The directorial team Who?–a.k.a. Liam Kan and Grant Hodgson–have returned to greatguns: usa for stateside representation. The duo had left the shop in 2004 to join bicoastal Go Film but now have come back to greatguns: usa, giving them continuity on both sides of the Atlantic as they remain at greatguns’ London shop for European work….The veteran animation directing team Handcranked–a.k.a. Bryan Papciak and Jeffrey Sias–has joined Global Mechanic, Vancouver, B.C., and Boston, for commercial production worldwide….Digital studio Radium, with shops in San Francisco, Santa Monica and Dallas, has added effects artist and supervisor Marcus Stokes as creative director, promoted CG supervisor Dariush Derakhshani to creative director,and added 3D expert Hatem Ben Abdallah as creative director, and the design team of Tom Bonauro and Ken Woodard. The three creative directors will work out of the Santa Monica studio while the design duo will be based in San Francisco…
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More