Director Steve Beck has come aboard bicoastal/international Believe Media. Most recently with bicoastal Reactor Films, Beck is best known for his effects-driven directorial work. Earlier this year, Beck helmed the feature film Ghost Ship, slated for theatrical release Oct. 25….Director Blair Hayes is set to join Area 51 Films, Santa Monica….Park Pictures, New York, has inked director Lara Shapiro for spots….Dan Bryant has been named COO/ executive producer of Backyard Productions, the Venice, Calif.-headquartered production house with an office in Chicago. His primary responsibilities are to grow and manage Backyard Productions and its existing divisions, including Transistor Studios and Backyard Entertainment, plus another new division to be announced shortly. He will be working in partnership with Backyard founders Blair Stribley and Roy Skillicorn….Studio V-12, Santa Monica, best known as a design/production company, has launched a commercial division, V12 Commercials. The new venture recently hired Bill Hewes to serve as executive producer and added director Linzi Knight, formerly repped by Reactor Films….. D’Arcy Masius Benton and Bowles will be absorbed by several agencies, including Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett USA, as part of a reorganization by Paris-headquartered Publicis, parent company to the ad shops….Mixer Jason Seidman has come aboard Photomag, New York….Joe Sweet, the copywriter who played a key role in the creation of "The Hire" series of Web-based short films for BMW, died Oct. 4 while attending a media trade show in Cannes. He was 43. Sweet’s contributions leading to the genesis of "The Hire" came while he was a group creative director at Fallon Minneapolis. He left that ad shop earlier this year, devoting himself to the making of his own movie. Sweet’s wife, Germaine, has set up a memorial fund. Contributions can be sent to the Joe Sweet Film Fund, 3820 Vincent Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. 55410…. Florida-based Flame artist/designer Bob Geuder died suddenly on October 4 while vacationing on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire. Geuder was slated to become creative director at MT-Miami—the postproduction division of BVI LLC, Coconut Grove, Fla., acquired through its merger with Manhattan Transfer-Miami (SHOOT 4/17, p. 1). Most recently, Geuder had worked as a Flame artist/designer with Coconut Grove-based Deep Blue Sea—a visual effects house under the aegis of BVI LLC….
Director Lucrecia Signs With PRETTYBIRD For Her 1st U.S. Representation
PRETTYBIRD, the production company helmed by Paul Hunter, Kerstin Emhoff, and Ali Brown, has added award-winning filmmaker Lucrecia to its roster for U.S. commercial and music video representation. This marks the director’s first representation in the U.S. market.
Lucrecia has been signed to PRETTYBIRD UK since 2021, soon after winning UKMVA’s Best Pop Newcomer award for her Tarantino-esque music video for rapper/singer-songwriter Ashnikko--which the director pitched, prepped, and shot in only four days. Since joining PRETTYBIRD UK, Lucrecia has quickly made a name for herself. Her striking narratives, combined with a hyper-real aesthetic and iconic world creation, have been the centerpieces of her filmmaking and photography.
Her work has gone viral on more than one occasion. Her commercial for bibigo, “Live Delicious,” was widely admired and even recreated on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel. She has won awards from Kinsale Shark, Creative Circle, and UKMVA, as well as recognition at the Cannes Lions Young Directors Awards and Ciclope Awards.
Candice Dragonas, VP, talent strategy/executive producer PRETTYBIRD US, said of Lucrecia, “She brings a uniquely stylish approach to storytelling with the perfect splash of humor and playfulness. I admire her extreme passion for her craft and the drive to create at the top of her game.”
In addition to Lucrecia’s cinematic visual aesthetic, she routinely engages in another unique form of self-expression: nail art. She has had everything from whipped cream and cherries to chrome flames adorning her nails.
At PRETTYBIRD, Lucrecia joins a roster of filmmakers including Academy Award-winning duo Daniels (Everything Everywhere All At Once), A.V. Rockwell (A Thousand... Read More