Director Scott Weintrob has joined boutique Rakish for commercial representation.
Hailing from a background in long-form television, showrunning, and directing, Weintrob said he was drawn to Rakish and its managing director and co-founder, Preston Garrett. Weintrob said, “I’ve had the pleasure of having a radical and eclectic career so far. Working with celebrities like Rihanna, Emily Ratajkowski, Gigi Hadid, Cindy Crawford; insane cars, fashion and music videos; a gamut of genre work. As I lay the groundwork for the next steps in my commercial career, Preston and Rakish’s vision for the future of advertising and commitment to filmmaking is exactly what I want to be a part of.”
Weintrob’s most recent ad work comes from a collaboration with GTB for a campaign launch of the Ford Expedition. “Cars are definitely a happy place for me,” shared Weintrob. For the latest narrative spot, Weintrob crafted a beautiful and captivating journey with cinematic detail that connects the viewer to the character. Prior to joining Rakish, Weintrob had been repped by production house Merman in the advertising arena.
In the world of long-form, recent Weintrob credits include the Emmy Award-nominated Savage X Fenty for Amazon which he developed and directed in collaboration with Rihanna. “Working with Rihanna was one of the most creative development processes,” Weintrob recalls. “It wasn’t just a situation where she showed up for the shoot, it was hours of hammering out the angle.”
Story-first is how Weintrob approaches everything, especially with the documentary work he’s been collaborating on with Netflix and Apple. Additionally, Weintrob directed episodes for the critically acclaimed and Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series HOME, which showcases Weintrob’s strong connection to high-end documentary storytelling.
“Real stories tend to be more fascinating to me than fabricated ones,” elaborated Weintrob. “Truth is stranger than fiction. So when I do dig into narrative, I’m always mining for the story within the story at the core of the characters, the world.”
“Outside of loving Scott’s work and filmmaking sensibilities, I feel it in my gut and bones that his instincts as a series-minded storyteller are absolutely the inevitable future of commercials,” added Garrett. “I know I’m not throwing a lightning rod at anyone’s head when I say that. But when it comes to how Scott approaches a holistic view of storytelling, the lightning has certainly hit me between the eyes.”
Rakish co-founder and feature film director Marc Forster said, “It is impossible to deny the direction advertising is going in regards to the collision course of commercials and long-form content. Beyond Scott’s raw directorial talent, I consider his participation at Rakish more than directorial. He is a long-term visionary.”
“I’m energized to be a part of Rakish,” said Weintrob. “They are a company that other creatives talk about and admire. And Rakish has a very clear presentation as to what it stands for and what it does: making highly special, A++ work with a very select group.”
