Director Jim Hosking has come aboard Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, for U.S. spot representation. He was formerly repped stateside by bicoastal Partizan; however the helmer continues to be handled in the U.K by Partizan’s London office. Hosking estimates that his commmercialmaking work is pretty much equally divided between agencies on both sides of the Atlantic. For example, he has helmed such high-profile American assignments as the Partizan-produced Emerald Nuts work that debuted during the Super Bowl for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco. This Emerald fare is also airing during the ongoing Winter Olympics coverage. Hosking’s latest U.K. endeavors include spots for 118 118 Telephone Directories via WCRS, London, and John Smith’s Beer out of TBWA, London. The director’s credits also include work that in a sense spans the U.S. and the U.K., such as a match.com ad that ran in Britain but was conceived by a creative ensemble at Hanft Raboy and Partners, New York. The common bond among the Emerald, 118, match.com and John Smith’s assignments is that they all deploy humor, an ad genre in which Hosking has built his directorial reputation. He wants to continue in that vein, noting at the same time that he felt Biscuit is positioned to also diversify him into other areas, including visually driven projects. “I’ve seen what Biscuit has done to build [director] Tim Godsall’s career, who I’ve been up against at times,” said Hosking. “The company, with Shawn [executive producer Tessaro], is smart and creative in terms of opening up opportunities for directors.” Hosking also cited his longstanding admiration for director Noam Murro’s work, and Biscuit’s boutique size and feel as factors drawing him to his new stateside roost. AGENCY PEDIGREE Hosking’s industry roots are planted in agency creative soil. He started out as a copywriter at HHCL and then moved over to Mother, both in London. After establishing himself as an agency artisan, Hosking went to MTV’s on-air promotions department in New York, where he got the chance to not only continue to exercise his creative chops but also direct projects. He decided to focus full-time on directing, returning to London where he joined Partizan at the end of 2000. The following year he was named one of SHOOT‘s up-and-coming directors on the strength of comedy commercials for the likes of BT Cellnet for London agency AMV, and Citroen automobiles via Euro RSCG, Paris.
Review: Director/Co-Writer Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ “My Dead Friend Zoe”
Even for a film titled "My Dead Friend Zoe," the opening scenes of Kyle Hausmann-Stokes' movie have a startling rhythm. First, two female American soldiers are riding in a Humvee in Afghanistan 2016 blasting Rihanna's "Umbrella." They are clearly friends, and more concerned with the music coming through loudly than enemy fire. Zoe (Natalie Morales) tells Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) tells that if they ever set foot in "some dopy group therapy," to please kill her. Cut to years later, they're sitting in a counseling meeting for veterans and Morales' character has a sour look at her face. She turns to her friend: "Did we survive the dumbest war of all time just to sit here all broken and kumbaya and ouchie-my-feelings?" But after this rush of cavalier soldiering and bitter sarcasm comes a sobering moment. Merit blinks her eyes and is instead staring at an empty chair. Zoe isn't there at all. "My Dead Friend Zoe," co-starring Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris, confronts a dark reality of post-combat struggle with as much humor and playfulness as it does trauma and sorrow. It comes from a real place, and you can tell. Hausmann-Stoke is himself a veteran and "My Dead Friend Zoe" is dedicated to a pair of his platoon mates who killed themselves. The opening titles note the film was "inspired by a true story." Audience disinterest has characterized many, though not all, of the films about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the output has pretty much dried up over the years. "My Dead Friend Zoe" feels like it was made with an awareness of that trend and as a rebuke to it. This is an often breezy and funny movie for what, on paper, is a difficult and dark story. But the comic tone of "My Dead Friend Zoe" is, itself, a spirited rejection to not just the heaviness... Read More