Ghost VFX, part of the Streamland Media community of postproduction businesses, has appointed Patrick Davenport as its president. Tom Kendall, previously serving as Ghost VFX president, has taken on the new role of head of business development, sales and marketing for the visual effects house. Rounding out the team, Paul Richards has joined Ghost as EVP of technology and Crys Forsyth-Smith has been named EVP of global production. All four will be based at the company’s Burbank, Calif., location.
Bill Romeo, Streamland Media president and CEO, said, “Patrick’s background and international experience make him the right leader at this time of tremendous growth and opportunity for Ghost VFX.”
Davenport most recently served as COO at Method Studios, a division of Company 3. He previously held the same role at MPC Advertising. He brings 30 years of industry knowledge that includes producing visual effects for commercials and features. He led teams behind the scenes of such notable recent titles as Top Gun: Maverick, The Witches, Loki and For All Mankind.
Kendall has chosen to lead the company’s business development and outreach. This new role harnesses his expertise and passion for building alliances with the talented people and companies creating compelling episodic stories for audiences everywhere.
Richards brings 20 years of technical and business experience in visual effects to Ghost VFX, having successfully led teams in structuring enterprise-level architectural design, development, and operations onto a secure unified pipeline. Richards most recently held the position of CTO of VFX at Method Studios, where he was responsible for the company’s brands serving major motion pictures, streaming platforms, broadcast TV, advertising, and video games.
Forsyth-Smith joins Ghost VFX from Method Studios where she served as VP of digital production operations. Her extensive background in studio and production management in visual effects includes over 20 years of collaborating with filmmakers and clients to achieve their vision.
Davenport added, “At a time of extraordinary change and challenges within the VFX industry, we are looking to build upon the great creativity and 20-plus years of experience at Ghost VFX, using this solid foundation to expand globally. We see many opportunities for innovation and doing things differently, which we believe will allow for continued success and a sustainable business.”
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More