Content production company Recommended has signed Jen Giles to handle Midwest representation. Recommended’s directorial roster includes Cynthia Wade, Woods, Scott Zabielski, Phil Abraham and Snorri Sturluson….kaboom productions, headed by exec producer Lauren Schwartz, has signed with B/Lush Creative, under the aegis of Deirdre Rymer, for exclusive West Coast representation….Commercial production veteran and former Superfad managing director Kevin Batten has launched Pop-Arts Management, a management and production-consulting firm which represents design, animation, production and VFX companies for commercials and content. Batten’s deep production experience at studios such as Digital Kitchen and Brand New School, and agencies including Deutsch and Wieden+Kennedy, enables Pop-Arts to package multi-disciplinary projects under one roof for clients. Pop-Arts currently reps Logan, Logan & Sons, Gentlemen Scholar and Great Guns….Curious Film, Australia/New Zealand, is diving into the North American market with the appointment of Chicago-based Chris Breneman as head of sales USA. Breneman is now the local US link to Curious’ directors and a team of Australasian producers with experience spanning 12 years in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Curious’ directors–Darryl Ward, Ash Bolland, Miki Magasiva. Regan Hall, Robin Walters, Sally Shapcott, Sam Kristofski, Stephen Kang, Summer Agnew, Tammy Davis and Zia Mandviwalla–are already well known in the US for campaigns like Old Navy and Air NZ….DP Phedon Papamichael, ASC (a Best Cinematography Oscar nominee for Nebraska), is now repped for commercials at UTA….
Review: Director Ben Taylor’s “Joy”
Toward the end of Netflix's "Joy," the muffled cry of a newborn baby prompts a man and woman in a hospital to embrace out of pure bliss. They aren't the parents, but they had as much to do with the birth as the mom and dad.
This charming and winning movie charts the decade-long true story of how the world's first IVF baby was born in England in 1978 โ a 5-pound, 12-ounce girl who paved the way for millions more. It's an upbeat, very English affair, mixing sober discussion of endometriosis with chocolate biscuits.
The couple embracing that day were pioneering scientist Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist. Together with surgeon Patrick Steptoe, the trio succeeded with in vitro fertilization, a method of treating infertility. Edwards would go on to win the Nobel Prize.
"Joy" has been birthed at a time when science is under threat in America โ even IVF โ so it's downright inspiring to see plucky, smart scientists working hard to change the world. "What we're doing, it matters," says Steptoe, played with quiet economy by Bill Nighy.
"Joy" is the personal stories of the three scientists โ mostly through the eyes of Purdy, a polite lab-coated warrior. "If I hear a commotion, I'm not very good at staying out of it," she says. Perfectly played by Thomasin McKenzie, Purdy is both vulnerable and strong, learning through the process to be a better human. James Norton plays Edwards with charm, self-doubt and calm spirit.
Jack Thorne's script nicely explains the massive pressure the trio faced. IVF may have become common and uncontroversial over the last decades, but back in the late '70s it was experimental and shunned. The Anglican church called it a sin, the newspapers labeled it Frankenstein-ish and other... Read More