. Prior to Razorfish, he served as a creative director at IBM Interactive Experience working on Sony, AOL, NCAA, Nissan and Coke.
“Volkswagen is an iconic global brand with a history of innovation in the digital space,” said Frank. “And Deutsch’s heritage of brand-building coupled with their deep UX and tech chops presents a incredible opportunity to affect the brand trajectory.”
Frank earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Georgetown University. He studied graphic design at The Maryland Institute College of Art and also studied at Yale School of Management.
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.
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