By BY CAROLYN GIARDINA
NEW YORK-First Edition, New York, has announced several new hires, as well as some promotions. Joining its creative editorial team are Howie Lazarus and his son Matthew, both previously editors at Take Five Editorial, New York, a boutique founded in the mid-1960s by Howie and now-retired editor Jerry Kleppel. Matthew Lazarus joined Take Five in 1982. The principals are winding down Take Five operations as they transition to First Edition.
Also joining First Edition is business manager Amy Lazarus (Howie’s daughter), who held the same position at Take Five. The company has additionally hired a rep, Laura Spivack, who previously repped New York-based Manhattan Transfer. She will handle First Edition as well as its New York-based sister companies, Splash, a visual effects boutique, and Aural Fixation, an audio post unit.
The company also expanded the roles of several managers. Chief engineer Scott Holmgren was made a VP, controller Bob Friedrich was named CFO, and Harry Stoiber, who continues as executive producer of Splash, will be more involved in decision-making.
At Take Five, Howie and Matthew Lazarus frequently collaborated on projects and will continue to do so at First Edition. Among their credits is the well-known "Diet Coke Break" via Lowe & Partners/SMS, New York. Their client list includes Nicoderm, Tums, Castrol, CD-Now, Daffy’s and CarMax.
Howie Lazarus’ body of work includes Alka-Seltzer’s "Stomach," which he cut via now-closed Jack Tinker & Partners while employed at now-defunct Televideo in the 1960s. Howie Lazarus and First Edition president Bobby Smalheiser have known each other since then-Smalheiser was Lazarus’ apprentice at Televideo.
"We have a very small operation," Howie Lazarus said of Take Five, adding that it didn’t make sense to continue investing in upgrades for technology that is changing rapidly. "We’ve known Bobby a long time and have often talked about working together." He also complimented the company’s technological capabilities.
"Few editors have the editorial smarts and personal warmth of Howie and Matthew Lazarus," Smalheiser said. At press time, the new editors were about to embark on nine spots for MCS Canon via DeVito/Verdi, New York.
As for the promotions, Smalheiser said, "The expansion of the responsibilities of these key executives has tremendously improved the day-to-day operation of the company and the esprit de corps of our entire organization. Everyone has a sense of contributing to the success of the mission."
First Edition is also rethinking its finishing process. The company is removing its D-2 suite, with the intention of using its Editbox or Softimage DS systems for that task.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More