The growing trend toward creative boutique/post-house hybrids blazes a new trail with the recent launch of Goodpenny, NY, an artist-owned collective of talent ranging from editors, designers and composers to visual effects artists and content developers, all integrated into a unified brand. Their mission is to produce and deliver compelling content for all platforms along with an uncompromising full service client experience. This amalgam of wide-ranging, award-winning talent was the brainchild of editor Bruce Ashley, composer Andrew Hollander, and EP John Cline.
Together they have attracted an enviable roster of talent, including the newly signed Kate Owen, who has been one of the most sought-after and prolific editors in London for the past ten years and now moves to New York to join the Goodpenny team; and Jon Simon Smalheiser, a superb talent who ran his own edit shops and is an entrepreneur in his own right.
EP John Cline, a seasoned producer of hundreds of spots, comes to Goodpenny from Curious Pictures, where he headed production since 2008. Prior posts include EP at Nitro USA, Fallon New York, JWT and Optic Nerve. His projects have won multiple awards over the years, for clients as diverse as Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Virgin Mobile, Kellogg’s and Starbucks, whose “Glen” spot won Spot of the Year.
Goodpenny‘s stable of top-flight editors is led by Australian-born partner Bruce Ashley, one of the world’s premiere editors of music videos and video albums, for artists such as Bob Dylan, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen (nominated for a Grammy Award® for best long form video), and Santana. He’s edited many classic videos including Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy,” which won MTV’s ‘Video of the Year’, “Lust For Life” (Girls) and “The Weary Kind” (Academy Award® winner for best song from the film “Crazy Heart”). Ashley has cut concert films for David Bowie and U2, documentaries for Michael Moore and the Red Hot Organization, including “Red Hot and Cool,” along with hundreds of award-winning commercials for such brands as Guinness, Clinique the NBA, Foster’s Beer, AT&T, Miller, Verizon, Kohls, Avon and Tiffany & Co.
Led by Ashley, Hollander and Cline, the Goodpenny editorial team has attracted rising talents Pete Fritz, comedy editor; as well as Sarra Idris, a storyteller and VFX editor who is also a video artist and photographer, to compliment veterans Owen and Smalheiser.
Kate Owen, formally of Marshall Street, London, has cut spots for such brands as Levi’s, Chivas, Cannon and McDonald’s, to name a few. Her recent spot for Johnny Walker won top prizes at Cannes, BTAA, the One Show and the ANDYs.
Editor Jon Simon Smalheiser, one of the industry’s top editors and sound designers, sports a lengthy resume featuring music videos for REM, Neil Young, Rage Against The Machine and commercial spots for top directors such as Spike Lee, Michael Moore, Dayton & Faris and many more, and on spots including, Snapple, Gatorade, Visa, and Ikea.
Partnering with Ashley and heading Goodpenny‘s music department is the bicoastal Hollander, a highly regarded composer, songwriter and producer, known for his versatility and ability to move effortlessly from lush orchestral arrangements to old-school, organic pop songs. He’s scored numerous features, most notably Adrienne Shelly’s “Waitress,” which earned him inclusion in the Hollywood Reporter’s “Composers On The Verge of A-List” and landed him on the cover of Variety. He has worked with artists ranging from the legendary Yusef Lateef and David Johansen of New York Dolls, to critically acclaimed indie artists such as Your Vegas, White Rabbits and C. Gibbs. Most recently he completed scoring “A Child’s Garden of Poetry” for HBO, as well as “Meet Monica Velour” starring Kim Cattrall and “An Invisible Sign” starring Jessica Alba.
In addition to Hollander, Grammy and Emmy nominated composer and producer David Wolfert comes to Goodpenny with a body of work that spans over a thousand commercials, as well as broadcast, features and documentaries for ESPN, NBC and HBO among others. He has worked with luminaries including Whitney Houston, Elton John, Dusty Springfield and Johnny Cash, to name a few.
Complimenting the team is Ashley’s fellow Australian, Creative Director Rodd Chant, who serves as Chief Creative Officer of Parlor, a company working hand in hand with Goodpenny to attract direct to client relationships involving digital and other progressive forms of content creation. Chant brings twenty years of advertising, branding, production and entrepreneurial experience to Goodpenny. His background includes stints as EVP/ECD at Foot Cone and Belding, NY; ECD at Publicis, Singapore; BBDO, Singapore and McCann-Erickon, Sydney.
The depth of experience at Goodpenny is unusual, a testament to their mission to, “not fit into preconceived categories.” Goodpenny will soon be expanding further into Visual Effects, Digital and Sound. Says Cline, “With the market so rapidly evolving, Goodpenny is positioned to work within all mediums and offer a streamlined combination of specialized talent and technical prowess to a broad range of clients. Whether it’s an agency, production company, film studio, or working directly with brands, artists and filmmakers, we are first and foremost collaborators with the goal of producing creative and original work. That’s what we do and that’s why we’re here.”
