Director Joe Murray has come aboard the roster of Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios. He was most recently handled by Boxer Films for commercials.
In that he is adept at live action and effects–and in meshing the two disciplines without losing the human element in his storytelling–Murray dovetails nicely with R+H, a digital studio encompassing live-action and animation directors, visual effects, design and postproduction services.
On the ad front, Murray has directed beauty, sports, and music talent including Jane Seymour, Cindy Crawford, Greg Norman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Richard Petty, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, and Randy Travis, while his client list spans Acura, Budweiser, Calloway Golf, Ford, Gatorade, General Motors, General Mills, MacGregor Sports, Lexus, Polaris, and Procter & Gamble. He has also diversified into long-form with projects for Warner Bros., Lucasfilm and HBO over the years.
Murray said he was attracted to R+H’s creative talent, technical resources and expertise, and track record for problem solving and collaboration. But he cited as a prime draw R+H’s penchant for human-based storytelling.
“My point of view, no matter the project, has always been to emphasize the humanity and emotion and story elements in front of the lens,” related Murray. “In the past few years, we’ve experienced a highly accelerated evolvement in all of the technology we utilize to tell our stories from the point where the back of that lens ends; from the camera body all the way through the postproduction and delivery process. When Paul [Babb, R+H’s exec producer] called and offered me the opportunity to work with him and the many talented people at Rhythm and Hues I couldn’t resist as they have been at the forefront of this revolution without losing sight of the human story and the emotions and responsive chord we speak to in creating our images.”
Recent commercial projects at R+H include Activision, Budweiser, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, Crayola, Electronic Arts, Hartford, Kellogg’s, Mattel, Microsoft X-Box, Miller Beer, Nasonex, Quaker State, Tide, and Ubisoft. Film Division credits include an Oscar® for Achievement in Visual Effects for Golden Compass in 2008. Recently produced theatrical movie projects include Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and The Wolfman. Films currently in production include The A Team, The Cabin In The Woods, Little Fockers, Marmaduke, and Yogi Bear.
Snubs and Surprises In Oscar NominationsÂ
In one of the more wide-open Oscar fields in recent history, there were plenty of nominations surprises Thursday. Not too long ago, it seemed that people like Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman were destined for best actress nominations, while general audience disinterest in the young Donald Trump movie "The Apprentice" might have indicated its awards chances were dead on arrival. But the members of the film academy had something different in mind. Here are some of the biggest snubs and surprises from the 97th Oscar nominations. SURPRISE: Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice" The young Trump movie "The Apprentice" has been one of the bigger awards season question marks, especially after it failed to resonate with moviegoers in theaters. And yet both Jeremy Strong, for his portrayal for Trump lawyer Roy Cohn, and Sebastian Stan (who was also in the conversation for "A Different Man" ), for playing the future two-time president, made it in. Only Strong got nominated by the Screen Actors Guild. SNUB: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, "Hard Truths" This will forever be one of the more confounding awards season oversights. Marianne Jean-Baptiste delivered one of the all-time great performances in Mike Leigh's "Hard Truths," as the perpetually aggrieved and sharp-tongued London woman Pansy. The general thinking is that it was either going to be Jean-Baptiste or Fernanda Torres, and Torres got in for the equally beloved "I'm Still Here." SNUB: Pamela Anderson, "The Last Showgirl" This is perhaps up for debate, but there was certainly a lot of goodwill behind Anderson's movie-star turn in Gia Coppola's "The Last Showgirl," especially considering her SAG nomination. But like with Jennifer Lopez and... Read More