Director James Rouse has joined Biscuit Filmworks for representation in the U.S. and U.K. Rouse’s commercialmaking has received over 200 awards including two Cannes Grand Prix honors (for Harvey Nichols’ “Sorry, I Spent it on Myself” and The Red Cross’ “Hope”) as well as Ad of the Year at the British Arrows (for Marmite’s “Love It, Hate It, Just Don’t Forget It”).
Rouse was previously repped by The Corner Shop and Outsider in the U.S. and U.K., respectively.
“James is an incredible director, I’ve always been enamored with his ability to work with actors to develop both comedy and drama with them–often in equal measures. This coupled with the way the camera becomes intrinsic to observing that performance is something I admire a lot,” said Rupert Reynolds-MacLean, managing director at Biscuit U.K.
Born and raised in North London, Rouse studied at the School of Communication Arts and began his career as a copywriter and art director at agencies including Euro RSCG and DDB. He made his directing debut in 2003 with the spot “Trojan Games” for Trojan which instantly went viral and earned a Gold Lions at Cannes as well as a slot in SHOOT’s 2004 New Directors Showcase. Rouse has since worked with brands such as The Guardian, Oxfam, McDonald’s, Sainsburys, The National Lottery, Evian and Volkswagen, among others.
Rouse also directed the 2014 feature film Downhill, starring Ned Dennehy, Richard Lumsden, and Jeremy Swift, which is rated 89% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
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