Director Tim Bullock–whose comedy spot “Woman Whisperer” for Carlton MID beer just garnered a D&AD Award nomination–has come aboard bicoastal/international Hungry Man for representation worldwide except for Australia, New Zealand and Asia where he continues to be handled by Prodigy, a production house with shops in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, as well as in Auckland, N.Z.
The addition of Bullock is one of the benefits Hungry Man gains from hooking up with Prodigy. Per the arrangement, Prodigy will be representing the Hungry Man directorial roster in Australia, New Zealand and Asia (including Japan and China). Prodigy, which started more than 30 years ago, maintains a line-up of a dozen directors (currently Bullock is the only Prodigy helmer being repped by Hungry Man) and operates a longstanding production services business.
Bullock, who’s the first Aussie director at Hungry Man, has built a reputation in comedy storytelling among Australian and New Zealand agencies ever since he moved into the director’s chair in 2004 following a career on the creative side at Saatchi & Saatchi where he spent eight years. Early on his directorial prowess was recognized, perhaps most notably as part of Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors Showcase at Cannes in 2003.
Additionally Bullock has written and directed three internationally acclaimed and award-winning short films, including the dark comedy Buried, which earned first prize at Australia’s Tropfest Film Festival and garnered the attention of Prodigy exec director Jonathan Samway, leading eventually to the director joining the company. Recently Bullock co-created and co-wrote the satirical advertising TV series 30 Seconds, produced by Andrew Denton and slated for air during mid-year.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles.
Nakamura Whitehouse, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years.
Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation.
EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.”
Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.”
34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More