Bicoastal/international production house Moxie Pictures has signed the collective Superfad for live action representation. Superfad has directed live action and animated projects for Visa, NASCAR, HTC, Nike, Google, PSP, Sprint and Durex condoms.
For the latter, Superfad turned out one of the year’s most popular virals–“Get It On,” which earned distinction at Cannes, the D&AD competition and the AICP Show. Cannes also honored Superfad’s work for the ongoing integrated Sprint campaign out of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
Justin Leibow, partner/creative director at Superfad–which maintains its own shops in London, N.Y., L.A. and Seattle–has directed live action heavy projects for the GAP voter campaign and KMART/Protégé, He noted that Moxie–with its extensive production track record in breakthrough projects–would help place Superfad in contention for a wider range of ambitious live action work. “For us,” he related, “it’s about finding the right approach for the project. We love typography as much as live action directing–it is the idea that drives the execution. Moxie gets this.”
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More