Director Rob Lieberman–who won the inaugural Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for commercials based on his work in 1979, and then went on to take the top DGA honor again as Best Commercial Director of 1995–has come aboard the roster of DNA, Hollywood, for spots. The move reunites Lieberman, a four-time DGA Award nominee, with DNA executive producer Patricia Judice. The two first collaborated years ago at the venerable Harmony Pictures where Lieberman was a founding partner.
Lieberman was formerly repped for commercials by production house Form, which closed when partners Jesse Dylan and Craig Rodgers went their separate ways. (Director Dylan has since launched Wondros while exec producer Rodgers joined GARTNER, SHOOTonline, 7/28). Among Lieberman’s latest ad endeavors is a Form-produced Oreo spot shot in Shanghai and featuring recently retired NBA star Yao Ming.
With a filmography spanning ads, TV and features, Lieberman has to his credit more than 1,000 commercials for clients such as AT&T, Budweiser, Burger King, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Merrill Lynch, Hallmark and Sprint. Over the years, Lieberman’s spots have garnered assorted kudos, including Gold and Silver Lions at Cannes, multiple ANDYs and Addys, and 29 Clio Awards. He also helmed Hallmark’s “Working Mom” for Leo Burnett, Chicago, which earned a primetime commercial Emmy nomination.
On the feature film front, Lieberman has directed D3: The Mighty Ducks, Fire in the Sky, All I Want For Christmas, The Tortured, and The Stranger. He made his feature directorial debut with Table For Five starring Jon Voight who at the time was fresh off of winning the Best Actor Oscar for Coming Home. Lieberman’s newest feature, Breakaway, will be a Special Presentation at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. A cross-cultural story marked by humor, Breakaway centers on a young Sikh-Canadian man who aspires to hockey stardom but first has to overcome several daunting challenges to realize his dream.
Lieberman began directing TV in the early 1980s and has to his credit work for such series as Dexter, Brothers & Sisters, Eureka, Shark, Haven, Lost Girl, The X-files, thirtysomething, Gabriel’s Fire (which he guided as exec producer to garnering three Emmys), Harts of the West, The Young Riders, and Strong Medicine. Lieberman’s longer form TV endeavors include the telefilm Will: The Autobiography of G. Gordon Liddy, the CBS miniseries Titanic, the TNT movie Second String and a pair of SyFy miniseries–Earthsea and The Final Days of Planet Earth. He directed the pilot and served as exec producer of USA Network’s The Dead Zone, helming many of its episodes during that series’ seven-year run. Of the 19 pilots Lieberman has directed, 16 have sold through to series, an atypically high success rate.
Here’s the trailer for his feature film Breakaway:
Curatorial Committee Roster Is Set For The 2025 AICP Post Awards
The AICP has set the full roster for the Curatorial Committee for the 2025 AICP Post Awards. The group, representing experts from the full gamut of postproduction crafts as well as from the agency and brand ranks, will meet this spring under the leadership of AICP Post Awards chairperson James Razzall, U.S. president of advertising, Framestore.
The extended entry deadline for the full suite of AICP Awards--which includes The AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial, and the AICP Next Awards--is Wednesday, March 5. Full entry details can be found here. The results of each show will debut during AICP Week in New York this June, and be featured at a gala celebration at The Museum of Modern Art.
One of Razzall’s key responsibilities as chair is to form the AICP Post Awards Curatorial Committee, which will determine the selection of the final winners and choose the Post Awards Best of Show from among the category winners. “I was looking for the best people at the top level in all their respective crafts,” explained Razzall. “We aimed to be as diverse and geographically as broad as possible. And we looked for cross-discipline opinions. We strove for a mix of people, including those who curate the work, not just our peers in post but also the best people we have worked with on the brand and agency side.
“Across the board, we were looking for people with a strong voice,” Razzall continued. “Our goal is to have a proper conversation, so we can filter through to make sure the best work is being recognized. When you consider the amount of effort that’s gone into these entries and the level of craft that they exhibit, we owe them that respect and honor of judging the work... Read More