We love winning.

It’s hard to get bids.

A lot of talent out there.

The buyers have lots of great choices.

Especially if a project has good creative, and a sufficient budget to do a proper job.

So this just happened. We lost a bid for a terrific job that we really wanted.

We (really more the EP and Director) fought so hard.

So that sucks.

So why am I celebrating? Because we fought so hard and – this is important – the agency Producer was totally fair and forthright throughout, so it was not a giant surprise when it finally played out, i.e., we knew there was an incumbent and he had an edge, etc.

I’m celebrating because our client fought like champions. So I can proudly sell them harder today. And thru our engagement with the Agency Producer we all got to know each other better. That’s a good thing. I know we made a great impression. And I’ll be unsurprised when – not if – he’s back with something else to talk about.

For once – haha – I mean it when I wish him well.

We live to fight another day. Hurrah.

Wade has won festival awards all over the world, including 2 awards at Sundance, 3 awards at Palm Springs, and prizes at Aspen to name a few, as well as film festival awards in Spain, Italy, Argentina and Belgium. She’s been making films and commercials for 20 years for clients such as HBO, Cinemax, IFC channel, and PBS; her corporate and nonprofit clients include Hershey’s, Sesame Street, the National Guard, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Boston Computer Museum.

Her Oscar-winning documentary “Freeheld” was included in more than 200 film festivals worldwide and was broadcast in 8 countries, including on HBO/Cinemax. Wade’s 2008 Oscar speech about the need for marriage equality was broadcast live to 35 million people, with millions more seeing the speech online the next day. On Oscar night 2008 “Freeheld” was the second most Googled term on the planet.

Prior to working in film full-time, Cynthia spent 8 years on the front lines of inner-city homeless shelters, developing and running programs for at-risk individuals and families in crisis, including those living with HIV. She graduated from Smith College with a BA as a Smith Scholar, holding a Masters degree from Stanford University in documentary filmmaking. She lives with her family, producer Matthew Syrett and daughters Hayley and Genevieve, in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

Some work:

Milton Hershey School “Living the Legacy”

The deeply moving story of the Milton Hershey School, funded by Hershey, told with an independent film’s power, integrity and lack of compromise. Broadcast on IFC and the Sundance Channel.

Phoenix Hospital
The very successful TV and web campaign from agency Wong, Doody, Crandall, Weiner, using vivid cinematic imagery and emotional interviews. Parents are asked directly to drive the extra mile to get their kids the best possible medical care

Born Sweet
Despite being only fifteen years old, Vinh Voeurn has accepted his destiny – to be sick for the rest of life with incurable arsenic poisoning. He spends his days in his remote Cambodian village tending the cows and escaping into song with his family’s car battery-powered karaoke machine. He worries he will never marry and live the life he wants for himself because his body is terribly scarred by illness and there is a good chance the arsenic will soon take his life like the girl who once lived across the road. A chance to be in a karaoke video about the dangers of arsenic allows Vinh to wonder if he truly knows his destiny.

Portraits of HIV survivors and activists for Bristol Myers Squibb. Excerpts from the Bristol Myers Squibb collaboration with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company that celebrates the tenth anniversary of the miracle drugs Reyataz and Atripla

“Paige”

“Maryann”

Reyataz excerpt

Sesame Street – “Jafir”
An excerpt from a piece for Sesame Street featuring Jafir, an 11 year old boy who is the kind of kid helped by Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

“Freeheld” chronicles the story of Laurel Hester in her fight against the Ocean County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders to give her earned pension benefits to her partner, Stacie. On February 24, 2008, it won the Academy Award for Best Short Documentary. The film also won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007. A film based on the documentary, starring Ellen Page, is currently in development.

NEW YORK, February 24, 2012, — Rascal Films, a shop headed by executive producers/co-founders Jim Golden and Pete Christy, has signed noted Broadway director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw for his first career representation as a commercials director. Nicholaw won the 2011 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his work as co-director (with Trey Parker) on The Book of Mormon.

“I love directing buoyant, lively projects that build on quirky and original ideas,” said Nicholaw. “With commercials it is about being concise with storytelling–no matter the scope of the production–while reflecting each brand in an interesting way. Working with Rascal, and its extensive advertising experience, feels like a great match.”

Besides Book of Mormon, Nicholaw’s Broadway credits include his serving as director/choreographer on Elf: The Musical and The Drowsy Chaperone (2006 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations), as well as choreographer on Monty Python’s Spamalot, directed by Mike Nichols (2005 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Choreography).

Among Nicholaw’s other New York credits are: the highly acclaimed productions of Anyone Can Whistle and Follies (direction and choreography), Bye Bye Birdie (choreography) and Can-Can (musical staging) for City Center Encores!; Candide (choreography) for the New York Philharmonic; South Pacific, also on PBS’ Great Performances (musical staging) at Carnegie Hall; and Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way (choreographer) at Radio City Music Hall. He directed and choreographed the world premieres of Minsky’s at Center Theatre Group, Robin and the 7 Hoods at the Old Globe, and Disney’s Aladdin at the 5th Avenue in Seattle. He has shown a penchant for working with talent and directing projects that marry musical performance, choreography and comedic timing.

Rascal’s penchant meanwhile has been for directors with unique storytelling perspectives. Nicholaw joins a company roster that also includes Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lasse Halstrom, culinary master Charlie Stebbings, Oscar-nominated documentarians Jon Alpert + Matthew O’Neill, Brit comedy director Graham Rose, beauty director Michael Abel, documentarian/commercial lenser Diane Paragas, and the duo of Liam + Grant.

Wade has won festival awards all over the world, including 2 awards at Sundance, 3 awards at Palm Springs, and prizes at the Aspen to name a few, as well as film Festival awards in Spain, Italy, Argentina and Belgium she’s been making films and commercials for 20 years for clients such as HBO, Cinemax, IFC channel, and PBS; her corporate and nonprofit clients include Hershey’s, Sesame Street, the National Guard, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Boston Computer Museum.

Her Oscar-winning documentary “Freeheld” was included in more than 200 film festivals worldwide and was broadcast in 8 countries, including on HBO/Cinemax. Wade’s 2008 Oscar speech about the need for marriage equality was broadcast live to 35 million people, with millions more seeing the speech online the next day. On Oscar night 2008 “Freeheld” was the second most Googled term on the planet.

Prior to working in film full-time, Cynthia spent 8 years on the front lines of inner-city homeless shelters, developing and running programs for at-risk individuals and families in crisis, including those living with HIV. She graduated from Smith College with a BA as a Smith Scholar, holding a Masters degree from Stanford University in documentary filmmaking.
She lives with her family–producer Matthew Syrett and daughters Hayley and Genevieve Syrett–in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

Some work:

Phoenix Hospital
The very successful TV and web campaign from agency Wong, Doody, Crandall, Weiner, using vivid cinematic imagery and emotional interviews. Parents are asked directly to drive the extra mile to get their kids the best possible medical care

Portraits of HIV survivors and activists for Bristol MYers Squibb. Excerpts from the Bristol Myers Squibb collaboration with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company that celebrates the tenth anniversary of the miracle drug Reyataz and Atripla

Paige

Maryanne

Reyataz excerpt

Milton Hershey School “Living the Legacy”

The deeply moving story of the Milton Hershey School, funded by Hershey, told with an independent film’s power,integrity and lack of compromise. Broadcast on IFC and the Sundance Channel.

Freeheld chronicles the story of Laurel Hester in her fight against the Ocean County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders to give her earned pension benefits to her partner, Stacie. On February 24, 2008, it won the Academy Award for Best Short Documentary. The film also won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.[1]
A film based on the documentary, starring Ellen Page, is currently in development.

Reggie’s page at IMDB here. For spot work, we have Reggie at Rant.

Reginald Hudlin is unique in the entertainment business because of his success as a writer, producer, director, and executive. To quote cultural critic Jimi Israel, “Hudlin is a modern-day Gordon Parks, a true monster in the game who totally re-did the blueprint: what some people used to call a renaissance man. I dig him because he made me think outside of the box. Hudlin writes and directs movies, pens a comic book, and he was running BET”.

Hudlin is a pioneer of the modern black film movement, creating movies like HOUSE PARTY, BOOMERANG and BEBE’S KIDS, which are some of the most profitable and influential films of his generation. He is the executive producer and writer of the upcoming BLACK PANTHER animated series starring Djimon Hounsou, and was executive producer of THE BOONDOCKS. Hudlin also directed the pilot of the hit series EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS and was a producer and director of THE BERNIE MAC SHOW.

During his more than three year tenure as the first President of Entertainment for Black Entertainment Television, Hudlin created 17 of the top 20 rated shows in the history of the network. Those hits include the award-winning KEYSHIA COLE: THE WAY IT IS; the critical and commercial hit AMERICAN GANGSTER; and SOMEBODIES, the network’s first scripted series, which was called one of the five best new shows of the 2008 fall season by USA Today and the Los Angeles Times.

Under Hudlin’s stewardship, BET had its first ever telethon, which supported Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. He created the BET HIP HOP AWARDS and the BET HONORS – two successful network franchises. He created a profitable home entertainment division for the network and completely rebuilt the news division, which went on to win 13 awards in two years.

A lifetime comic book reader with over 50,000 books in his collection, one of Reginald’s dreams came true four years ago when be became the full time writer for BLACK PANTHER comic book series for Marvel Comics. He continued writing the series while working as an executive for BET, turning in a 22 page monthly book for over three years. BLACK PANTHER is the most successful black super hero series ever, which led to Hudlin writing an award winning run of SPIDER MAN, Marvel’s flagship character.

Hudlin co-authored his first book BIRTH OF A NATION in July 2004. Birth is a comic novel about Hudlin’s hometown of East St. Louis seceding from the United States. The Random House publication received glowing reviews in Time, Entertainment Weekly and Publisher’s Weekly, among others.

Hudlin’s first feature film, HOUSE PARTY, was based on a short film he directed while a student at Harvard University. The 1990 version won the prestigious Filmmakers Trophy and the Best Cinematography Award at the Sundance Film Festival and also received the Clarence Muse Youth Award and a New Visions, New Voices Award from the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

Hudlin then directed the Paramount Pictures romantic comedy BOOMERANG starring Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Halle Berry and Chris Rock. BOOMERANG earned $120 million dollars worldwide and produced a double platinum soundtrack by LA Reid and Babyface. The soundtrack featured Boyz II Men’s “End of The Road,” one of the longest charting #1 singles in Billboard history, and the debut appearance of the multi-platinum songstress Toni Braxton.

During this period, Hudlin simultaneously wrote and executive produced BEBE’S KIDS, the first African American animated feature film. BEBE’S KIDS was based on the comic routines of the late Robin Harris, who played ‘Pop’ in HOUSE PARTY. In 1995 Hudlin created and co-executive produced COSMIC SLOP, a hip “Twilight Zone” – type anthology special for HBO, which won two CableAce Awards.

He then went on to direct THE GREAT WHITE HYPE, a Ron Shelton-scripted boxing comedy starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, Damon Wayans, Jamie Foxx and Jon Lovitz, followed by THE LADIES MAN. That film starred SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE comedian Tim Meadows, Will Farrell and Julianne Moore. Expanding into new genres, Hudlin directed SERVING SARA, a road comedy featuing “Friends” star Matthew Perry, Elizabeth Hurley and Cedric the Entertainer.

Reginald has directed television commercials for McDonalds, Burger King, AT&T and the Illinois State Lottery among others.

Reginald has been a featured speaker at Vermont Law School; the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; Yale University; the Montclair Art Museum; The Directors Guild; the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; the American Bible Society; the San Diego Comic Con; and more. Hudlin sits on the boards of the UCLA Film, Television and Theatre Department; and the Hollywood Television and Radio Society and the Black Filmmaker Foundation. He is a member of the Motion Picture Academy, the DGA, WGA and, SAG.

– Midnight Lights blowing up on YouTube. Just watch it.
Here’s what NFL Blog says:
No special effects. No 3-D. No hyper-tedious pairing of Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson clanging through a script that brings into question the validity of human life.

– Original music division SuperExploder is taking off.  Just won a nice international campaign for a P&G product.

– The Mr. Wonderful guys are doing all of the VFX for the Superbowl Open for NBC Sports. David Gioiella cutting a Superbowl spot for a show called Psych on USA.

– Indie Spirit Nomination for Hello Lonesome

–Check out on SuperBowl Tippett’s work for Ted, the feature-length directorial debut for Seth McFarlane!

ETC!

This just in! AND WE’RE EXCITED!

BODEGA GOES BICOASTAL WITH SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE AND EP CLINT GOLDMAN

New York-based content creation/production company Bodega takes its unique approach bicoastal with the opening of a San Francisco location led by Executive Producer/Partner Clint Goldman. The expansion includes the acquisition of San Francisco-based production company Hoytyboy, to be rebranded and integrated, as well as a roster of new talent including director Eric Steinman, Peter Sorcher, Jimmy Diebold, design collective Mr. Wonderful and the Oscar®-winning VFX house Tippett.
Bodega was launched by Mark Littman, David Gioiella and Adam Reid in 2009 with a mission to inject projects with geeky enthusiasm, ground breaking creative, visionary style, original solutions and a passion for storytelling. Since opening, it has become a go-to source for a multidisciplinary approach to media across platforms including features, agency spots and long and short form branded content.
“As the gap between what defines commercials and promos grows smaller and smaller, our end-to-end, holistic approach becomes more and more relevant”, says partner and Director Mark Littman. Adds Bodega Executive Creative Director/Partner Adam Reid, “Our overall bandwidth and talent pool has exploded. All of our new creatives share a nerdy enthusiasm for what they do. And Clint offers so much experience as well as his great attitude.”
To join the existing Bodega roster of Partner/Directors Adam Reid and Mark Littman, Goldman brings substantial seasoned commercial talent including directors Eric Steinman, Peter Sorcher, Richard Kizu-Blair, Jimmy Diebold, VFX house Tippett, animation director John Kricfalusi, as well as Montreal/San Francisco-based production house, Moskito. Moskito will maintain their brand identity while working in tandem with Bodega, giving the company significant reach into the Canadian and European markets.
Goldman began his career at VFX powerhouse Robert Abel & Associates, which led to a mentorship with directors Ridley and Tony Scott. He subsequently acquired an MFA at UCLA School of Theater Film and Television, which led to a stint as a producer at Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic where he eventually headed the commercial division. During this time, he also produced the VFX and animation for the Academy Award®-nominated The Mask, the alien abduction sequence in Fire in The Sky, the Dreamworks-animated logo for Steven Spielberg, the Academy Awards® opening for Quincy Jones and a Grammy® nominated music video for Herbie Hancock. After leaving Industrial Light & Magic, Goldman went on to produce the feature film Spawn for New Line Cinema, help run San Francisco commercial production house Complete Pandemonium (the birthplace of Mekanism) and then don his producer’s cap for Walt Disney Pictures’ animated feature The Wild.
Notes Goldman, “I am looking forward to collaborating with some trusted new partners that are smarter, younger and more sharply dressed than I. We have big goals and a solid team in place for our clients and offer not only distinct creative talent but also a solid one-stop bicoastal service for any and all projects. Together we will continue to build both Bodega and the Moskito brands here in the USA. Now, with a real NY presence in addition to SF and Montreal, the future is bright.”
Most recently, Bodega collaborated with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to create a series of videos for the nonprofit Hacking Autism, whose mission is to develop innovative, touch-enabled applications for the autism community to be made available for free on HackingAutism.org. The poignant videos, directed by Bodega’s Peter Sorcher, highlight individual stories of how these types of software change lives and how they continually inspire the doctors, educators and parents working with autistic children. The success of this collaboration led Goodby, Silverstein Co-Chairman Rich Silverstein to remark, “This is one of the most timely and purposeful projects our agency has worked on and we are thrilled with the production team we have put together. HP’s Hacking Autism initiative directly aligns with our commitment to philanthropic work of this nature and Bodega Studios, their San Francisco EP Clint Goldman and director Peter Sorcher expertly realized the right tone for this piece. We are honored to work with them.” The footage from the shorts is currently being edited into a longer form documentary, set to release in 2012.
Other current Bodega project include a series of webisodes for IBM’s new Blade Sever out of Ogilvy, NY and a Microsoft Internet Explorer spot (client-direct) by Adam Reid, Triaminic spots via Saatchi, NY, by Eric Steinman, spots for Gato Negro and Parx Casino by Jimmy Diebold and promo work for the Cartoon Network by animation legend John Kricfalusi, who also recently completed his own signature open for The Simpsons.

About Bodega
Bodega Studios is a creative production company based in New York and San Francisco.

We are the passionate nerdy. We develop, produce and distribute award-winning projects in every medium. We make commercials, digital content, promos, feature films, television and music videos.

We believe the world is a beautiful place full of surprises, cool things and true magic. Our goal is to inject your project with geeky enthusiasm, groundbreaking creative, visionary style, original solutions and a passion for storytelling.

Our one-stop-shop model has been embraced by brands including: IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, USA Network, Logitech, Mattel, MasterCard, Walt Disney Pictures, Nickelodeon, Food Network, Applebee’s, KIA, Subaru, Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet and Volkswagen.