Director Randy Hackett has joined bicoastal production house No Smoke. He comes over from The Joneses, his roost since late 2008. The move to No Smoke reunites the director with executive producer Andrew Swee; the two had worked together earlier at Open Frame Productions.
Known for story-driven comedy, Hackett has to his credit campaigns for such clients as Vonage, Volvo, Delta Airlines and Motel 6. He also has a track record of eliciting realistic and funny performances from celebs in projects for Major League Baseball, ESPN and ABC TV.
Hackett got his start as a copywriter. He later served as creative director at Neiman Group for four years and won numerous awards for his work, including Clios, One Show, New York Festivals, L.A. Art Director’s Club and ADDY honors. While there, he also began working behind the camera and developed his signature approach to humor.
Upon leaving the agency side of the business, Hackett turned to directing full time and established himself as a comic stylist and storyteller. In addition to his commercials, Hackett has helmed long-form integrated campaigns for Showtime and Microsoft as well as assorted network promos.
Hackett comes aboard a No Smoke directorial roster that includes Adam Jones, Lara Shapiro, Charlie Watson, Harve Wang, Jeth Weinrich, Josh Rothstein, Kenan Moran and Michael Graham.
As An Exec Producer and Actor, Sterling K. Brown Finds “Paradise”
As an executive producer and star of the new Hulu series "Paradise," Sterling K. Brown put the hours of TV he watches to good use and cast actors he admires.
"I got a chance to hire people that I am a fan of," said Brown in a recent interview. "I remember meeting Julianne Nicholson at the Emmys the year that she won for 'Mare of Easttown.' I was so geeked out that I got a chance to be in the same room with her ... Now I get to be on a show with her."
Brown is known for his role as Randall in the series "This Is Us," which ended in 2022. He was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in "American Fiction." In "Paradise," Brown is a Secret Service agent to James Marsden's president of the United States. A shocking murder is revealed shortly into the first episode which unspools a deeper mystery beyond just whodunit.
"When James became available, I was like, 'please.' I had just finished watching 'Jury Duty' and this dude is so funny." "Paradise," said Brown, is an opportunity for Marsden "to show something that a lot of people haven't had a chance to see him do."
Marsden says Brown is one of Hollywood's good guys.
"He's one of the most graceful, generous, good human beings that I've been fortunate to meet in this business. He's so humble and cares so much about not only his work, but the people around him. He wants everybody to be great. When I think of people I need to be more like, it's this man."
"Paradise" has themes of climate change, privilege and the pecking order of who in society gets saved during an emergency. There's a relevance to the series which Brown says is coincidental because Dan Fogelman — creator and writer of "This is Us" — conceived "Paradise" 10 years ago. It makes sense to him though why it... Read More