Locksmith Content, a content creation and production studio under the aegis of partners Benjamin Blank and Stephen McDonald, has signed Doug Walker to direct and create commercials and film. Walker joins the company as it embarks on an expansion of its talent roster and the opening of an office in San Francisco.
Previously represented by Mirror Films, Walker is an accomplished editor (with work earning such honors as a Cannes Lion along with several Clios) and continues to be active as a cutter via Beast. He successfully diversified into directing with spots for Nike, U.S. Cellular, Audi, the NCAA and adidas, among other brands.
His documentary short Rhag, about painter and experimental composer Roy Henry Alexander Gover, was chosen for the Special Screenings program at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival and helped earn him inclusion into last year’s SHOOT New Directors Showcase. His most recent documentary Lost & Found, a search for legendary surfers of the past triggered by Walker’s discovery of 30,000 black and white negatives at a swap meet, recently won best story at X-Dance 2012. The film also was shown at San Francisco’s Ocean Film Festival and will screen on April 28 at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
Walker comes aboard a Locksmith directorial roster that includes Blank, Alaistair McKevitt, Bucky Fukumoto, Kai Sehr, and Michael Sugrue.
“Se7en” Turns 30, Gets A Special Restoration From David Fincher For Its Re-Release
For David Fincher, seeing “Se7en” in 4K was an experience he can only describe as harrowing. That or a high school reunion.
“There are definitely moments that you go, ‘What was I thinking?’ Or ‘Why did I let this person have that hairdo’?” Fincher said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
He’s OK with the film being a product of its time in most respects. But some things just could not stand in high-definition resolution.
“It was a little decrepit, to be honest,” said Fincher. “We needed to resuscitate it. There are things you can see in 4K HDR that you cannot see on a film print.”
Ever the perfectionist, he and a team got to work on a new restoration of the film for its 30th anniversary re-release. This weekend the restored “Se7en” will play on IMAX screens for the first time in the U.S. and Canada, and on Jan. 7, the 4K UHD home video version will be available as well.
The dark crime thriller written by Andrew Kevin Walker and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as a pair of detectives looking for a serial killer was somewhat of a career-reviver for Fincher, whose directorial debut “Alien 3” had not gone well. “Se7en” was not a sure thing: It was made for only $34 million (and only got that when Fincher managed to persuade studio execs to give up $3 million more). But it went on to earn more than $327 million, not accounting for inflation, and continues to influence the genre.
Fincher has over the years overseen several restorations of the film (including one for laser disc) but decided this needed to be the last. It’s why he insisted on an 8K scan that they could derive the 4K from. He wanted to ensure that it wouldn’t have to be repeated when screens get more... Read More