PRETTYBIRD has signed filmmaker Jason Zada, who’s known for his immersive storytelling skills reflected in work for such agencies as Wieden+Kennedy, CP+B, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, RPA, Y&R and Grey.
Zada made his first industry mark upon opening his own agency Evolution Bureau (EVB) in 2000 which in the digital storytelling arena created memorable work such as “Elf yourself” for Office Max, an interactive viral website of dancing elves that attracted 194 million people in six weeks.
When Omnicom acquired EVB, Zada moved behind the camera to direct full time, joining Tool of North America to work for clients including Sony, Adidas, Goodyear, Old Spice, Sunny Delight, Sega and Showtime. “I just woke up and realized that I was most happy when I was on set,” Zada explained. “I had already started directing projects out of my agency so it felt like a natural transition.”
Zada quickly scored widespread success releasing the customized interactive video “Take This Lollipop,” work viewed over 150 million times to date, collecting D&AD and Emmy Awards as well as three awards at SXSW: Overall Best in Show, and first place in both the Experimental and Motion Graphics categories.
Zada is currently in post on his first full-length feature The Forest, a supernatural tale from the mind of producer/screenwriter David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice). The film is also being exec produced by Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Inglorious Basterds).
“We are very excited to be working with a multi-faceted storyteller like Jason,” said Kerstin Emhoff, co-founder and president of PRETTYBIRD. “He is not only an award winning non-traditional creative, but now with his first feature about to be completed, he’s going to be a major force in any entertainment space.”
“I’m excited to be returning to advertising with PRETTYBIRD,” said Zada, back after a shoot in Serbia and Japan. “The film taught me so much, and I’m itching to get back into the commercial work. I’m intrigued to see what we can create together at PRETTYBIRD as our goals for the future are very much aligned. I’m looking forward to the journey ahead.“
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