Comedy director Tim Hamilton and photographer-turned director Chris Stanford have joined Hey Baby, a recently launched production studio headed by EP/partner Johnny Parker, a veteran film/commercial producer. Hamilton had previously been repped by ACNE while Stanford was handled by Rabbit. They come aboard a Hey Baby roster which includes international directors Johan Tappert, Tobias Bergman, Marcus Lundin, Darren Statman, Henrik Sundgren and Roman Jirnih.
An accomplished writer and director with experience in commercials, short films, television, music videos and feature films, Hamilton has helmed hundreds of spots internationally for clients including Bud Light, AGF, Lexus, Verizon, Levi’s and Toyota. His short film, Truth in Advertising, was an Internet sensation and screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The popularity of the short spiraled into an HBO-commissioned pilot and a follow up piece, The Reel Truth, that was commissioned by Saatchi & Saatchi London for the Cannes Lions. Hamilton’s additional short films include Shrink and The Catsitter, which he wrote and directed; both debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. His first feature film Mama’s Boy, for Warner Brothers, starred Jon Heder, Diane Keaton, Jeff Daniels, Anna Ferris and Eli Wallach. Prior to this, he directed a comedy series for Steve Martin’s company Martin Stein and NBC, working with such performers as Wanda Sykes, Fred Willard, Steven Wright, Teri Garr and Mary Lynn Raj,
Stanford made his first professional mark in portraiture and photojournalism with a focus on musicians, artists, athletes and celebrities. His work with top celebrities and Fortune 500 companies has been featured in Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Time and Sports Illustrated. Stanford made a seamless transition into film in 2009, directing commercials and branded content for brands such as Google, Ford, Adidas and Pepsi. Stanford recently earned a Bronze Clio for his TaylorMade Golf spot “The Wait” from agency Zambezi.
Launched earlier this year, Hey Baby has produced spots for clients including Google, Marriott, Hyundai, Kohl’s, Sonos and JetBlue. For the latter, the company turned out a heartwarming Mother’s Day ad, “FlyBabies,” that generated 1.5 million views online.
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