Academy Award-nominated director Darren Aronofsky has partnered with a pair of spot industry veterans, executive producers Ted Robbins and Sandy Haddad, to open commercial production house Chromista. Aronofsky earned a Best Director Oscar nomination and was a DGA Award nominee on the strength of Black Swan, for which he won the top directing honor at the Independent Spirit Awards. He has also directed notable commercials for The Meth Project, Yves St. Laurent and Revlon. Rounding out the Chromista directorial roster are Kasra Farahani, Daniel Portrait of Kamp Grizzly, Xavier Mairesse, and Walter May. Aronofsky’s longtime features producer Scott Franklin will serve as an executive producer….Joseph Kosinski, director of commercials, films and TV, has joined Reset for worldwide representation in advertising. He thus reunites with long-time colleagues, executive producer/managing director Dave Morrison and filmmaker David Fincher–the three were previously together at Anonymous Content. Kosinski’s second feature film–Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman–was released last month and at press time had grossed more than $250 million worldwide. The director’s feature film debut, Tron: Legacy, grossed over $400 million and earned Oscar and Grammy nominations. His commercial work–marked by stunning visuals and design, as well as a seamless mesh of live action and effects to advance narrative–spans such clients as Gears of War, Chevrolet, Halo and BMW…..Moxie Pictures has signed director Kathi Prosser for U.S. representation. She comes over from The Sweet Shop, where she collaborated regularly with agencies including BBDO, JWT, Arnold, Saatchi & Saatchi and Y&R. Her body of work ranges from opulent fashion campaigns to provocative PSAs. Recently, Prosser joined Dove’s cadre of female self-esteem advocates, opening a candid window into the fallen dreams of little girls whose passions are stifled by negative self worth in the stirring :30 “Girls” out of Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto…..
May 23, 2008
SHOOT’s 6th annual New Directors Showcase offers a total of 38 up-and-coming helmers filling 30 slots (23 individual directors, a three-person team and six directorial duos)….Lost Planet topped the seventh annual AICE Awards with three wins, two for editor Paul Martinez who topped the Storytelling and Visual Effects categories with Radio Shack’s “Record Problem” and PepsiCo’s “Pinball,” respectively. And Lost Planet editor Jennifer Dean won the Music Video category for the “Cold War Kids: Hospital Beds”….Design/animation/visual effects studio Smoke & Mirrors, New York, has added VFX supervisor/sr. Flame artist Kirk Balden. He most recently served as a VFX supervisor/Flame/Smoke artist at a52 in Santa Monica, Calif…Director James Wahlberg, who first established himself in animation and then successfully diversified into live action, has joined Los Angeles-based Rhythm+Hues for exclusive spot representation….