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.
Alec Baldwin Urges Judge To Stand By Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Case In “Rust” Shooting
Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Friday to stand by her decision to skuttle his trial and dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin halfway through a trial in July based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be revived once any appeals of the decision are exhausted.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently asked the judge to reconsider, arguing that there were insufficient facts and that Baldwin's due process rights had not been violated.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
The case-ending evidence was ammunition that was brought into the sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers alleged that they "buried" it and filed a successful motion to dismiss the case.
In her decision to dismiss the Baldwin case, Marlowe Sommer described "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct" by law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as false testimony about physical evidence by a witness during the trial.
Defense counsel says that prosecutors tried to establish a link... Read More