MediaMonks Acquires Stopp, Knucklehead Signs Shore in U.S. and More

MediaMonks has acquired Swedish production company Stopp, in a deal that gives it access to the Los Angeles market. Stopp has offices in L.A. as well as Stockholm. The deal will see Wesley ter Haar, founder and chief operating officer of MediaMonks, moving to L.A., and Frederik Frizell, Stopp's managing director in L.A. since 2013, running the integrated MediaMonks L.A. office as managing director, with Olivier Koelemij as exeuctive producer. Pasi Helin becomes partner and continues as chief creative officer of MediaMonks Stockholm, formerly Stopp Stockholm. The deal sees MediaMonks, which was founded in Amsterdam, grow from 350 to 400 employees, and the combined company will find new premises in L.A. Mr. ter Haar told Creativity that Stopp's Virtual Reality expertise was a key factors in the acquisition. The deal will also allow the combined company to pitch for more global work. "There is a push by brands for more global production and we will be able to offer both scale and quality," he said. While MediaMonks opened in L.A. nine months ago, Stopp was more established in the market, he added. "We pitched against each other a lot so we always had a grudging respect for each other." Knucklehead has signed director Gary Shore for U.S. representation. With existing representation by Knucklehead in the U.K., Shore will now be repped by Knucklehead's newly launched U.S. office in Los Angeles. He was previously repped by Anonymous Content in the U.S. Dublin-born Shore has helmed commercials for brands such as Samsung, Gatorade, Adidas, Guinness, EDF and UGG. In 2014, he made his feature debut with "Dracula Untold," a retelling of the original story of Dracula. Blink has signed directorial duo Los Perez to its reel. The duo, Tania Verduzco and Adrian Pérez, from Mexico and Spain, respectively, work together on directing, writing editing and music composition. Their reel includes work for Toyota, Telcel and BBC One. Merman X Pulse has signed director Peter Lydon, whose recent work includes the (SHOPATHON)RED spot starring Scarlett Johansson, which premiered on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Lydon has worked on TV series including Showtime's "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," Channel 4's "Shameless," and the BBC's "Mistresses," as well as commecials brands such as Ikea, Carlsberg and Samsung, and has worked with names including Al Pacino, Benedict Cumberbatch and Joanna Lumley. B-Reel Films has signed Los Angeles-based director Will Mayer. The 21-year-old director just finished his first B-Reel Films project for CP&B for Airbnb/PayPal. He recently completed a six-month-long film campaign helping reinvent the image of the U.S. Department of Education, and is working on a music video for Steve Angelo. He has been a filmmaker for brands since he was 14, filming snowboard and skateboard videos for Vans. Stinkdigital has hired Ben Hughes as executive creative director for its New York office. Hughes, previously creative director at B-Reel, also has experience at Wieden & Kennedy, Mother, R/GA and 72andSunny. His clients have included MTV, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Jeep, Delta Air Lines, Cole Haan, Target and Esquire. Station Film has hired Michelle Towse as executive producer. Prior to joining Station's staff, Towse was a freelance line producer there working with directors including David Gray, Scott Corbett and Mark Gilbert, and a production cost consultant for Bird Bonnette Stauderman. She has also worked as head of production for Slavin Schaffer Films, and spent 14 years line producing for directors including David Shane, Harold Einstein and Jeffrey Fleisig through production companies such as HSI, MJZ and Hungry Man. London edit house The Assembly Rooms has appointed Eve Ashwell as editor and partner in both Europe and the U.S. Ashwell has worked regularly with directors such as Daniel Kleinman and Pete Riski (Rattling Stick), Noam Murro (Biscuit), Charlie Crane (Knucklehead) and Mark Mulloy (Smuggler). During the past 12 years as an editor and partner at Cut & Run she won recognition from the AICE Awards, British Arrows, D&ADs and the Creative Circle. In the U.S, she has worked with such agencies as Deutsch, Wieden & Kennedy and Energy BBDO. Recent projects include a spot for Wrigley's Extra Gum that has received over 70 million views online. Editor Micah Scarpelli has launched New York City-based editorial/post-production company Uppercut. Scarpelli has worked with brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Subway, Reebok, Gillette and Volvo. Staff will also include Joe Wenkoff, who brings over 20 years' worth of VFX/post experience and will serve as partner and creative director of visual effects including finishing and color correction, and Alvaro del Val, who arrives in New York after spending the last three years as a senior editor at Madrid/Dubai-based production studio Serena. Beast has added editor Jason Painter to its Atlanta roster. Painter's career has included working with clients from Toyota to Nike, and earning awards including Cannes Lions, AICE, and an Emmy nomination. At Beast's Atlanta studio, he will work with co-located outposts of Company 3 and Method Studios to service clients nationwide, and will also be available in the six other markets where Beast has offices.

MediaMonks Acquires Stopp, Knucklehead Signs Shore in U.S. and More

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