L.A.-based director Cassandra Brooksbank has joined Great Guns for global representation. Hailing from Nevada, Brooksbank grew up in the glitz of the world’s entertainment capital, Las Vegas, which helped her to carve out the iconic visual style of her work that she coined “extravagant pop.” A writer and director, Brooksbank started out her career working commercially with brands such as Porsche, Sony, Microsoft and Chevrolet. She has also written several feature films, a television pilot and has directed multiple music videos, such as Todrick Hall’s music video feature film Fobidden featuring RuPaul. Brooksbank’s work has received honors including a being two-time winner at the KRTV Film Festival, first place winner at My Hero Film Festival, a Platinum Ava Award winner, a Gold Marcom Award winner and a Telly Award winner….
LUMBERYARD Studios recently opened in Catskill, NY. The fully state of the art production studio north of New York City offers 12,000 square feet of combined production space. Set against Catskill’s unique backdrop with its metropolitan feel and picturesque beauty, the facility is the first of its kind in Greene County, committed to supporting artists while also helping revitalize Catskill and the greater Hudson Valley. Per New York State’s film tax credit program, LUMBERYARD can offer up to a 40% break on labor costs and up to 45% on postproduction expenditures. Led by executive and artistic director Adrienne Willis, LUMBERYARD has also built an all-female team for its board of directors and executive leadership team. LUMBERYARD has also put in place a business model designed to support the arts and community development, with components that include:
- LUMBERYARD is a non-profit organization that reinvests 100% of its proceeds to the community by funding the arts and local programming to help support artists’ creative process.
- LUMBERYARD hosts residencies for artists in partnership with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). This groundbreaking partnership marks BAM’s first collaboration with another performing arts organization and shows that LUMBERYARD’s work supports the entire performing art sector in NYC and across the country.
- LUMBERYARD operates two crucial programs for Greene County youth: Young Performers (an after-school program in which professional artists teach various types of performing arts classes to students who otherwise have had no arts education since 2008 budget cuts) and Junior Staffers (a program that allows local high school students and at-risk youth to earn a summer wage as ushers, box office assistants and to participate in modules on the business, creative and technical elements of production). LUMBERYARD also launched Fresh Start, a one-of-a-kind performing arts education program supporting teenagers who are incarcerated at the Hudson Correctional Facility….
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More