Steve MacDonald has exited the presidency of FilmL.A., Inc., the private, nonprofit economic development corporation that issues filming permits in much of Greater Los Angeles. He has taken on a new position with Strategic Development Solutions, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. A search committee has been charged with finding MacDonald’s replacement at FilmL.A.. Current FilmL.A. CFO Michael J. Bennett is serving as interim president. MacDonald had been at the helm of FilmL.A. since 2004….Directors Harvey Wang, formerly of bicoastal Celsius Films, and Kenan Moran, whose most recent spot roost was Curious Pictures, New York, have joined the roster of No Smoke, a banner launched in 2006 by Creative Film Management (CFM) International, New York….New York-based motion graphics and digital design studio Eyeball (previously known as EyeballNYC) has brought Jory Hull and Mike Sullo on board, respectively, as creative director and head of production. Hull formerly served as creative director at Digital Kitchen, while Sullo has been promoted from the senior producer capacity he served in for the past six months at Eyeball. Also joining Eyeball is director of business development and client management Townsend Belisle, formerly of Broadstreet. Eyeball has split the traditional exec producer role between Belisle and Sullo with the former handling sales, the latter production management….Minneapolis post/VFX boutique Volt Studios has hired Liz Matassa as executive producer. Her most recent stint as an executive producer was at inthegroovemusic, Minneapolis. Prior to that she worked on the agency side at Minneapolis shops Martin Williams, Carmichael Lynch and Fallon….
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 and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles.
Nakamura Whitehouse, 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