1stAveMachine has added Kate Hitchings as executive producer. She formerly served as EP for Electric Theatre Collective and, later its sister company, Friends Electric.
Versatile across all aspects of commercial live-action, VFX, and animation content, Hitchings has helped bring to life narratives for top-tier brands. She was an integral part to the success of Chromebook’s six-part animated series, The Adulthood, and campaigns such as “Swarm” for Lexus and “Mountain” for PlayStation. The latter–which garnered over 40 awards and nominations, including the coveted Cannes Lion Grand Prix–marked the very first time that any production outside of Weta Digital had tapped into crowd simulation software MASSIVE.
Hitchings said, “The partners at 1stAveMachine have built a global mixed-media company that’s truly forward-thinking, and, therefore, future-proof. Technology and media platforms are ever-changing and moving so quickly. It’s ingrained within the culture and leadership here to always look to what’s next and lead that charge. Exploration and experimentation are parts of the very fabric of this company.”
1stAveMachine partner and EP Sam Penfield said of Hitchings, “Her experience across live action and post, in addition to her appetite for innovative platforms and experimental processes, make our stellar producing roster even stronger. In our model, our producing talent are as important as our directorial roster in our pursuit to continue to take risks and push boundaries while maintaining the quality of our projects and responsibilities to our clients.”
Hitchings’ joining comes on the heels of the signings of directors Ron Brodie and Em Cole.
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.
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