Production company JOJX has added the creative and directing talents of viral video agency whoisthebaldguy to its roster for creative and commercial representation in the U.S. This is the first spot representation for the team which is known for its work in stunt and prank films.
whoisthebaldguy was founded by New York-based director Michael Krivicka in partnership with producer Christopher Yoon. With an expertise in creating award-winning tie-in prank and stunt videos for corporate clients, Krivicka’s videos have reached over 3 billion viewers worldwide since he opened his first agency, Thinkmodo, in 2011. Over the past decade, Krivicka has made viral urban stunts for the Netflix films Don’t Look Up and Sweet Tooth, Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, Devil’s Due by 21st Century Fox, Warner Brother’s Geostorm, and the video game Warframe by Digital Extreme, among many others. Yoon has been producing branded content, TV shows, and music videos for over 15 years, having worked with Krivicka on promo films for Sony’s Sausage Party, guest starring Seth Rogan, and the latest installment of The Ring for Paramount, which became the most watched Facebook video of 2017.
Immersive and voyeuristic, the attention-grabbing videos created by whoisthebaldguy include the heart-racing promo for Don’t Look Up, for which the team built an office, filmed a fake news report of a comet barreling towards Earth, and then hired hundreds of actors and stunt people to convince unsuspecting survey takers that a life-threatening comet strike was imminent. Through a series of hidden cameras, viewers follow along as the intensity builds to a state of panic before resolving into a dramatic comedic reveal.
“I have been aware of their stunts for years and had no idea that they were all coming from one brilliant source; once we figured that out it was fireworks ” said Jackson Morton, partner and executive producer at L.A.-based JOJX. “Their work is a breath of fresh air that we all need right now, it’s pure entertainment and their experience will be an asset to our agency partners, helping them to expand their reach and make a lot of noise.”
“JOJX has a clear understanding of where the branded content space is headed,” said Krivicka. “We have a shared belief in doing things differently–knowing that creating surprising and unforgettable stunts which take viewers on an emotional rollercoaster ride is an effective way to stand out and organically reach millions of people, not just in the U.S., but globally.”
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More