COMPANY, headed by executive producers Robin Benson and Richard Goldstein, has signed director Michael Shapiro for commercial representation. Shapiro’s storytelling has recently been highlighted in work for GAP, Goodyear, SIRIUS, JCPenney and Bank Of America….Venice, Calif.-based branded and immersive storytelling studio OffAbbot has been launched. The new venture is led by executive producers Justin Towery and Scott Flor, with Adam Cohen named to serve as head of VR production. OffAbbot opens with a directorial lineup which includes Brendan Beachman, Julian Whatley, Jason Z. Wong, Ryan Pesecky, Andrea Ball, Matt Celia, Ryan Turner and Sabyn Mayfield. Celia recently wrapped a couple of projects for OffAbbot, including Paranormal Activity Seance, a 360 VR narrative horror story created as a co-branded production for gaming network IGN.com and for the on demand/digital HD release of the latest feature in the horror series Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension….San Francisco-headquartered Wikia, which recently launched entertainment website Fandom, has now opened an office in Santa Monica, Calif., featuring a video production facility. Anthony Cava heads up the new content studio and will serve as head of video. Eric Moro, who currently serves as VP of content for Wikia, will be based in the new office and spearhead all editorial content. Before joining Wikia, Moro was the editor in chief of the movies, TV, Blu-ray and DVD channels for entertainment website IGN.com. Moro said that the Southern California office enables Wikia to be closer to leading entertainment industry entities, opening up opportunities to partner with them….
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More