Director Loni Peristere, who continues to serve as partner/executive creative director at visual effects house Zoic Studios, has joined the directorial roster of Bandito Brothers. Over the past year, Peristere has gained a higher profile as a commercial director with work for such clients as Jeep, Activision, ESPN and A&E’s Storage Wars. Peristere’s prior ad credits span such brands as Sony PlayStation, Budweiser, Sear’s Craftsman, Adidas, SeaWorld and Mini Cooper. His directing endeavors have earned a London Film Festival Award as well as a Golden Pencil and Clio Award.
Peristere previously directed spots via Epoch Films. A number of his earlier commercial helming jobs were done via Gargantuan.
Suzanne Hargrove, Bandito’s managing director/executive producer, said the company was drawn to Peristere’s talent for turning out “beautiful and immersive live action work while also being able to seamlessly incorporate top tier visual effects when needed.”
Peristere, who’s repped for features and television projects by WME, comes aboard a Bandito spot directors’ roster comprised of partners/directors Mouse McCoy and Scott Waugh, directors Michael Polish, Matt Goodman, Stewart Hendler, Leo Ricagni, Jacob Rosenberg, Gavin Bowden and director/cameraman Mitchell Amundsen.
Does “Hundreds of Beavers” Reflect A New Path Forward In Cinema?
Hard as it may be to believe, changing the future of cinema was not on Mike Cheslik's mind when he was making "Hundreds of Beavers." Cheslik was in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with a crew of four, sometimes six, standing in snow and making his friend, Ryland Tews, fall down funny.
"When we were shooting, I kept thinking: It would be so stupid if this got mythologized," says Cheslik.
And yet, "Hundreds of Beavers" has accrued the stuff of, if not quite myth, then certainly lo-fi legend. Cheslik's film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels.
"Hundreds of Beavers" is a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman (Tews) at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes.
No one would call "Hundreds of Beavers" expensive looking, but it's far more inventive than much of what Hollywood produces. With some 1,500 effects shots Cheslik slaved over on his home computer, he crafted something like the human version of Donald Duck's snowball fight, and a low-budget heir to the waning tradition of Buster Keaton and "Naked Gun."
At a time when independent filmmaking is more challenged than ever, "Hundreds of Beavers" has, maybe, suggested a new path forward, albeit a particularly beaver-festooned path.
After no major distributor stepped forward, the filmmakers opted to launch the movie themselves, beginning with carnivalesque roadshow screenings. Since opening in January, "Hundreds of Beavers" has played in at least one theater every week of the year, though never more than 33 at once. (Blockbusters typically play in around 4,000 locations.)... Read More