Scott Friske has rejoined Hue&Cry as executive producer in Richmond. Friske was previously EP at SHIPPING + HANDLING in Los Angeles. In his new position, he reunites with Hue&Cry founder and executive creative director Magnus Hierta in maintaining the company’s culture of creativity and will assume responsibility for ensuring financial growth. He’ll lead on sales, recruiting, and general business management, while championing the studio’s roster of talented artists on their creative output. Hue&Cry is known for its animation and design work on campaigns for agencies like The Martin Agency, FCB, and Ogilvy, network properties including NatGeo and MSNBC, and brands like Oreo, Capital One, Discover, and Chevrolet.
Friske makes the move to Richmond from Los Angeles after spending nearly five years on editorial house Spot Welders’ creative campus running the company’s VFX/design/animation division. During his tenure at SHIPPING + HANDLING, he worked on delivering notable projects for brands such as Beats by Dre, Google, Comcast/Xfinity, Oakley, Pandora, and Fox Sports, award-winning artists like Justin Timberlake and Billie Eilish, and directors including Paul Hunter, Craig Gillespie, Leigh Powis, and Paul Briganti.
A seasoned creative and advertising industry executive of 25 years, Friske also worked with Steve Humble to open The Martin Agency’s in-house editorial, animation, and social content unit Running With Scissors in 2009, helping to expand the agency’s capabilities across all creative production and post services. Ultimately, it was the catalyst that led to starting Hue&Cry with Hierta in 2013. Friske and Hierta united upon the recommendation by a mutual friend when Friske was on the hunt for a CD to start an animation studio.
Prior, Friske also spent two years at Rock Paper Scissors producing for Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter, who teamed on two Best Editing Oscars for the David Fincher-directed The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Upcoming, Hue&Cry is currently working on projects for the VA Lottery, Epidiolex and MSNBC. In 2019, Hue&Cry released its first film, Into the Flame, an animated short that’s currently making the festival rounds and receiving acclaim, including becoming a Vimeo Staff Pick.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More