Chicago-based live-action commercial production company Strange Loop has added director Adam Moorman to its roster. A Chicago-native, Moorman has a body of work which includes such brands as Bose, Marriott and Walmart…..
Instant Karma Films has signed director ZoĆ© Fisher for U.S. representation spanning commercials, branded content and still photography. Born in Paris, Fisher recently moved her family to Brooklyn, having previously lived and worked in London where she made a name for herself as a photographer. Her work has appeared in publications such as Elle, Marie Claire and for global brands P&G, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson and Danone. Fisher’s spots and case study films for Milka garnered critical acclaim and numerous global awards including multiple Cannes Lions. She is also a go-to director for spots in the children’s market….
Filip Williander has joined The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va., as creative technology director. He comes over from BBDO New York where he worked on Bacardi, FedEx, AT&T, GE, and Lowes. Prior to that he founded a digital agency called Pretty Handsome Nerds. Williander’s expertise is a mash-up of creative thinker meets innovator who loves technology, a technological swiss-army knife who will partner closely with Martin’s creative and design teams….
Kansas City-based agency Barkley has expanded its leadership team with the promotion of veteran exec Jason Parks to chief growth officer. In his new role, Parks is now responsible for all aspects of the Barkley brand, including marketing and content development. Additionally, he is responsible for the company’s growth through new agency client relationships, plus the shop’s rapidly expanding project and consulting work. Parks formerly served as EVP/managing director of Barkley, which included new business responsibilities. He led Barkley in new business through its winning streak over the past six months, including Planet Fitness, Winnebago, Haribo, and Valent. Parks has been at Barkley for eight years…
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting ā quite literally ā into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat ā who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival ā has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive ā a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
The one rule to follow is that... Read More