ArtClass has signed director Jesse Ray Diamond.
Originally from the Bay Area and now based in Los Angeles, Diamond brings a multi-faceted skill set to his directorial work, integrating editing, writing, and photography into a seamless creative process. His approach has captured the attention of agencies such as Leo Burnett, We Are Social, and Wasserman with global brands including Apple, Netflix, Samsung, Beats By Dre, The NBA, AT&T, Nike, Adidas, and Calvin Klein.
“Welcoming Jesse to the roster commences an important period of growth for the company,” said ArtClass managing director Rebecca Niles. “Jesse’s work makes a lasting impression; it transcends niche or category. He delivers you an overall style, a cultural vibe, a feeling. He connects with the creative on a different level. From our first meeting years ago, it was clear he is not meant to be put in a box. We’ve begun the formal relationship on three jobs with completely different clients and goals, the throughline being his impassioned eye and creative perspective.
Diamond said, “I wanted to ensure that the production company I joined shared the same vision of not being boxed in, and is just as excited as I am to creatively explore and tell different stories. I wanted a company that championed a diverse roster and didn’t want to just stay in a lane that works for them but to expand its artistic acceptance of what we all want to create. When it came time in my career to join a production family, without a question, ArtClass was that home.”
He continued, “I’ve known Rebecca for a few years now, and we have been on each other’s radar, but seeing her help grow ArtClass into what it is today, and the creative acceptance they have, I knew that my voice and style of film-making would be welcomed. I am truly excited to continue building in unison with ArtClass, and bring a raw, curious, and heartfelt perspective to our projects.”
Over the last decade, Diamond has dedicated himself to disciplined filmmaking, focusing on stories, subjects, and products with aesthetic appreciation, intellectual curiosity, and passionately captured perspectives. His works, including Broken Ground and The Workshop, have been officially selected at film festivals around the world, such as the Mammoth Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, The Lift-Off Network, South Texas International Film Festival, and Tokyo Film Festival. His recent projects include Beats By Dre, which highlights Ivan Cornejo’s story for Hispanic Heritage Month, and the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra, featuring rising Twitch streamer Fuslie.
Carrie Coon Relishes Being Part Of An Ensemble–From “The Gilded Age” To “His Three Daughters”
It can be hard to catch Carrie Coon on her own.
She is far more likely to be found in the thick of an ensemble. That could be on TV, in "The Gilded Age," for which she was just Emmy nominated, or in the upcoming season of "The White Lotus," which she recently shot in Thailand. Or it could be in films, most relevantly, Azazel Jacobs' new drama, "His Three Daughters," in which Coon stars alongside Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as sisters caring for their dying father.
But on a recent, bright late-summer morning, Coon is sitting on a bench in the bucolic northeast Westchester town of Pound Ridge. A few years back, she and her husband, the playwright Tracy Letts, moved near here with their two young children, drawn by the long rows of stone walls and a particularly good BLT from a nearby cafe that Letts, after biting into, declared must be within 15 miles of where they lived.
In a few days, they would both fly to Los Angeles for the Emmys (Letts was nominated for his performance in "Winning Time" ). But Coon, 43, was then largely enmeshed in the day-to-day life of raising a family, along with their nightly movie viewings, which Letts pulls from his extensive DVD collection. The previous night's choice: "Once Around," with Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfus.
Coon met Letts during her breakthrough performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" on Broadway in 2012. She played the heavy-drinking housewife Honey. It was the first role that Coon read and knew, viscerally, she had to play. Immediately after saying this, Coon sighs.
"It sounds like something some diva would say in a movie from the '50s," Coon says. "I just walked around in my apartment in my slip and I had pearls and a little brandy. I made a grocery list and I just did... Read More