Editor James Duffy has joined the roster of NO6. The New York-based Duffy will be available for projects out of both NO6's N.Y. and Los Angeles shops. He comes over after a recent stint at Bikini Edit. Earlier he was a partner in the former Mad River Post, where he worked for eight years. Duffy is currently directing and editing a short film for Peter Farrelly's untitled sketch comedy anthology. Duffy's segment, “Robin's Big Speed Date,” is based on a 2006 short he directed and cut called Robin's Big Date, which was featured at the Sundance Film Festival. The new version of his film features Justin Long, Jason Sudeikis, Uma Thurman, Kristen Bell and John Hodgeman….Minneapolis-based CRASH+SUES has added stop motion animator Cari Merryman to its collaborative team of animation, design, FX, color correction and editorial talent. Currently she is co-helming her first project as a full-time staffer at CRASH+SUES, a stop motion campaign for Ten Adams of Evansville, IN. Merryman received her BFA in Media Arts from Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2001, where she remained active in the media center and served as a stop motion animation Instructor for a semester. In 2006 Merryman relocated to the UK to earn her Masters Degree in Animation + Media Arts at the University of the West of England. After completing her MA, she co-animated a short public service announcement funded by “the Prince's Trust,” in Bristol, UK to raise awareness of the emotional effect bullying has on disabled youths. Merryman's animation work has been acknowledged as an official selection for various festivals including the Walker Art Center 'DIG.IT' digital film festival (2001), Moondance Film Festival/Boulder, Colorado (2002), and the New York International Independent Film + Vide Festival (2002) as well as being a Fearnet.com finalist (2008)….
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