Director Warren Kushner, formerly of Santa Monica-based Reactor Films, has joined bicoastal/international Partizan….DDB Chicago has promoted David Rolfe from director of branded production to production director, content. The new title reflects Rolfe’s expanded purview overseeing all content produced by DDB’s broadcast production department. That mix of content has become more diverse, encompassing not only television spots but a recent TV show for OfficeMax, and content for Anheuser-Busch’s online video entertainment network which is scheduled to debut shortly after the Super Bowl in February ’07. In addition to taking a lead role in helping producers on content for every account, Rolfe will also explore and create new development opportunities to be done in concert with TribalDDB……Also upped at DDB Chicago have been creative directors Bill Cimino and Diane Ruggie, who have been named group creative directors. Cimino will lead the agency’s work on McDonald’s and assist on Capital One and OfficeMax. Ruggie will take the lead on the LensCrafters and Safeway accounts…….Executive producer Natalia Berry, formerly of Lucha Libre, has come aboard The Mission, the Venice, Calif.-based editorial house headed by owner Greg Laube. She is helping the shop to further branch out into the multicultural ad market……Bug Editorial has promoted New York producer Kim Nagel to executive producer of its Santa Monica office, which features editors Matt Silver and Kelly McClean….
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More