Having held our SHOOT New Directors Showcase screening and panel discussion last week at the DGA Theater in New York, I’d like to briefly reflect on the event and its meaning for us.
Though SHOOT has been identifying, new, up-and-coming directorial talent for many years–on a weekly basis in terms of our news coverage, in the context of our Directors Series/Special Reports which perennially contain a feature on new directors, and in the scope of our weekly The Best Work You May Never See gallery–this is just the sixth year that SHOOT has held a formal event to showcase deserving, emerging directors.
And strange as it sounds, there’s a sense of mini-tradition that’s developed over those short six years in that we’ve seen a fair percentage of Showcase directors go on to great success. There have been many inspiring examples, perhaps most notably a year ago when David Gray, who at the time was with Hungry Man and is now at the recently formed Station, was nominated for the DGA Award as best commercial director of the year.
Just two years earlier, David Gray was included in SHOOT‘s 2005 New Directors Showcase.
Fast forward to today and, like Gray, we have a number of directors in this year’s Showcase who came from the ad agency creative side of the business, including: Ryan Ebner, now with HSI Productions, Harold Einstein of Station, and Brian Billow who recently joined Hungry Man from DDB Chicago.
But talented directors come from everywhere and anywhere. I was talking recently to Michael Sagol, executive producer of CaviarLA who told me how he “discovered” Keith Schofield who is in this year’s New Directors Showcase. (See this week’s Production Companies Series feature for the thoughts of Sagol and other production house executives on finding and developing directorial talent.)
Sagol first met Schofield due to pure serendipitous circumstance. It was back when Sagol was in the production services business sharing office space in Venice, Calif., with another company. The vault guy of that other shop was making some offbeat experimental music videos, some for his own amusement and bemusement.
Sagol saw something special in the work but had to wait ’til he got situated in a production company a year later to take a chance–and make a commitment–to this “vault guy,” Keith Schofield, whose work on this year’s Showcase reel is Jennie-O’s “Wrestling” out of BBDO Minneapolis. Originally a web viral piece, “Wrestling” generated such a buzz that BBDO took it to television.
It’s these kinds of “discoveries” and the career progression that has taken hold for many of our Showcase directors over the past six years that make our involvement in this event so gratifying–and at the same time they speak volumes about not only each Showcase director’s filmmaking talent but also his or her perseverance, which is evident in so many ways.
This year was the toughest yet for us to pare down the field of directors up for consideration into our final annual Showcase. Rest assured that we will keep tabs not only on our Showcase directors but the many deserving others who just missed the cut.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Reach Divorce Settlement After 8 Years
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, ending one of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history but not every legal issue between the two.
Jolie and Pitt signed off on a default declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, saying they have entered into a written agreement on their marital and property rights. The settlement was first reported by People magazine.
"More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt," Jolie's attorney, James Simon, said in a statement. "She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family. This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over."
The filing says they give up the right to any future spousal financial support, but gives no other details. A judge will need to sign off on the agreement. An email late Monday night to Pitt's attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered.
Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, were among Hollywood's most prominent pairings for 12 years, two of them as a married couple. The Oscar winners have six children together.
Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, after a private jet flight from Europe during which she said Pitt physically abused her and their children. The FBI and child services officials investigated Pitt's actions on the flight. Two months later, the FBI released a statement saying it would not investigate further, and the U.S. attorney did not bring charges.
A heavily redacted FBI report obtained by The Associated Press in 2022 said that an agent provided a probable cause... Read More