DNA had signed filmmaker Sanaa Hamri whose work spans features (Something New, Just Wright), TV (Glee, Shameless, Nashville, Desperate Housewives) commercials (Coors Light, Jenny Craig, AT&T) and music videos (for such performers as Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Rihanna Alcia Keys, Prince, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj). The Hamri-directed Minaj video “Super Bass” has been a viral sensation….
VFX studio Brewster Parsons has brought Jason Cohon on staff as sr. producer. Through his experiences as a hands-on producer for Asylum, Brand New School, Digital Domain, Mirada and SWAY Studio, he has produced groundbreaking live-action and VFX-intensive feature, television, commercial and experiential projects alongside leading industry innovators like directors Dante Ariola, Nicolai Fuglsig, Joseph Kosinski and Rupert Sanders. At Brewster Parsons, Cohon now joins CG/VFX supervisor TJ Burke, who has 24 feature film credits and has worked with Hydraulx and Industrial Light & Magic; VFX supervisor and lead Flame artist Louis Mackall, another former Hydraulx talent with credits spanning TV, film and music video projects; and VFX supervisor and lead Flame artist Andrew Eksner, another VFX talent previously with Digital Domain and Method. Over the past year, Brewster Parsons has opened a new finishing suite on its premises in Venice, Calif., and also forged strategic relationships with other leading facilities such as Ollin VFX in Mexico City, and Barcelona-based VFX shop Furia Digital. Over the past 18 months, both companies have contributed to Brewster Parsons projects for Royal Caribbean, and new opportunities are being explored….
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More