By BY ROBERT GOLDRICH
HOLLYWOOD-Shelly Townsend, former head of production at bicoastal RSA USA, will join bicoastal/international Propaganda Films as executive producer effective Jan. 18. Based out of Propaganda’s Hollywood quarters, she succeeds Andy Traines, who recently moved over to bicoastal Omaha Pictures (SHOOT, 12/11/98, p. 1).
Townsend has been a staffer at RSA USA for the past three and a half years. She came aboard the company as a production manager and was later promoted to head of production, a role in which she’s served for the past year. At press time, Townsend was wrapping up commitments at RSA. Her latest work there includes: Tom Dey-directed spots for MasterCard and USAir, both out of McCann-Erickson, New York; Marcus Nispel-helmed ads for Blockbuster Video via Doner, Southfield, Mich., and Burger King through Ammirati Puris Lintas, New York; and a David Dobkin-directed Twix commercial for DMB&B, St. Louis.
Townsend said she was drawn to Propaganda on several levels. She described her new roost as a magnet for "incredible creative talent," with a track record of excellent work. "The opportunity to take the next step in my career-advancing to executive producer-at such a company was simply too good to pass up." Townsend added that she also feels simpatico with Propaganda’s staffers, including head of commercial production Colin Hickson and exec. producer Roger Zorovich.
She credited Hickson with helping make Propaganda "more accessible and approachable" for clientele, citing his experience on both the agency and production house sides. (Prior to joining Propaganda last year, Hickson was head of production at London ad agency WCRS.) "Colin understands both halves of the business," related Townsend, "and he’s made Propaganda’s relationships with agencies and clients even stronger-that’s something I’m a great believer in, and it was a big reason behind my decision [to join the company]."
Townsend broke into the business in 1991 at now-defunct Harmony Pictures as an assistant to exec. producers Patricia Judice and Eric Scheffer. Townsend then was promoted to head of production at since-closed Velocity Film, a Harmony sister company, before joining RSA USA. Townsend said RSA USA was "a nurturing place where I learned a lot. … There just comes a time when you grow out of a position and you’re ready for the next challenge."
Hickson said the hiring of Townsend capped a long search. He cited her forward-thinking mindset, high energy level and extensive experience as fitting his profile for the position. Hickson noted that Propaganda’s commercial division remains in a growth mode and is currently in the process of securing additional directorial talent.
Juliette Welfling Takes On A Musical, A Crime Thriller, Comedy and Drama In “Emelia Pérez”
Editor Juliette Welfling has a track record of close-knit, heartfelt collaboration with writer-director Jacques Audiard, a four-time BAFTA Award nominee for Best Film not in the English Language--starting with The Beat That My Heart Skipped in 2006, then A Prophet in 2010, Rust and Bone in 2013, and Dheepan in 2017. He won for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and A Prophet.
Welfling cut three of those features: A Prophet, Rust and Bone, and Dheepan. And that shared filmography has since grown to most recently include Emelia Pérez, the Oscar buzz-worthy film from Netflix. Welfling herself is not stranger to Academy Award banter. In fact, she earned a Best Achievement in Film Editing Oscar nomination in 2008 for director Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Emelia Pérez is a hybrid musical/drama/thriller which introduces us to a talented but undervalued lawyer named Rita (portrayed by Zoe Saldana) who receives a lucrative offer out of the blue from a feared drug cartel boss who’s looking to retire from his sordid business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he’s always dreamt of being (Karla SofÃa Gascón in a dual role as Manitas Del Monte/Emilia Pérez). Rita helps pull this off, orchestrating the faked death of Del Monte who leaves behind a widow (Jessi, played by Selena Gomez) and kids. While living comfortably and contently in her/their new identity, Pérez misses the children. Pérez once again enlists Rita--this time to return to family life, reuniting with the kids by pretending to be their aunt, the sister of Del Monte. Now as an aunt, Pérez winds up adopting a more altruistic bent professionally,... Read More