Director Michael Wright has joined the roster at New York-based mixed media and animation production company Curious Pictures. Based in the U.K., Wright has been involved in television programming, TV commercials, short films and music videos for more than 20 years, first as a production designer, then as an commercial director for such companies as Aardman, Partizan (which continues to represent him in the U.K. and Paris) and Rhythm + Hues….Paul Abatemarco has joined bicoastal Stardust Studios as executive producer of its Santa Monica shop. He most recently served as VP and head of sales at Radium and prior to that as director of operations at Riot, Santa Monica….Director Scott McCullough, represented for commercials by STORY, Chicago and bicoastal, has completed his first feature film, 3 Days Gone. The thriller stars Michelle Stafford, a two-time Emmy winner for her role on The Young and the Restless, and Christopher Backus, who’s appeared on such shows as The O.C. and Will & Grace. Plans call for the film to hit the festival circuit as the producers seek a theatrical distributor….
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