The directing duo known as Gentlemen–consisting of Brett Snider and Billy Federighi–has signed with Über Content, the Hollywood house headed by partners/executive producers Phyllis Koenig and Preston Lee, for exclusive U.S. spot representation. The up-and-coming directorial team made its initial mark in ad contests for Converse and Doritos, and have since graduated to earning assignments from Kellogg’s out of Leo Burnett, Chicago, and the Kentucky Lottery via Northlich, Cincinnati….Editor Joshua Teicher, formerly of Red Car, has joined earth2mars, New York….Santa Monica-based music company Emoto has forged a relationship with indie record label Kill Rock Stars to seek creative opportunities for a select group of their artists, including Thao Nguyen, Panther, Marnie Stern, and Jeff Hanson. The two companies have a track record together. Emoto and Howard Paar, head of its licensing division, have been working with the label for some time and have licensed artists for the Showtime series The L Word….
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