By SANDRA GARCIA
Director Jason Harrington has shifted his U.S. representation from Tony K., West Hollywood and London, to bicoastal/international Propaganda Films.
The move was the result of what Harrington called a need for a fresh start. Ive been with Tony K. in America for five years, and that is a substantial amount of time. I wanted to go somewhere new because I think a new start pushes an individual, explained Harrington, who added that he was also drawn to the fact that Propaganda has an office in New York, where he lives.
Harringtons credits at Tony K. included spots for Miller Genuine Draft, John Hancock Life Insurance, Gatorade, United Healthcare and a PSA he directed for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Land Mines Must Be Stopped. This work eventually attracted Colin Hickson, VP of Propagandas commercial division, who said, Weve followed him for a while, and if you look at his reel, he is the consummate craftsman. He combines the rare talents of having very beautiful imagery with very human emotions.
Past And Present
Harrington began his career in 1989 as a director/designer with the presentation and graphic design group of the BBC, for which he created graphics and titles sequences. Four years later, he moved to New York to direct on-air promotions for MTV and VH1, where he received BDA awards for his VH1/MTV image spots, including Where Does The Time Go? See My and Prince.
Currently, Harrington is in Europe shooting a large Saab campaign through Tony K., London, for Lowe & Partners, Stockholm-a commitment he made before joining Propaganda. Harrington will travel to Australia to complete the shoot and then return in mid-February to New York, where he will take up his post at Propaganda.
Harrington joins a Propaganda directorial roster that also includes Dante Ariola, Vaughan Arnell, Michael Bay, Andrew Dosunmu, Rene Eller, David Fincher, Antoine Fuqua, Andrea Giacobbe, Jonathan Glazer, David Kellogg, Keir McFarlane, Andy Morahan, Jeffery Plansker, Alex Proyas, Dominic Sena, Olivier Venturini, Malcolm Venville, Gore Verbinski and Simon West.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More