Mutt Film has added director duo Mount Defiance to its roster for exclusive U.S. representation spanning commercials and brand opportunities. Mount Defiance had most recently been working freelance prior to connecting with Mutt Film.
Mount Defiance has written, directed, and collaborated on narrative and commercial projects worldwide and have worked in multiple capacities with major brands, studios and A-List talent. The duo has created content for Unity, Nike, MLS, Essentia, Puma, and recently worked with the Emmy-nominated actor Anthony Carrigan from HBO’s Barry on Hard Disk, a short film now being developed for series television.
The directors are at work on a number of scripts and larger projects including “The North American,” an expansive historical drama following the experience of photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis; “Heizer,” the true life story of pioneering land artist Michael Heizer; the volcano disaster thriller, “Lookout”; and “Decay,” a powerful story of urban houselessness in America.
The duo’s latest campaign for fintech giant Chime, titled “Whoa,” was recognized as a Webby Awards honoree for writing and directing. The national network spot has reached almost 4M views online and remains the brand’s most successful commercial campaign to date.
Beth George, EP at Mutt Film, said, “Mount Defiance is a perfect fit for Mutt because they embody literally everything we embrace as a company in their innovative and unique approach to creative solutions. Mutt by definition is a mixture of many things and we like to find creative solutions that are outside the norm.”
Shannon Lords-Houghton, EP at Mutt Film comments: “We feel Mount Defiance reflects our growth in that they are capable of taking a project from conception to delivery. We feel that’s a great option to offer both agencies and clients. So many projects require cost and time efficiencies, this is an exciting thing to offer our clients.”
Mount Defiance shared in a joint statement, “With this momentum it’s a great time to partner with Mutt Film. They understand that our dynamic approach to production and unique experience in commercial entertainment sets us up to make some really badass new work.”
Nikki Baker Becomes CEO At Fallon
Fallon has appointed Nikki Baker as its new CEO. Baker, who joined the creative agency in 2018 and has served as co-chief creative officer with Leslie Shaffer since 2021, succeeds Rocky Novak, who has been in the role since 2019.
Baker’s promotion to CEO comes at a time of significant momentum for the agency, including six consecutive years of growth and award-winning work.
Baker’s recent career highlights include creatively leading the Walmart partnership with the Publicis Groupe team and spearheading innovative campaigns such as the award-winning “RomCommerce” 23-episodic series and the internet-breaking Mean Girls campaign, among hundreds of other campaigns together with the brand over the past few years. Together with Shaffer, Baker has also been instrumental in elevating Fallon’s creative output for longstanding clients like Arby’s, Mattress Firm, and Front Door/American Home Shield.
“I’ve always been an admirer of Fallon, even before I joined. The chance to lead the agency is an absolute honor. Fallon is a place like no other with amazing talent and a legacy of building big, innovative, creative ideas,” said Baker. “Rocky has represented the best of Fallon. He’s been a great leader, and I couldn’t be more excited to take the reins and lead the agency through to the next chapter. With creativity at our core, we’re going to be as ambitious as ever, push boundaries, and continue embracing emerging platforms to deliver work that truly resonates in culture.”
Prior to joining Fallon six years ago, Baker held positions as creative director and art director at agencies including DDB and GSD&M, working with major brands such as McDonald’s, Southwest Airlines, and Wrigley. Her work has been recognized by... Read More