Former Stardust EP Paul Abatemarco, who most recently headed up MPC Creative’s U.S. division, has joined Foundation Content as executive producer.
At Foundation, Abatemarco will develop and grow the shop’s new roster of directors, while continuing to foster the careers of the already established team in place. VP of brand strategy/production Evan Cohen and sr. producer Stacy Paris will both report directly to Abatemarco.
Abatemarco has 13-plus years of experience in the live action, VFX, and motion graphics world. His joining comes on the heels of Foundation’s recent hire of editor Nick Pezzillo and a year of growth for a talent roster that includes the directorial team Focus Creeps, helmer James Levon who’s been most active in the digital content space, and editor Anna Patel who wrapped her second feature documentary.
Foundation Content is a hybrid shop which specializes in the creative ideation, production and delivery of advertising and marketing campaigns for a diverse group of clients. Additionally, Foundation Content has expanded its service offerings which now include visual effects, finishing and color grading.
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