Director Kim Gehrig, a noted agency creative at Mother who broke into the directorial/production house ranks via Academy Films, London, has joined London-based Somesuch & Co., which will handle her in the U.K. She will be represented internationally via Somesuch & Co’s close partnership with Caviar in Los Angeles, Belgium, Amsterdam and Paris. Among her directing credits is the Ikea “Always Find You in the Kitchen at Parties” spot. Gehrig earned inclusion into SHOOT’s 2009 New Directors Showcase….Feature director Edouardo Ponti has joined superstudio, Santa Monica, for spot representation. Ponti’s credits include his feature debut, Between Strangers starring Sophia Loren and Mira Sorvino, which premiered at the Venice and Toronto International Festivals. Last year, Ponti directed Away We Stay, the first in a series of branded short films for the W Hotel starring Helena Christensen and based on the iconic film Blow Up. Ponti was born into filmmaking, his parents being director Carlo Ponti and actress Loren….Ad agency Duncan/Channon, San Francisco, has brought Brian Bacino aboard as a creative director. He most recently headed up creative at Swirl Integrated Marketing and prior to that at Draftfcb in S.F. Over the years he has created campaigns for such clients as Levi’s 501s, Hilton Hotels, MTV, eBay, Fox Sports, Sega and the San Francisco Giants….Thornberg & Forester, N.Y., has hired Javier Gonzalez as head of production. He had previously been both a staff and freelance sr. producer at various design/VFX shops in N.Y. At Thornberg & Forester, Gonzalez will be production lead on a wide range of projects spanning such disciplines as VFX, animation, branding, design, live action directing, editing and digital media….
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