Director Bucky Fukumoto has signed for exclusive representation for commercials and other forms of ad agency-created content with Rehab, the San Francisco-based production company headed by partner/executive producer Nathan Brown, partner/director Sean Leman and partner/director of production Vince Genovese.
Also checking into Rehab is producer Katie Mitchell who had been associate broadcast content producer at the San Francisco office of McCann Erickson where she worked with Genovese who served as head of production for McCann West prior to joining Rehab earlier this year.
Fukumoto is a Southern California native who brings to his work as a director a background in art direction and design for a host of hipster brands and luminaries that are big in the skateboarding culture, such as The Girl & Chocolate Skateboard Company. A graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, he worked with skater stars such as designer Andy Jenkins and director Spike Jonze, creating a wild range of skateboard graphics and print layouts and producing skate videos.
From graphic design he transitioned to motion graphics and began working for Fuel, Inc., the broadcast branding and design shop which eventually merged with Razorfish. While at Fuel he worked on broadcast promotion projects for such media brands as ESPN, MTV and Showtime. As an L.A.-based freelance designer and creative director, he’s worked with such shops as Logan and Brand New School on a variety of broadcast design and motion graphics projects for brands such as G4.
Fukumoto signed with The Directors Bureau in 2003, where he collaborated with the shop’s roster of directors in a range of design and art direction capacities, eventually teaming with former Girl staffer to form the directing collective known as AV Club. AV Club went on to direct numerous music videos for artists such as Audioslave. Working on his own as a director, Fukumoto has shot lifestyle and youth-oriented spots for brands such as HP, the fashion retailer H&M and the shoe company DVS, as well as both music videos and feature-length concert films for the UK pop star Morrissey.
“I like the fact that Rehab produces more than just traditional broadcast commercials, since that reflects the kind of work I most enjoy doing,” said Fukumoto about his new production home. “There’s an open nature to the projects they handle, with lots of room for experimentation, and that suits my talents as both a filmmaker and a designer.”
Fukumoto joins a Rehab directorial roster that includes Leman, Eric Noren and Michael Barnett.
As for producer Mitchell, during her McCann tenure she handled broadcast and web video content for such brands as Intel, HP and IHOP.
And on the sales front, Rehab has secured Michel Waxman and Marla Mossberg of Los Angeles-based indie firm MBW Represents to handle the West Coast and Texas.
Rehab has produced TV spots, web videos and other content for a range of brands that includes The Gap, LEGO, MINI, Levi’s, Adidas and LG.
DGA Feature Nominees: Audiard, Baker, Berger, Corbet and Mangold
The field of feature nominees for the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards spanning two categories is set. Nominated for the DGA honor for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 are: Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Sean Baker for Anora, Edward Berger for Conclave, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, and James Mangold for A Complete Unknown.
The DGA also revealed the nominees for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film. The first-time narrative feature directors are: Payal Kapadia for All We Imagine as Light, Megan Park for My Old Ass, RaMell Ross for Nickel Boys, Halfdan Ullman Tondel for Armand, and Sean Wang for Diddy.
“2024 has been a truly extraordinary year for storytelling--and today’s nominees have created audacious and unique films that expand the possibilities of cinematic excellence,” said DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter. “I am thrilled to congratulate all our nominated directors for their brilliant work, which is visionary, inspirational and speaks to the depth of the human experience. To be chosen by one’s peers is the true marker of outstanding directorial achievement and what makes these nominations so very special.”
The winners will be announced at the 77th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 8.
Here’s a fuller rundown of the nominees in both DGA Award categories:
THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 (in alphabetical order):
JACQUES AUDIARD
Emilia Pérez
(Netflix)
SEAN... Read More