The Directors Bureau has added director Sam Brown to its roster for North American representation spanning commercials and music videos. Brown continues to be repped in the U.K. for spots and videos, respectively, by Rogue Films and Flynn Productions.
Brown made his first directorial mark in the music video arena. He has turned out clips for such artists as Corinne Bailey Rae (“Put Your Records On”), Doves (“The Man Who Told Everything”), The Verve (“Love Is Noise”), The Fray (“How to Save A Life”), Elbow (“Asleep In the Back”), James Blunt (“You’re Beautiful,” “Goodbye My Lover”), Mew (“Zookeeper’s Boy”), The Duke Spirit (“Lion Rip”), Gemma Hayes (“Let A Good Thing Go”), Foo Fighters (“The Pretender”), and earlier this year a controversial joint Jay-Z/Swizz Beats video (“On To the Next Day”). Brown’s videos have been lauded over the years, earning such honors as an MTV VMA.
The director also successfully diversified into the ad biz with a Nike commercial for Wieden+Kennedy, London. Brown has since gone on to helm spots for Samsung, Audi, BBCRadio1 and the U.K. Lotto, among others. His dual mastery of classic cinematic tools as well as the latest VFX technologies has earned him recognition at competitions such as BTAA, Cannes, Creative Circle, and D&AD. The latter bestowed a Yellow Pencil for best direction upon him for Virgin Media’s “Fantastic Journey” spot out of RKCR/Y&R, London.
Brown joins a directorial lineup at The Director Bureau which includes Roman Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Mike Maguire, Patrick Daughters, Melodie McDaniel, M. Blash and Aaron Rose. At his new roost, Brown will work closely with executive producers Cayce Cole and Melissa Culligan, and music video producer Lana Kim. Prior to The Directors Bureau, Brown was handled for U.S. commercials by DNA.
Karla Sofía Gascón Could Make Trans History For Role In “Emilia Pérez”
Karla Sofía Gascón's performance in "Emilia Pérez" as a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender affirmation surgery to become a woman has brought her global acclaim and set Gascón on a path that may make her the first openly transgender actor ever nominated for an Oscar. But on this morning, she's feeling contemplative. "I woke up with such a philosophical streak," Gascón says, smiling. "In life, everything can be good or bad. We are a mix of so many things. There are things that make you happy and instead they make you sad, or the other way around." The dichotomies of life are a fitting subject for Jacques Audiard's "Emilia Pérez," a film that puts just about every genre — musical, crime thriller, melodrama — into a grandiose mixer, and, by sheer nerve, manages to coalesce into one of the year's most memorable movie experiences. "Emilia Pérez," which began streaming Wednesday on Netflix, is widely expected to be a best picture nominee. At the center of the "Emilia Pérez" phenomenon – which began with a barn-storming premiere at the Cannes Film Festival — is Gascón who plays both the menacing cartel kingpin Manitas and the woman who emerges after Manitas fakes his own death, Emilia Pérez. Years later, Emilia contacts the lawyer who facilitated her transition (Zoe Saldaña) to her reunite with her wife (Selena Gomez) and their children. The wild swings of "Emilia Pérez" – a movie that has earned comparisons to both "Sicario" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" – wouldn't be possible without Gascón. In Cannes, she and her co-stars shared in the best actress prize, which Gascón accepted. "We've been insulted, denigrated, subjected to a lot of violence without even knowing why," Gascón said that evening. "I think this is award is so much more... Read More