Hoytyboy Pictures has signed director Eric Steinman for commercial representation in the US. Steinman, who was most recently with Crossroads, is a former agency creative out of Y&R and BBDO New York….Instant Karma Films, headed by president Craig Farkas, has added directors Ben Hartenstein, Bo Krabbe and Simon Cracknell to its roster. All three will be available via Instant Karma in both the U.S. and Asia. In addition to its stateside quarters, Instant Karma maintains offices in China and Hong Kong. Hartenstein comes over from Humble, Krabbe was formerly with Holmes Defender of the Faith, and Cracknell gains his first U.S. representation via Instant Karma….Live-action director Henning Winkelmann has opened production house Plastic Poetry. His recent credits include a multi-spot campaign for Leapfrog airing in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia. Winkelmann is currently directing a March of Dimes campaign….Bret Stern Productions, a Norwalk, CT-based entertainment production company led by filmmaker Bret Stern, has acquired SoNo Studios, Southern Connecticut’s full-service state-of-the art sound stage and TV studio. The stage features full lighting grids, camera packages (RED, Sony XD, Canon, and others) and production offices. The stage is also home to a complete grip truck for location shoots, and its new post suites feature latest versions of Final Cut Pro, Adobe Creative Suite, Maya, Pro Tools, Lightwave and other must-have creative tools. Among the factors figuring in Stern’s decision to buy SoNo was his assessment that the facility was “an undervalued production resource, especially when you consider Connecticut’s generous 30 percent tax break for filmmakers.”…
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