Bicoastal Brand New School has hired Ned Brown as executive producer for its Santa Monica office. He will work closely with Brand New School founder/creative director Jonathan Notaro, creative director Jens Gehlhaar and New York exec producer Danny Rosenbloom.
Brown most recently served as an exec producer at Hello & Co, a bicoastal house spawned by the coming together of companies Rock Fight and HKM. He earlier was exec producer at Rock Fight and HKM. At Rock Fight he oversaw the production of hundreds of high profile ad campaigns, including the Orbit Gum launch, and work for Absolut Vodka, Pizza Hut, Infiniti, Lexus, Saturn and Toyota. Brown had a hand in starting Rock Fight which merged with HKM in ’08, and then the two companies joined to form Hello & Co.
Prior to Rock Fight, Brown was exec producer at The Directors Bureau in a close ongoing collaboration with directors Mike Mills and Roman Coppola. Brown helped evolve The Directors Bureau from music video production shop to a prolific commercial production house.
The talent of the Brand New School directing collective, which works in all fields of commercial art, attracted Brown to his new roost. “Our industry is in a state of flux, in ways that none of us at this point fully understand,” said Brown. “With Brand New School’s collection of talented and dynamic people, we are poised to excel in whatever new direction the business goes.”
A “Wicked” Welcome From The National Board of Review
Days after "Wicked" went home from the Golden Globes with a single award for box office achievement, the National Board of Review Awards held space for the smash hit musical, celebrating its cast and director in the New York group's annual gala Tuesday. The untelevised but starry NBR Awards were a chance for many of the nominees who didn't win Sunday to trot out their would-be acceptance speeches, including Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman. Accepting the award for best actress for her performance in the erotic thriller "Babygirl," Kidman celebrated by chugging a glass of milk, a nod to some of the film's kinky sex games. After finishing, Kidman triumphantly announced "Good girl!" and left the stage. It also was an opportunity for some jabs at the Globes. "Isn't this room just a little bit classier than the Beverly Hilton?" quipped presenter Christine Baranski, looking around the elegant marble-columned midtown venue, Cipriani's. Others were less impressed by the old-school New York vibe. "The bathroom attendant, that shouldn't exist anymore," Kieran Culkin said during a typically free-form acceptance speech for best supporting actor for his role in "A Real Pain." The night belonged to Jon M. Chu's "Wicked." The musical was the board's pick for best film, best director for Chu and a special award for the creative collaboration of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The two, in back-and-forth remarks, continued their mutual praise of each other. "Also you're welcome," added Grande. "I truly think you would have murdered anyone else." "Probably true," responded Erivo. Chu, who was introduced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, used the moment to reflect on his yearslong journey with "Wicked," which will be followed by an already-shot part two due out this... Read More