Production house kaboom has added director James Lovick to its roster, marking his first U.S. representation.
A product of a family steeped in cinema, Lovick absorbed a film education on set working in a variety of crafts–editing, DP, stills photography–that continue to inform his approach as a director. It was a discovery process that led to directing acclaimed documentary series for the BBC and Channel 4, including one that followed Eddie Izzard during his journey to do 43 back-to-back marathons for Sport Relief. These invaluable opportunities in unscripted storytelling were inspiring but prolonged, so Lovick turned to short-form to find his home in branded content and advertising with humanity at the fore.
The diversity of experience–windows into many worlds–and the constant problem solving opportunities are just a few of the aspects of advertising that Lovick appreciates. Over the past few years, he has directed for a wide range of brands, including films for Charles Schwab, Visit Jersey, Kenwood, Baileys, Dorset Cereals, Vodafone VOXI, and WWF India.
“James is a rare talent who is able to create beautiful and compelling docu-style stories as naturally as his ability to help a product shine via tabletop,” said kaboom EP/founder Lauren Schwartz. “He came up through the ranks of production to find his calling as a director. He can span genres, can edit, and sees the world through a photographer’s eye. All of this makes him a force of creativity.”
In a truly contemporary twist, Lovick became connected to kaboom via Instagram–where mutually admired perspectives sparked a conversation that led to his joining the company’s roster. Resourcefulness and an open approach to client collaborations were unifiers between Lovick and kaboom, solidifying a relationship started, appropriately, with curated imagery.
“Lauren and I share a great many perspectives about the industry and forging meaningful relationships that help elevate the process and projects,” reflected Lovick. “While I’ve spent the last few years focusing my attention on work in the UK, I am now ready to expand into the US with kaboom – a woman-owned company that’s boutique in size–accessible, involved–and with incredible reach.”
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More