Commercial and feature editor Dan Swietlik has joined forces with London-based editorial house Stitch, opening up an office in Santa Monica. The move will see immediate collaboration on projects between the U.S. and U.K. operations.
Swietlik is part of a Stitch L.A. roster of editors that also consists of David Checel, Marc D’Andre, Frank Effron, Tad Fatum and Jeff Grippe. This ensemble of talent had previously been at editorial house Cut+Run.
Also Cut+Run alumni are editors Andy McGraw, Leo King and Tim Hardy who a year ago opened Stitch in London’s Soho district. The Stitch U.K. editors have gone on to cut campaigns for such clients as BMW, Ford, Johnnie Walker, Heineken, Kit Kat, Motorola, Panasonic, Range Rover, Samsung, VW, Vodafone and Weetabix.
Charged with helping to expand the Stitch brand stateside is executive producer Stacey Altman, a former independent sales rep.
The first project wrapped under the U.S./U.K. Stitch banner is the American launch of the Smart Car directed by Guy Shelmerdine of Smuggler and edited by McGraw for Merkley + Partners, New York.
At Stitch L.A., Effron has also edited a Mercedes-Benz commercial directed by Carl Eric Rinsch of RSA Films, and delivered two spots for Jimmy Dean with director Jeff Low of Biscuit through TBWAChiatDay, Los Angeles.
Stitch is in the midst of a Hyundai-funded project with executive producer Tom Dunlap at Scott Free/RSA Films. It’s a non-fiction branded content effort directed by Amir Bar-Lev whose credits include the documentaries The Tillman Story and My Kid Could Paint That, which were nominated for the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize in 2010 and ’07, respectively. The Hyundai project will see a number of disparate elements created (such as interstitials) that will come together in addition to a documentary.
“We currently have three editors working on trailers, behind-the-scenes footage, music video elements and more,” said Swietlik regarding the job. “There is no shoehorned Hyundai product placement in the material. The brand is added in a subtle, organic way. It’s crafted with entertainment in mind.”
The project also underscores Swietlik’s propensity to team on documentary work as evidenced by such feature-length projects as director Michael Moore’s Sicko (edited by Swietlik, Geoffrey Richman and Christopher Seward) and director Davis Guggenheim’s An Inconvenient Truth (edited by Swietlik and Jay Cassidy). Swietlik’s credits also include he and Dayn Williams (of Cut+Run) editing the Rinsch-directed short film The Gift, part of the Philips’ “Parallel Lines” campaign’s series of shorts out of DDB London. The Gift won the Grand Prix in last year’s inaugural Film Craft competition at the Cannes Lions Festival.
“Overnight Success” Has Been More Than A Decade In The Making For Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson
Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson, two of the stars of Netflix's whodunit "The Perfect Couple," have news for you if you want to call them breakouts: They've been working in this business for more than a decade.
Fahy made her TV debut in 2009 in an episode of "Gossip Girl." Hewson's first big film role was in 2011's "This Must Be the Place." They do concede, however, that it's recent TV roles — "The White Lotus" for Fahy and "Bad Sisters" for Hewson — that have led to new frontiers of opportunity.
Susanne Bier, who directed "The Perfect Couple," says both Fahy and Hewson are "going to be big stars."
"They certainly have proper, profound star quality, Both of them in very different ways," Bier says. "Both are incredibly creative, incredibly smart, and also have a impressive insight as to who they are. You can be a great actor or actress and not necessarily really know who you are yourself. And they do."
Hewson, 33, whose dad is U2 front man Bono, may have grown up in a famous family but she's now in demand in her own right. She will next be seen in a second season of "Bad Sisters, " out in November. She's in Noah Baumbach's next film, alongside Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Riley Keough. She's also been cast in Steven Spielberg's next production and is set to star opposite Murray Bartlett in a racing series for Hulu.
Fahy, 34, is in production on a limited series with Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock called "Sirens," written by Molly Smith Metzler ("Maid") for Netflix. She also has two films in the can with Josh O'Connor ("The Crown," "Challengers") and Brandon Sklenar ("It Ends With Us").
The two actors spoke candidly about this phase of their careers. This interview has been condensed for clarity and... Read More