LOS ANGELES —
Park Pictures has signed the directing team Samantha & Arturo–consisting of Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.–for commercial representation. Partners in life and directing, Jayne and Perez hail, respectively, from New Jersey and Mexico City. Their work is a blend of Jayne’s sharp comedic wit and Perez’s cinematic ingenuity.
Samantha & Arturo directed the 2024 movie musical adaptation of Tina Fey’s Mean Girls, which earned $104.4 million at the box office worldwide and was the number one movie in America on opening weekend. Their first collaboration, a narrative short Less Than One, quickly led to many more filmmaking ventures, including the series Quarter Life Poetry starring Jayne, based on a book she wrote of the same title that Grand Central published. The series premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with the episode “Damn I Love This Friday Night” winning for Best Music Video at The One Show in 2020. It is currently streaming on Hulu as part of the short-form comedy series Cake from FX.
Commercially, Samantha & Arturo helmed assorted campaigns for brands like Apple, Starbucks, and Mini Cooper, bringing their cinematic sensibilities and storytelling skills to the world of advertising. Prior to joining Park Pictures, Samantha & Arturo had most recently been repped in the spotmaking arena by We The People.
Perez won Best Pop Music Video at the International Music Video Awards for “What They’ll Say About Us” by FINNEAS. The film captures songs, poetry, and more from the Grammy-award-winning artist, inspired by the early stages of the global pandemic. Perez directed additional music videos through the French collective La Blogothèque for The Lumineers’ “Stubborn Love,” Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton’s “Say Something,” and the live-streamed concert from Paul McCartney’s “Grand Central Station,” which kicked off his world tour. This led to a continued partnership with McCartney, with Samantha & Arturo tapped to direct the larger movie encompassing this tour, Paul McCartney: Magic, which includes phone calls shared between the superstar and Perez.
In a joint statement, Jayne and Perez shared, “We have always admired the work coming out of Park Pictures and have always been huge fans of [filmmakers/cinematographers] Lance Acord and Chivo Lubezki. Come on! Being John Malkovich and “Misunderstood” for Apple on the one hand and a certified true Mexican hero on the other! We are thrilled and humbled to join the incredible roster of filmmakers at Park!”
Jackie Kelman Bisbee, founding partner at Park Pictures, added, “After first seeing Quarter Life Poetry, everyone at Park Pictures became enamored with Sam & Art. ‘Take a beat and circle back’ became our company motto for years. Their ability to thrive and be so well-versed in nearly every filmmaking medium comes from their innate curiosity and desire to learn and try something new. We’re excited to have them on board at Park Pictures. We can’t wait to see what they make next.”
Monday, August 12, 2024
McCann New York has made a series of key hires at its leading practices McCann Content Studios, Design and Production.
Joining McCann Content Studios are Ezequiel “Gori” Nastasi as head of creative & social, and Amanda Davis as head of content and social. Working alongside Monica Tailor, chief social marketing officer at McCann Content Studios, Gori and Davis will continue delivering social campaigns at scale and giving clients specialized services for the current creator economy. Most recently at GUT Buenos Aires as the head of digital and social, Gori brings more than 10 years of experience, having earned two Cannes Lions Grand Prix and Best Agency in the World. Before joining McCann, Davis led Social & Content at TBWA and Grey, helping earn recognition for their social & innovation work, including Cannes Lion wins in PR, Social, Influencer, and Gaming categories. Previously, she spent several years at VICE where she established their in-house agency, VIRTUE.
McCann Content Studios has continued to drive business globally, signing clients like Reckitt in the U.K. and TJ Maxx in the U.S.
Production
Strengthening McCann New York’s overarching production capability as chief production officer is Joe Calabrese who joins the agency’s executive leadership team. He will be responsible for spearheading innovative production solutions and transformation across all lines of business. Previously, Calabrese served as EVP, director of integrated production at Deutsch & Steelhead NY, where he oversaw a unified production engine across broadcast, innovation, experiential, social, digital, and print. McCann’s production department has been notably credited for award-winning work including Microsoft’s… Read More
