Suzanne Hargrove has come aboard PRETTYBIRD as an executive producer for traditional and new media projects. She was most recently EP at Bandito Brothers where she oversaw the commercial division and also produced longer format material that includes the Pennzoil-sponsored documentary “Breaking Barriers: Mankind’s Pursuit of Speed,” the TV doc “Shaun White: Russia Calling,” and web series work on “Mortal Kombat” and “Chop Shop.”
Hargrove also directed and co-produced with her partner Mary Ellen Duggan a short documentary titled “Olla Rae” which follows a woman who runs a soup kitchen in Louisiana.
Hargrove worked extensively as a producer before taking on EP duties. She said of her former roost, “Bandito Brothers will always hold a very special place in my heart because of the diversity of their work. I had opportunities there that I would never have had in most traditional production companies.
“There are only a handful of companies capable of doing what PRETTYBIRD does, and that’s what drew me here,” she continued. “I’ve known Kerstin [Emhoff Co-Founder/EP] for many years and look forward to working with her, Ali [Brown VP/EP] and the whole group.
Emhoff stated, “Suzanne and I have worked together for almost 17 years, and she has always been part of our family,” adds Kerstin Emhoff. “More importantly her creativity as a producer and experience in long format, action oriented and experiential work is really what I felt would be a big asset to us at this stage of our company’s growth. She also has strong relationships with many of our directors here, and we look forward to developing new talent with her.”
Hargrove arrives on the heels of PRETTYBIRD collecting a host of awards at D&AD 2015. Awards include Direction in Music Videos for DANIELS, Next Director Award for Vania Heymann, Graphic Design for Jesse Kanda, and Branded Film Content & Entertainment Award for Tim & Eric. PRETTYBIRD walked away from the D&AD with Bronze Prize honors for the year’s most awarded production company.
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More