Coverage ranges from a Best Director film fest honor for a SHOOT New Directors Showcase alum to a rundown of AICE Award winners, the directing debut of editor Rachael Waxler, and a Webby Award win for a Vogue film from director/writer Vincent Peone
By A SHOOT Staff Report
LOS ANGELES & WESTPORT, CT --The most engaging publicity news releases on the SHOOT Publicity Wire (SPW) in 2018 range from news about a SHOOT New Directors Showcase alum winning a Best Director Award on the festival circuit to the directorial debut of an editor from post house Union, coverage of the 2018 AICE Award winners, a Webby Award win for a Vogue short film starring Meryl Streep and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and the world premiere of a romantic comedy at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Topping the SPW rundown this year was a story about Romina Schwedler winning the Millie Award for Best Director at the Milledgeville + Eatonton Film Festival for her short film “The Visit.” Schwedler, who earned inclusion into SHOOT’s 2014 New Directors Showcase, helmed the short which starred Sean Maher and June Squibb.
Finishing second in number of views was a piece on "Miss Snake Charmer," the directorial debut of Rachael Waxler, an editor at bicoastal Union Editorial. The feature documentary, which Waxler also edited–and-co-directed with EmaLee Arroyo–generated initial interest with a trailer released ahead of the film festival season.
Taking third place in the SPW views tally was work by another Union editor, Marco Perez. On the strength of the Barney Cokeliss-directed short "Night Dancing," Perez won the Best Editing Award at the 5th annual Utah Dance Film Festival, alongside Best Director for Cokeliss, and the Audience Award.
Finishing fourth in our rundown was an infusion of talent into Optimus–including editor/partner Angelo Valencia, editor Matt Glover, VFX supervisor Ryan Wood, sr. producer Joanna Woods and assistant editor Emily Hayes.
Earning the fifth place slot was coverage of Rodeo FX’s work on “The Greatest Showman,” the 20th Century Fox feature film centered on P.T. Barnum who's portrayed by Hugh Jackman. Rodeo FX created 85 VFX shots for the movie.
Settling into sixth place in number of SPW views was a rundown of 2018 AICE Award winners. Topping the 17th annual competition–in its first year under the AICP banner–was editor Jim Haygood of Union who took Best in Show for Taco Bell’s “Web of Fries,” a parody movie trailer from ad agency Deutsch.
Next up in the SPW views derby was the promotion of Billy Montross to full fledged editor at Cutters. Montross gained valuable experience as an assistant to Cutters’ managing editor Grant Gustafson.
Taking eight place in the countdown was a rundown of shortlist entries for the AICE Awards. This marked the first time that the competition honoring excellence in postproduction had adopted a shortlist format for its category finalists.
Landing in the ninth slot was director Vincent Peone for winning a Webby Award on the strength of a short film for Vogue featuring Meryl Streep and Vogue editor-in chief Anna Wintour. The short captured their first meeting since Streep portrayed Wintour in “The Devil Wears Prada.” Vincent–who also wrote the Vogue short–had recently partnered with EP Geno Imbriale to launch L.A.-based production company ArtClass.
And rounding out SPW’s top ten for 2018 was news that the romantic comedy “Off The Menu” would make its world premiere at the 2018 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Executive produced and directed by Jay Silverman, “Off the Menu” stars Dania Ramirez, Santino Fontana, Makenzie Moss and Maria Conchita Alonso.
Here’s a rundown of the year’s 35 most viewed news releases on the SHOOT Publicity Wire (click title to read release):
The 35 most viewed news releases on the SHOOT Publicity Wire in 2018:
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More