Production company and artist management agency Great Bowery Film has added London and L.A.-based director Gerard de Thame to its roster of filmmakers, artists, photographers, creative directors, designers and animators.
Great Bowery will represent de Thame for spots and branded content worldwide except for the U.K. where he continues to be handled by his London-based company, Exposure Pictures.
Having directed more than 500 spots, de Thame has won numerous awards for his work, including Cannes Gold Lions, Clios, D&ADs, and BTAA Best Commercial of the Year. Throughout his career, de Thame has worked with leading brands such as Adidas, American Express, Audi, Microsoft, Nike and Samsung.
The move to Great Bowery Film marks a reunion for de Thame with company founding executive producer Shannon Lords. He was most recently repped in the U.S. by Humble where he earlier worked closely with EP Lords.
“It’s an exciting time for me to come on board and partner with Shannon again,” de Thame stated. “Great Bowery Film is a unique and innovative production company with a fresh slant on the film industry. Being a part of such a wealth of creative talent that is housed in Great Bowery and working across platforms and disciplines is really inspirational to me.”
For de Thame, his most recent endeavor was serving as both film director and creative lead on a campaign for One America Appeal, a 501-nonprofit founded by presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush in the wake of the disastrous 2017 hurricane season. The campaign was conceptualized and scripted by George H. W. Bush’s spokesman Jim McGrath, alongside Roy Spence and Judy Trabulsi of the Purpose Institute in Austin. The campaign consisted of two PSAs, filmed in two days with five video shoots in five different locations around the country.
“Working on the One America Appeal initiative was quite different for me because I really had complete creative license for the entire project, working as both the creative director and film director,” de Thame noted.
With long-time producer Fabyan Daw, de Thame captured the very essence of bipartisan support and true leadership—a depiction that serves as a breath of fresh air compared to the current political circus. With the help of de Thame’s spots, One America Appeal raised over $42 million in hurricane relief funding.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More