Hugh Broder, an executive producer with agency, advertiser and production-side experience, has joined The Underground as EP/managing director to lead the three-year-old VFX company’s growth into full-service production as well as postproduction for commercials and other brand content.
Formerly head of production at BBDO Detroit as well as director of integrated production at Walmart, Broder joins the management team at The Underground’s parent company, P2P Group, which includes sister company P2P Retouching. P2P enjoys a well-established presence in the beauty industry with agency clients such as Gotham, McCann and Publicis and brand clients such as L’Oréal, Kind and Maybelline.
According to Broder, this new position is a perfect fit for him. “Throughout my career, I’ve always been a builder,” he said, referring to his oversight of multiple production operations. “This is a wonderful opportunity to grow a company that has so much to offer to both agencies and brands.”
At The Underground, Broder will work closely with creative director/lead Flame artist Nic Seresin, who joined the company last year. Recent projects include a direct-to-brand short film for Aston Martin as well as newly released music videos for Jihae, Showtek and Young the Giant. Recent agency clients include Anomaly, Saatchi and Publicis in New York, as well as Odysseus Arms in San Francisco.
Ben Bettenhausen, founder of P2P Group, said of Broder, “He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience, and a wonderful energy that will propel our growth into a 360-offering to our clients.”
The Underground is represented by Minerva, the business development company led by Partners Mary Knox and Shauna Seresin.
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