Foundation, the production/post/creative house with offices in Chicago and Santa Monica, has secured Ellen Knable as West Coast rep.....
Foundation, the production/post/creative house with offices in Chicago and Santa Monica, has secured Ellen Knable as West Coast rep…..Digital production studio Speedshape–with offices in L.A., Detroit and London–has signed reps Elexis Stearn for the East Coast, Paula Arnett on the West Coast, and Denise Potts Mueller and Angela Sheridon of Potts Mueller in the Midwest….Maria V. Elgar of Hardtribe Creative Representation in Hollywood, has taken on repping duties for Sherpa Pictures, a Las Vegas-based house headed by EP Don Turley, who previously managed the production staff on all radio, TV and video projects at Vegas agency R&R Partners. Sherpa’s directorial roster includes Kevin T. Wilson, The Bodega Boys, and Jamal Dedeaux…..DP Magni Agustsson has signed with Dattner Dispoto and Associates (DDA), Hollywood. A prominent name in Swedish and British cinematography, Agustsson broke into the U.S. with his 2007 film The Last Winter. In ’04, Agustsson shot the Oscar-nominated short The Last Farm. He has also shot spots for such clients as Coke, Nintendo, Nike and Sony, and a number of music videos….
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