The creative team of Andy Hann and Andrew Kobliska has joined Click Entertainment, an entertainment and marketing division of Click 3X. Hann comes aboard as head of creative while Kobliska assumes the role of executive producer, marketing & brand strategy. The pair joins from Bigsmack where Hann was known for crafting promos for networks like A&E, National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel and OWN. Hann has tackled everything from directing, writing and art direction for TV, print, outdoor, digital, radio and product packaging. Hann was responsible for the launch of the GameShow Network and the FOX Family Channel. Kobliska has acumen in creative, production, marketing, advertising and brand management, and 20-plus years of experience under his belt. Kobliska has worked for agencies, high-end postproduction studios and startups, winning several awards along the way and even opened his own production company, Gravy….Directors Ivan Grbovic and Henry Moore Selder have joined Cap Gun Collective for U.S. representation. A native of Montreal, Grbovic saw his 2012 feature debut Romeo Eleven win awards at several international film festivals, and notably, nominations for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Editing in Canada’s prestigious Jutra Awards last year. The Olympic spots he directed for Rona in 2010 marked his first major successes in the commercial world, and since then, he has worked with many ad agencies and brands, including Bank of America and Harley Davidson, while also continuing to direct music videos and developing original feature films. Based in Stockholm, Selder was a key factor in the emergence of the StyleWar collective as a directorial ensemble. As part of that collective, he directed high-profile spots for the likes of Audi, Nike, Pepsi, Mastercard and Mercedes-Benz, shooting in remote and urban locations across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Scandinavia. After 10 years as part of StyleWar, he now returns to his roots as a solo director. His short films include the 30-minute sci-fi film entitled A Living Soul currently appearing on the international film festival circuit….Marisa Fiechter has joined Psyop’s NY office as executive producer. She had most recently been at MPC. Fiechter got her start at agency Hill Holliday before joining Trollback+Company in 2005. She later spent a year at Google Creative Lab prior to coming aboard MPC….Figliulo&Partners has hired Jon Randazzo as creative director. He is responsible for leading all of Figliulo&Partners’ creative activity for the Sprint business and is located in the agency’s New York office. Randazzo most recently worked as creative director for Goodby Silverstein and Partners. He has many accolades including Cannes Lions, Effies and The Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Award….
Review: Director Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece”
A movie documentary that uses only Lego pieces might seem an unconventional choice. When that documentary is about renowned musician-producer Pharrell Williams, it's actually sort of on-brand.
"Piece by Piece" is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it's a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it's a bit of both.
Director Morgan Neville — who has gotten more and more experimental exploring other celebrity lives like Fred Rogers in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?,""Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" and "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" — this time uses real interviews but masks them under little Lego figurines with animated faces. Call this one a documentary in a million pieces.
The filmmakers try to explain their device — "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning — but it's very tenuous. Just submit and enjoy the ride of a poor kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who rose to dominate music and become a creative director at Louis Vuitton.
Williams, by his own admission, is a little detached, a little odd. Music triggers colors in his brain — he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here — and it's his forward-looking musical brain that will make him a star, first as part of the producing team The Neptunes and then as an in-demand solo producer and songwriter.
There are highs and lows and then highs again. A verse Williams wrote for "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect when he was making a living selling beats would lead to superstars demanding to work with him and partner... Read More