Production house kaboom has added directing duo Plummer/Strauss (Justin Plummer, Martin Strauss) to its roster. The signing follows a collaboration late last year on Salesforce’s “This Is A Mask,” a bold, fast-paced narrative about the importance of teamwork to get things done.
“When we commit to directors, I need to believe in the people as much as their talent,” said kaboom owner/executive producer Lauren Schwartz. “These guys are really special–and collaborating on Salesforce only reinforced what I have felt for a long time. Their warmth and enthusiasm is matched with a breadth of knowledge, amazing treatments and impeccable preparation with gorgeous results on screen.”
Messrs. Plummer and Strauss are directing partners known for embracing classic cinematic techniques to create stylized imagery for films and branded content. They met while studying film production at San Francisco State University, united by a mutual passion for visual storytelling. From the first student project, the die was cast and they joined forces as a directorial team.
Strauss has roots at kaboom, having interned for the company during college. He credits that experience as being akin to a graduate program in advertising production. He and Schwartz kept in touch as Plummer/Strauss expanded its creative reach–first with an award-winning short film on the festival circuit and later with branded content collaborations.
Plummer/Strauss made a major splash when gaining inclusion into the 2014 SHOOT New Directors Showcase. The duo went on to direct spots for Comcast, O2, Ralph Lauren, Ben & Jerry’s, Jim Beam, Cisco, The United Nations and Dell. Production house affiliations prior to kaboom for Plummer/Strauss were Raucous Content and earlier Bullitt.
“Joining kaboom is kind of like a homecoming–for me especially–and the feeling of camaraderie and belonging is an important part of the decision,” commented Strauss. “It’s San Francisco roots with a national point of view, which is what we have too.”
Plummer added, “Working on Salesforce together really showed us that we view collaborations and the creative process in the same way. They revel in digging deep into the process and being there every step of the way–partners in a true sense.”
Plummer/Strauss is already in pre-production on a project at kaboom.
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