Biscuit Filmworks, the Los Angeles shop founded a year ago by director Noam Murro and executive producer Shawn Lacy Tessaro, has entered into an affiliation with bicoastal Morton Jankel Zander. Per the association, Biscuit can remain a boutique operation while accessing and being able to offer major company resources via MJZ….Chuck Pfeifer, head of sales at New York-based Pfeifer Van Dusen, has amicably parted ways with director Bruce Van Dusen. The two had been partnered in the company since its inception nearly three years ago. Van Dusen is continuing to maintain Pfeifer Van Dusen, and will likely come up with a new moniker for the production house in the coming weeks. He has brought on Mark Kovacs as his executive producer, succeeding the recently retired Marty Gillen. The company’s sales team consists of East Coast sales director Steve Torrisi and independent reps Yvette Lubinsky on the West Coast and Tim Harwood in the Midwest….Director Larry Frey, formerly of bicoastal/international @radical.media, has come aboard bicoastal Villains. A noted former agency creative at such shops as Amsterdam-based 180, and prior to that Wieden+Kennedy’s Tokyo and Portland offices, Frey jumped over to the production house side to focus on his directorial career last year when he joined @radical.media….Director Lenny Bass has signed with bicoastal HSI Productions….Director Jean-Marc Piche, formerly of Conspiracy, bicoastal and Austin, Texas, has joined Blind Spot Media, Santa Monica….Bicoastal production shop Cohn+Company has signed the directing team the Poiraud Brothers—Thierry and Didier—for commercial representation….Director Scott Gillen, perhaps best known for his prowess in automotive advertising, has returned to Cognito Films, the Culver City, Calif.-based shop that was his first formal spot roost. Between his stays at Cognito, Gillen worked out of bicoastal Coppos Films and, more recently, Venice, Calif.-based Cucoloris….Director Eric Goldstein is moving his Minneapolis shop Giraffe Film Company to Chicago….Director Barry Kimm, best known as a documentary filmmaker, has joined Minneapolis-based Twist for national spot representation…. Animation director Mike Jones has retired, closing his long-running Minneapolis-based shop Mike Jones Film Corp. Jones will be moving to his native Australia in the middle of 2002….
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More