By MILLIE TAKAKI
Tracy Hauser is exiting her post as executive producer at Culver City-based Pavlov Productions, the commercial division of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). She will be succeeded by Paul Kawasaki, Pavlovs head of production. At press time, Hauser and Kawasaki were working together to ensure what the latter described as a smooth transition.
The reason behind Hausers departure is not publicly known. She was unavailable for comment at press time. In a released statement, Hauser-who helped launch Sonys spot operation in 1996-said, Its been great to work with the talent at Pavlov Productions, for whom I have tremendous respect. Having developed the company to its current level and recognizing what my goals and visions are, I felt it was time to move on, and Im looking forward to the next chapter in my commercial production career.
Ken Williams, president of SPEs Digital Studio division, credited Hauser with helping Sony establish a strong presence in the commercial arena. Before opening Pavlov under the auspices of SPE, Hauser was a visual effects manager on the blockbuster hit Total Recall and head of spot production at now defunct Boss Film Studios from 1992 to 95.
Hauser now hands over the Pavlov reins to Kawasaki, whos well-versed in the operation and is no stranger to being promoted at the company. He was upped from staff producer to head of production last March, and his responsibilities have included staff supervision and oversight of a broad range of commercial projects from bidding through delivery.
Prior to Pavlov, Kawasaki worked freelance from 1993 to 95, producing commercials for numerous Southern California production houses, including bicoastal Bedford Falls Santa Monica office and the aforementioned Boss Film.
Pavlov produces live action, visual effects and combo spots, and it maintains an affiliation with Sony Pictures Imageworks, Culver City, an effects studio. Pavlovs commercial directorial roster consists of Sergio Amon, Barnaby Jackson, John Lindauer, Marty Weiss and Rupert Wainwright. The company is repped by Los Angeles-based Ron Blair Represents on the West Coast, Chicago-based Bill Rabin & Associates in the Midwest and Nancy Workmans New York-based Workman on the East Coast.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More