Creative studio and production company SixTwentySix has signed Iranian-American director Arrad for exclusive representation spanning commercials and music videos.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Arrad has been professionally directing and producing videos since the age of 17 for stars including Tyga, Nicki Minaj, Anitta, Missy Elliott, The Kid LAROI, Jhene Aiko, Latto, Marshmello, Lil Wayne, and J Balvin. Arrad is a two-time back-to-back VMA nominee for “Best Hip-Hop” video for Polo G’s “Rapstar” and Latto’s “Big Energy,” as well as garnering a win for GRM Daily’s Video of the Year for Aitch x AJ Tracey’s “Rain.”
Captivating and bold in the way he shapes a project’s narrative or storyline, Arrad–who had most recently been with Riveting Entertainment–has amassed a standout body of work that encapsulates and exhibits an extremely photographic, editorial style. Arrad prioritizes making sure the talent he works with feels good about themselves and the way they look. Ensuring every bit of detail is fastidiously arranged towards how their appearance on camera is enriched helps yield the vibrant, alluring brand of work he produces.
“Off the bat, SixTwentySix felt right because their goals are very aligned with my own, and we all have our fingers on the pulse of today’s zeitgeist,” said Arrad. “They remind me of myself–determined, relentless, and yearning to be the best in our field.”
Jake Krask, SixTwentySix partner and managing director, said, “Arrad brings high concept, highly technical creativity that allows a breath of fresh air to every project.”
“You cannot miss his polished cinematic style and extravagant production design,” added Austin Barbera, SixTwentySix partner and executive producer. “As we continue to grow as a creative studio, Arrad felt like an essential and natural addition to the roster.”
One of Arrad’s personal projects currently in postproduction is a powerful visual about the ongoing women’s freedom rights and humanitarian crisis in Iran. The short film, featuring an original piece of spoken word written by Arrad himself, is in response to the protests currently occurring sparked by the tragic and unspeakable death of 22-year old Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, after the country’s morality police arrested her for not wearing the hijab properly. Arrad’s piece will feature a full female cast and notable Iranian talents, shining a more intense light on the present injustice happening to Iranian women every day of their lives and the indescribable brutality they are presently facing from government authorities. In 2023, Arrad will also have a major project debuting for a leading OTT network platform.
Carrie Coon Relishes Being Part Of An Ensemble–From “The Gilded Age” To “His Three Daughters”
It can be hard to catch Carrie Coon on her own.
She is far more likely to be found in the thick of an ensemble. That could be on TV, in "The Gilded Age," for which she was just Emmy nominated, or in the upcoming season of "The White Lotus," which she recently shot in Thailand. Or it could be in films, most relevantly, Azazel Jacobs' new drama, "His Three Daughters," in which Coon stars alongside Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as sisters caring for their dying father.
But on a recent, bright late-summer morning, Coon is sitting on a bench in the bucolic northeast Westchester town of Pound Ridge. A few years back, she and her husband, the playwright Tracy Letts, moved near here with their two young children, drawn by the long rows of stone walls and a particularly good BLT from a nearby cafe that Letts, after biting into, declared must be within 15 miles of where they lived.
In a few days, they would both fly to Los Angeles for the Emmys (Letts was nominated for his performance in "Winning Time" ). But Coon, 43, was then largely enmeshed in the day-to-day life of raising a family, along with their nightly movie viewings, which Letts pulls from his extensive DVD collection. The previous night's choice: "Once Around," with Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfus.
Coon met Letts during her breakthrough performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" on Broadway in 2012. She played the heavy-drinking housewife Honey. It was the first role that Coon read and knew, viscerally, she had to play. Immediately after saying this, Coon sighs.
"It sounds like something some diva would say in a movie from the '50s," Coon says. "I just walked around in my apartment in my slip and I had pearls and a little brandy. I made a grocery list and I just did... Read More