Camille Geier has joined Curious Pictures as senior VP/head of studio, a newly created position at the multi-platform production and entertainment company. Geier brings extensive experience in short and long-form fare to her new Manhattan roost, having served as executive producer of visual effects for such features as Ghost Town (directed by David Koepp) and the soon-to-be-released Adjustment Bureau (George Nolfi), and as visual effects producer on a slate of films that includes Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese), Bloodwork (Clint Eastwood), Deconstructing Harry (Woody Allen), and Starship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven).
On the ad front, Geier has had a hand in overseeing production for and producing assorted commercials. She comes over to Curious from Rhino-Gravity where she played an integral role in building its feature film VFX division while running the commercials operation. Her production acumen across different disciplines and genres dovetails nicely with a Curious mix of both original content and work for hire spanning features, TV shows, new media, commercials and gaming.
On the latter front, for example, Curious is active in game development and production, having worked on the noted interactive game Rockband (Beatles, Green Day, etc.), various iPhone apps and is now, according to managing partner Jan Korbelin, about to embark on a major deal to develop a game property for an undisclosed lifestyle brand.
Curious had been courting Geier for some time to take on a lead role in growing the studio’s capacity and creativity, in finding more ways to share resources to serve the different entertainment and advertising platforms, and in helping to further diversify business.
“A lot of our growth has organically developed,” related Korbelin who himself is a veteran feature film producer (an exec producer of the Oscar-winning Crash) and management executive. “For instance, we have a director on the commercial side [Rohitash Rao] who came up with an idea for a TV series, which we are helping to develop for one of the major networks. Our talent base is constantly generating new ideas for content.”
Prior to her tenure at Rhino, Geier spent seven years at Industrial Light+Magic (ILM), serving most notably as a senior producer where her exploits included not only the aforementioned Gangs of New York and Starship Troopers but also visual effects for select spots, including McDonald’s for DDB Chicago, via ILM’s now defunct commercial unit. Earlier she was a senior producer with the former (Colossal) Pictures, turning out commercials such as Coca-Cola’s “Games” via Creative Arts Agency (CAA), Beverly Hills, and a Nintendo campaign out of Leo Burnett Chicago.
Geier noted that (Colossal)–with its involvement in spots, TV series and long-form projects often blending live action, effects and varied forms of animation–parallels the diversity fostered by the Curious creative and business model. The major difference, she observed, is that in recent years, the digital and interactive component has come of age, giving Curious an even more expansive palette from which to shape content.
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