Director Brandon Nicholas has landed his first official commercial representation, coming aboard the roster of L.A.-based multimedia production company More Media for spots and branded content in the U.S. market. He brings to his new roost experience as a feature filmmaker as well as an in-house director on the agency side.
On the longform front, his narrative career encompasses two features that have gained exposure on the festival circuit and received worldwide distribution. Desert Son is a gritty and fast-moving drama about teens roaming an unforgiving landscape in their struggle to survive. Nicholas’ second film Limbus came to him like a fever dream. Shot in Vermont, it’s a thought-provoking, cerebral exploration of life in a cult and the darkest memories that define a person.
Nicholas became increasingly attracted to the specific challenges of short-form media, which require a director to distill the essence of the message concisely and in an impactful way. As a result, he effortlessly transitioned into commercials and branded content, formerly serving as in-house director at The Woo, a creative agency based in Culver City. There Nicholas worked hand in hand with creatives at the agency from ideation to completion, bringing his artful touch to collaborations with brands such as Samsung, De’Longhi, Motorola, Bosch, Israeli Tourism, Intel, and more.
Nicholas’ spots for Lenovo, “The Groomer” and “The Idea,” showcase his intentionally designed worlds. Inventive and bold, he is known for taking the viewer through a story using fresh perspectives. Nicholas is always involved in the first pass of the design for set builds, working closely to enact his creative vision with the production designer. This meticulous eye for world-building has led him to win a Golden Telly and a Webby nomination for “The Groomer.”
Blaize Saunders, executive producer at More Media, said, “Brandon is a truly passionate creator of films and we’re looking forward to working with him in the next leg of his career. It’s important when passion and experience marry up in a director; the fact that Brandon has been in the agency world for the last seven years has given Brandon a great understanding of both sides of the commercial production coin.”
Nicholas shared, “I’ve always admired the More Media team and the caliber of content they produce, and when Blaize and I met up we instantly connected. I want to make things that are significant and have weight to them. I know with their support I’ll be able to achieve that goal.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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