Bicoastal/international Station Film has signed director Gabriel Olson for U.S. representation. Olson’s work includes GM, Coke Zero, Nike, Toyota, Nokia, Babies R Us, Foster’s Beer and Best Buy. After graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Olson worked as creative assistant and protégé of Malcolm Venville before joining Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore, to write web content for Coke Zero. Both experiences furnished Olson with invaluable insight into the creative process before he transitioned into directing full time….Passion Pictures has signed Cannes Gold Lion-winning directors Musuta for representation worldwide. Musuta is a creative partnership comprising Jopsu Ramu and Timo Ramu who use their expertise in film, design and art direction to produce striking visual content across all media for international brands and advertising agencies. Based in and between Helsinki and Tokyo, Musuta sports credits that include idents for Finland’s Channel 4, Issey Miyake Perfumes, Nokia and Finnair….BRW USA, Los Angeles has signed Slovakian director Roman Valent for his first U.S. commercial representation. His work includes such brands as T-Mobile, Suzuki and Wüstenrot. Valent studied Visual Media in Vienna before beginning his career in the entertainment industry as a film editor. He next transitioned to an AD role, later taking the director’s seat in 2001 for international commercials, film and television projects. His first spot, which he wrote, directed and produced, was for Kawasaki in 2003. The project garnered over 13 international awards and nominations including a Cannes Shortlist, a Cresta Award and a Silver Award at the Golden Drum International Advertising Festival. In addition to working on over 150 international commercials, the Prague-based helmer has also directed numerous short films…Vic Palumbo, executive VP, director of integrated production at Deutsch LA has been named one of the agency’s partners. He has overseen commercially successful and critically acclaimed spots such as “The Force” and “The Bark Side” for Volkswagen and “Michael” for PlayStation. He has also led production on Deutsch LA’s growing digital activities. While leading both the content and digital production departments at Deutsch, his team produced the VW “Mini Darth” 2011 Super Bowl effort which has become the most watched automotive commercial of all time on YouTube, won a Gold Lion at Cannes and became one of the most awarded spots of the year. And VW’s “The Dog Strikes Back” and “The Bark Side” have been successes this year, and are currently nominated for the primetime commercial Emmy. Prior to Deutsch, Palumbo was the director of integrated production at Fallon, Minneapolis. His clients included BMW, Holiday Inn and Travelers. Before landing at Fallon, he produced campaigns for Nike during his six-year stay working at Wieden+Kennedy in Portland. Over the course of his career, his productions have earned seven Emmy nominations, including Nike’s “Move” directed by Jake Scott of RSA which won the Emmy in 2002….Christian Morrisey has joined Amber Music to head up A&R and promotions. In his new role, Morrisey will be looking for new unsigned acts to work on commercials. He will also be looking after ticket allocation to gigs and via the Amber blog keeping everyone up-to-date on what’s new and hot on the music scene. He brings experience and knowledge gained through his work at Rolling Stone magazine as well as Beggars Banquet Group, where he was involved in licensing….
Review: Writer-Director Mark Anthony Green’s “Opus”
In the new horror movie "Opus," we are introduced to Alfred Moretti, the biggest pop star of the '90s, with 38 No. 1 hits and albums as big as "Thriller," "Hotel California" and "Nebraska." If the name Alfred Moretti sounds more like a personal injury attorney from New Jersey, that's the first sign "Opus" is going to stumble.
John Malkovich leans into his regular off-kilter creepy to play the unlikely pop star at the center of this serious misfire by the A24 studio, a movie that also manages to pull "The Bear" star Ayo Edebiri back to earth. How both could be totally miscast will haunt your dreams.
Writer-director Mark Anthony Green has created a pretty good premise: A massive pop star who went quiet for the better part of three decades reemerges with a new album — his 18th studio LP, called "Caesar's Request" — and invites a select six people to come to his remote Western compound for an album listening weekend. It's like a golden ticket.
Edebiri's Ariel is a one of those invited. She's 27, a writer for a hip music magazine who has been treading water for three years. She's ambitious but has no edge. "Your problem is you're middle," she's told. Unfortunately, her magazine boss is also invited, which means she's just a note-taker. Edebiri's self-conscious, understated humor is wasted here.
It takes Ariel and the rest of the guests — an influencer, a paparazzo, a former journalist-nemesis and a TV personality played by Juliette Lewis, once again cast as the frisky sexpot — way too much time to realize that Moretti has created a cult in the desert. And they're murderous. This is Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" crossed with Mark Mylod's "The Menu."
It's always a mistake to get too close a look at the monster in a horror... Read More