Washington Square Films has signed director and hidden camera expert Andrew Lane for U.S. commercial representation. Lane has made his mark in reality television, working on such hit shows as Top Chef, Project Runway and Stormchasers, as well as in the advertising arena as his “Guns with History” for States United to Prevent Gun Violence out of Grey New York won not only a Gold and a Silver Lion at the 2015 Cannes International Festival of Creativity but also honors at the 2016 AICP Show for best PSA and the AICP’s Next Awards in the Next Experiential category. That gun reform work was produced by Rival School Pictures, Lane’s roost prior to his joining Washington Square Films. Lane also earned a Cannes Bronze Lion in 2016, again for work with States United to Prevent Gun Violence, and then in 2018 garnered multiple Cannes Lions for Diesel’s “Go with the Fake” that tackled the counterfeit culture head on with a clever hidden camera pop-up store.
Lane has helmed memorable fare for such brands as Google, Mountain Dew, Allstate, Stella Artois and Bud Light. For the Allstate Foundation’s Purple Purse initiative, Lane directed “Lost Purse” out of Chicago shops Leo Burnett and MSLGROUP. The powerful social experiment-based short film provides a look into the life of a domestic violence victim through a purse she’s left behind in a Lyft car.
“It is immediately evident Andrew is great with hidden camera and man-on-the-street work,” noted Jonathan Schwartz, Washington Square Films head of sales and marketing. “But what I was most struck with was the range of emotion and performance. If you can make someone laugh and cry on the same reel you are accomplishing something.”
Lane cited Washington Square Films’ talent roster and proven track record across spots and film as drawing him to the company, which he added is ideally situated to help him “to continue to grow my commercial career.”
Texas-native Lane studied advertising in Austin at the University of Texas, prior to taking on a brief stint on the agency side as a copywriter. He later made his way to New York, where he established himself as a director.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More