International production company Great Guns has added award-winning documentary director Jesse Vile to its roster for global representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos. This marks his first spot representation.
Born in Philadelphia and now based in London, Vile has over 10 years of experience in directing and producing film and TV, having worked on both theatrical releases and with major platforms including Netflix, Amazon Studios, ESPN Films, Discovery+, and Nat Geo.
His 2012 debut feature documentary film, Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet, told the story of American musician Jason Becker and his battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Screening at multiple film festivals across the globe, it received numerous awards including the Special Jury Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival. It also earned Vile a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Grierson Awards and a New York Times Critic’s Pick.
His follow-up film The Prince of Pennsylvania, released as part of ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 documentary series, told the bizarre story of John du Pont and his Foxcatcher wrestling team. It premiered at the Philadelphia Film Festival and the Hot Springs Film Festival–where it was nominated for Best Sports Documentary–before launching on ESPN. The 30 for 30 series went on to win an Emmy for Outstanding Short-Format Nonfiction Program.
Since then, Vile has directed the feature documentary Gypsy’s Revenge for ID Films, This is Football for Amazon Studios, and the Netflix Original documentary series Captive and The Ripper–which became the #1 show on the platform following its release. His latest project, the four-part true-crime documentary series Curse of the Chippendales, premiered at the 65th London Film Festival last month. It was released on Amazon Prime in the U.K. today (11/12).
Vile said, “I’m very excited to be joining the roster of incredible talent at Great Guns and to bring my experience in telling emotional and story-driven films to their slate of commercials and branded content. Laura [Gregory, founder] and Oliver [Fuselier, USA managing director and EP]’s focus on storytelling is what really drew me to Great Guns, and I’m looking forward to creating meaningful and thought-provoking work with them.”
Fuselier shared, “Jesse Vile is a true filmmaker with the ability to tell a story–weaving layers of emotional power into every scene and leaving us wanting more.”
Gregory cited Vile’s range of work from music and sports to true crime. “His decade of experience in directing and producing is an important addition to our global offering.” She added, “I can’t wait to see how he applies his thought process to a brand.”
Damien Chazelle, Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons On The Return Of “Whiplash” To Theaters After 10 Years
Ten years after " Whiplash " took the film world by storm, Damien Chazelle's breakthrough feature is returning to theaters nationwide Friday.
In 2014, "Whiplash" was the ultimate indie movie Cinderella story — a Sundance discovery made by a 20-something that that would go on to become both a box office hit and an awards darling: It won three Oscars, including for J.K. Simmons ' portrayal of a semi-sadistic and ever quotable jazz ensemble instructor; launched Chazelle's directing career into the A-list stratosphere; and established Miles Teller as a next generation movie star. Now, audiences will get another chance to experience it on the big screen.
Chazelle, Teller and Simmons spoke recently about the re-release, their memories of the 20-day shoot (including when Teller accidentally broke his co-star's rib) and making something with staying power. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What has it been like watching "Whiplash" settle into the culture in the past decade?
CHAZELLE: It's very cool, a little surreal. It doesn't feel like 10 years. It's fun to have a moment like this to relive it a little bit.
SIMMONS: It's sobering to know that I'm 10 years older. It's kind of shocking and kind of awesome that the movie actually holds up. I just saw it a few days ago in Toronto: That's a good piece of cinema.
TELLER: This is the first time I've ever had a movie re-released. I'm still fairly young into my career, but it's an incredible movie. The one thing that's frustrating for me is that people just yell out at me all the time, " not my tempo." So that's stuck around well.
SIMMONS: Maybe if you get the tempo... Read More