Matt Miller, president and CEO of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), announced the blue-ribbon panel of judges who will select the directors featured in the first Commercial Directors Diversity Program (CDDP) Showcase, premiering January 11, 2017.
The CDDP is a joint effort between AICP and the Directors Guild of American (DGA) to increase the number of minority and women directors in the commercial directing ranks, as well as the DGA membership. CDDP achieves this by presenting showcases of unsigned directors to the AICP membership with the goal of creating relationships which will lead to participants signing with a production company for representation. Individuals looking for their work to be considered for the showcase have until November 28th to submit their projects, and can do so here.
The judges who will select the directors for Showcase #1 represent a cross-section of the production and advertising industries and include: Sally Antonacchio, owner/executive producer, The Artists Company; Roxanne Artesona, owner, Roxanne & Co.; Brian Carmody, co-founder/managing partner, Smuggler; Keith Cartwright, executive creative director, Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners; Lisa Clunie, CEO, Joan; Susan Credle, global chief creative officer, FCB Global; Jules Daly, president, RSA Films; Michael DiGirolamo, founder/managing director, Hey Wonderful; Candice Dragonas, executive producer, PRETTYBIRD; Robert Fernandez, CEO, Moxie Pictures; Oliver Fuselier, managing partner, Tool; Yirayah Garcia, Creative Director, UWG; Mindy Goldberg, Chief Creative Officer & Co-founder, Epoch Films; Laura Gregory, CEO/ Founder, Great Guns; Alma H’arel, Director, Epoch Films; Shawn Lacy, Managing Director, Biscuit Filmworks; Brian Latt, partner/executive producer, m ss ng p eces; Ralph Laucella, founding partner/executive producer, O Positive; Sasha Markova, creative director, Mother; Margo Mars, managing director, B-Reel Films; Charlie McBrearty, owner, Shortlist Management; Mary Nittolo, president, The STUDIO; Kate Oppenheim, partner/executive, m ss ng p eces; Jaime Robinson, chief creative officer, Joan; Jimmy Smith, chairman/CEO/CCO, Amusement Park; Shelly Townsend, executive producer, Skunk; Mark Waites; founder and creative partner, Mother; Natasha Wellesley, head of integrated production, 180LA; Peyton Wilson, director, Chelsea.
“We are delighted that the CDDP Showcase will have such an experienced and noteworthy group of judges giving their time to help this initiative,” noted Miller. “Not only do the professionals in this group possess long track records of supporting diversity in advertising, they also have a unique set of insights, having worked with, developed and discovered some of the best directorial talent in the business.”
CDDP Showcase #1 takes place on January 11, 2017 in Los Angeles at the DGA Theater.
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