International production company Stink Films has added director Jason Hehir to its roster in the U.K. and U.S. for commercials, music videos, and branded content. This is Hehir’s first commercial representation.
Hehir directed all 10 episodes of The Last Dance (ESPN/Netflix) which chronicles Michael Jordan’s incredible NBA career and the dynasty of the Chicago Bulls. The Last Dance recently won Hehir and his colleagues the primetime Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Hehir’s work on “Episode 7” of The Last Dance additionally earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program. The Last Dance became the most-watched documentary in ESPN history.
Hehir was born and bred in Boston and went on to graduate from Williams College. For more than a decade he has been making award-winning television and documentary films, Hehir’s documentary Andre The Giant was the most-watched film in HBO Sports history and delves into the wrestling legend’s career as well as the personal struggles he faced. Hehir has two well-known ESPN 30 For 30 documentaries, The ‘85 Bears, which was nominated for Outstanding Long-Form Documentary at the National Sports Emmys, and The Fab Five, which is among the highest-rated documentaries in the library. He also developed the HBO Sports’ acclaimed 24/7 series, producing and directing its first two installments–Mayweather/Hatton and De La Hoya/Mayweather. The latter installment earned one of six National Sports Emmys won by Hehir thus far, the others being for 30 For 30 (Outstanding Anthology), Inside The NFL (a two-time winner for Outstanding Studio Show), the 2000 Olympic Games and the 1999 Track & Field World Championships (each winning for Outstanding Live Event Turnaround).
“Jason is an extraordinary filmmaker with a true talent for storytelling,” said Blake Powell, global head of film at Stink. “His innate ability to illuminate the humanity behind iconic figures in history is powerful and profound.”
Stink founder Daniel Bergmann added, “We are excited to be associated with talent on Jason’s level and, working together, we are confident he will make a unique creative contribution to our industry.”
“I’m a huge fan of the directors and producers at Stink and I’m honored to be counted among them now,” said Hehir. “They’re ideal partners for me as I make my first foray into the advertising space. I’m very excited to begin this next chapter with such a talented and fun group of teammates.”
Hehir resides in New York City.
Review: Director Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice”
Decades before he hosted "The Apprentice," Donald Trump was … an apprentice.
His mentor: Roy Cohn, the ruthless attorney who was a prominent New York power broker in the '70s and '80s after famously serving as a top aide to Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
The Trump-Cohn connection is well known. But in "The Apprentice," his provocative if not quite shocking, entertaining if not quite illuminating, impeccably acted and inherently controversial film, Ali Abbasi takes it farther.
It's this relationship, posits the Danish Iranian director, that essentially made a young real estate heir — inexperienced but wildly ambitious — into the man who would become the 45th U.S. president, smashing the norms of American politics along the way.
Speaking of unlikely paths: The mere route of "The Apprentice" to the big screen is fodder for its own movie.
Written by Gabriel Sherman and starring an ingeniously cast trio of Sebastian Stan as Trump, Jeremy Strong as Cohn and Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump, the film failed to get picked up at Cannes in May. That was surely due at least in part to a cease and desist letter from Trump lawyers.
Trump's campaign spokesman called the movie "pure fiction" (the filmmakers call their script "fact-based"). One of the film's investors — Trump supporter Dan Snyder, former owner of the Washington Commanders — saw it and wanted out. It was only weeks ago that Briarcliff Entertainment announced it would open "The Apprentice" this Friday — less than four weeks before the U.S. election.
So, what kind of movie do we have here?
Contrary to some descriptions, Abbasi says his film isn't a biopic at all, but a look at a relationship — and at a system that's about winning at any cost.
He's also... Read More