Easy Mondays has signed directing duo Lobster–consisting of Guillermo Madurga and Miguel Angulo–for exclusive U.S. spot representation. Part of a new generation of filmmakers on the Spanish art scene, Madurga and Angulo had collaborated on major campaigns for clients such as Starbucks, P&G, and Volkswagen when they decided to make it official and merge their respective talents–Angulo directing performance and dialogue, Madurga via progressive multidisciplinary filmmaking–into Lobster. Easy Mondays becomes Lobster’s first U.S. roost.
“Some people meditate, I watch videos,” said Asori Soto, founder/executive producer of bespoke production company Easy Mondays. “When I came upon their work, I realized I was seeing a new point of view, which is very rare in the commercial space.” Citing projects such as Starbucks’ “Chilled,” YPF’s “This is Full,” and Decathlon’s “Spring,” Soto said, “Guillermo and Miguel dive right into the energy of the moment. No two spots are the same, and yet all are stylish, tasty, and filling – that’s Lobster.”
Soto’s enthusiasm is reinforced by the reception of Lobster in the international market. Created by Mrs. Rushmore, Atlético de Madrid’s “Father’s Day,” a deeply affecting story of acceptance between a boy and his stepfather,” won a Grand Prix Clio in the U.S., a Silver in Spain in the Ideas category, and was shortlisted at the One Show. Additional work includes Vodafone’s “Christmas Grandpa”–striking just the right notes amidst sentimentality and loss–and Maxibon’s “I’m Not My Selfie,” a visually driven ultra contemporary take on social media.
“We are new enough that we don’t have a ‘greatest hits’ reel yet,” shared the duo in a joint statement. “But we have worked together and individually enough to know that filmmaking is all about evolution. Asori embraces our mandate to be bold in our marriage of performance, storytelling, and magical realism, all the pillars that define Lobster.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
The one rule to follow is that... Read More