Filmmaker Andrew Batista has joined Strike Anywhere, marking his first signing in the U.S. He had previously been freelancing in the American ad market.
The Los Angeles-based Batista has already delivered three campaigns at his new roost: Square’s first Hispanic U.S. market broadcast campaign; Atlassian’s “Impossible Alone” campaign featuring sweeping visuals; and a reimagining of the U.S. Army’s legendary “Be All You Be” campaign.
Born in Miami and raised in Pittsburgh and Buenos Aires, Argentina, the world of film was a gateway into American culture for Batista. A childhood spent combing through the VHS library in the U.S. Embassy’s commissary cemented his obsession with the cinematic language of films and advertising. Batista’s body of work includes spots for Nike, Lyft, Audi, Ford, Meta, and Pfizer. He got his start directing short films, and documentaries, including the Vimeo Staff Pick Chasing The Wind, which chronicles the story of champion windsurfer Jasper Vesterstrom and his struggle with his father’s diagnosis of ALS.
Batista said, “As an artist, I seek to blend iconic visuals and powerful storytelling that leaves a lasting impression. What I like about Strike Anywhere is that at the heart of the company is a shared love of film. We all care deeply about our work, and I’m excited that they’ve brought me on board.”
Strike Anywhere’s managing director/EP Victoria Guenier is enthused over Batista coming aboard the company roster. She said, “Andrew creates beautiful imagery, and nothing will stop him from getting the shot.”
Carrie Coon Relishes Being Part Of An Ensemble–From “The Gilded Age” To “His Three Daughters”
It can be hard to catch Carrie Coon on her own.
She is far more likely to be found in the thick of an ensemble. That could be on TV, in "The Gilded Age," for which she was just Emmy nominated, or in the upcoming season of "The White Lotus," which she recently shot in Thailand. Or it could be in films, most relevantly, Azazel Jacobs' new drama, "His Three Daughters," in which Coon stars alongside Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as sisters caring for their dying father.
But on a recent, bright late-summer morning, Coon is sitting on a bench in the bucolic northeast Westchester town of Pound Ridge. A few years back, she and her husband, the playwright Tracy Letts, moved near here with their two young children, drawn by the long rows of stone walls and a particularly good BLT from a nearby cafe that Letts, after biting into, declared must be within 15 miles of where they lived.
In a few days, they would both fly to Los Angeles for the Emmys (Letts was nominated for his performance in "Winning Time" ). But Coon, 43, was then largely enmeshed in the day-to-day life of raising a family, along with their nightly movie viewings, which Letts pulls from his extensive DVD collection. The previous night's choice: "Once Around," with Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfus.
Coon met Letts during her breakthrough performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" on Broadway in 2012. She played the heavy-drinking housewife Honey. It was the first role that Coon read and knew, viscerally, she had to play. Immediately after saying this, Coon sighs.
"It sounds like something some diva would say in a movie from the '50s," Coon says. "I just walked around in my apartment in my slip and I had pearls and a little brandy. I made a grocery list and I just did... Read More