Republic Editorial has added editor Jaime Valdueza to its roster. Valdueza, who’s spent the last 16 years cutting films and commercials in Los Angeles, looks to help boost Dallas-based Republic Editorial further into the booming Latin market.
A native of Madrid, Valdueza got his start in the U.S. as the founder of Module Zero Media, a postproduction house in Venice, Calif., in 1998. Teaming up with agencies such as J. Walter Thompson and Campbell-Ewald, he received numerous awards at Cannes, San Sebastian and other shows in the U.S. and abroad.
After Module Zero Media, Valdueza took his talents to Lost Planet, where he worked under editor Hank Corwin. Valdueza has collaborated with directors such as Antony Hoffman, Andy Fogwill, Rob Pritts and Alfredo de Villa, and was most recently represented by Cutters in Santa Monica.
In addition to his commercial work, Valdueza has features under his belt, including his most recent, Anna, the Studio Canal thriller produced by Jaume Collet Serra which was released this past June. Valdueza’s credits also include Fugly, a comedy written by and starring John Leguizamo, which was directed by Alfredo De Villa.
“What I love about Jaime is his wide range of scope as an editor,” said Republic Editorial’s partner/sr. editor Keith James. “He’s able to tell many types of narrative, from comedy to drama, in both long and short formats.”
Valdueza said he was drawn to Republic editorial “because they had such a great reputation in the Latino advertising community. Dallas is a hot bed for Latin work, and having a shop that’s intricately connected to the key players in town is exciting.”
Valdueza joins Republic Editorial’s team of editors which includes James, Chris Gipson, Keith James, Patrick Hammond and Andy McGee. Working with the company’s turn-key postproduction team of finishing, motion-graphics and visual effects artists, they’ve generated award-winning work in both general and Latin markets for such clients as McDonald’s, AT&T, Nissan, 7-Eleven and Charter Communications. Carrie Callaway is partner/managing director of Republic.
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