Bicoastal Union Editorial has expanded its long-form and feature film services with the addition of Noah Haeussner as head of entertainment development. Haeussner comes over from Level 1 Promotion, where he served as director of national promotions for film and TV.
An editorial shop with a roster experienced in commercials, music videos, features and trailers, Union diversifies and now becomes a full-service marketing and postproduction house in the feature arena. The company has been awarded its first project in this capacity, handling the entire marketing campaign for Obselidia, the feature debut from director Dianne Bell, which recently screened in competition at the Sundance Film Festival.
“This is a natural evolution for Union,” said Union partner/executive producer Michael Raimondi. “Many of the additions to our roster over the last couple of years have contributed to this moment.” Union partner/editor Sloane Klevin co-produced and edited the Oscar, Emmy, and Peabody Award-Winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, for example; editor Jinx Godfrey cut the Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire; and partner/editor Jim Haygood (Fight Club, Where the Wild Things Are) is currently editing the feature Tron. Union recently completed work on trailers for high profile TV projects like HBO’s Addiction and True Blood.
While at Level 1, Haeussner developed and managed a number of online and offline marketing initiatives for films such as Speed Racer, The Dark Knight (Harvey Dent campaign), Angels & Demons, and The Taking of Pelham 123. He previously headed up the film marketing department at StreetWise Concepts & Culture, a youth-oriented marketing firm, where he developed and executed national campaigns for Warner Bros.’ 300, I Am Legend, Get Smart, and Paramount Pictures’ Beowulf. Roles as marketing manager at National Lampoon and in public relations with Bender/Helper Impact working with such clients as 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. and MGM Home Entertainment, round out Haeussner’s professional experience.
Haeussner said that his background in marketing and brand integration, paired with Union’s experience in the advertising arena, makes Union’s entertainment division an ideal branding partner for studios. “My counterparts at the studios had been very interested in the notion of a one-stop shop for the marketing of their films,” Haeussner recalled. “There have tended to be a lot of middle men in this process, and we offer a streamlined vision and concept for feature marketing; we can edit your epk, do the print, create the online presence, handle offline marketing activities, and, of course, edit trailers and TV spots.”
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