Filmmakers In Advertising

On today’s episode, Justin chats with Daniel Fries, Filmmaker & Executive Creative Director at Perfect Stranger, a full-stack creative company, offering brand, advertising, design, animation, and production. 

Daniel began as a Creative Director, managing fortune 500 clients before founding NY-based creative agency Leroy and Clarkson, and selling the business in 2016. Daniel’s award-winning work spans Emmy-nominated filmmaking and global brand campaigns for FX, ABC, NBCUniversal, and Nasdaq, with recognition from Adweek, Fast Company, and Slate. Trust us, you don’t want to miss this one.

Some highlights from the episode include:

• Pitching Kayne West on an existential project inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni’s “The Passenger”
• His commercial filmmaking influences, including Mcihel Gondry & Jonathan Glazer
• Being a “conductor” by curating top talent
• Lessons learned from developing screenplays
• Being a self-starter and having never been on a formal job interview

We hope you enjoy!

Links:

• Daniel’s IMDB
• Daniel’s Vimeo
• Daniel’s Site
• Perfect Stranger
• The Resilience Age | Film Projects
• Don-O-Mite | Mad Men Blaxploitation Parody

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected] 

This week, Justin sits down with JD Jurentkuff, Chief Creative Officer of LOLA, USA. They discuss the acclaimed new Adidas campaign: Backyard Legends, which has been taking the internet by storm, along with JD’s storied career path & anecdotes from work on some of the world's best brands with some of the world's best creatives.

JD digs into his scrappy roots as a young ambitious professional finding his way onto the scene, and the artists that influenced him in that time. As he moves through his career journey, it’s filled with stories, mentors, and even analogies about wave energies, which we really appreciated. Along with practical lessons on creating award-winning campaigns, he also give us a fresh take on how rock climbing is a nice counterbalance to the subjectivity of advertising.

As you’ll hear, JD is a passionate, energetic, and fun-loving creative, whose work and career is full of insights and stories you won’t want to miss.

Links:

• LOLA, USA
• Adidas | Backyard Legends
• Apple | Misunderstood
• Apple | Share Your Gifts
• Boost Mobile | Equal Voting Access for All

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected] 

This week’s episode is a fun one, with guests Bonnie Dennison & Alison Barton, or the directing duo known as Bonabart. 

They are LA-based directors rostered at Tool of North America, and are known for their comedy chops working with brands such as Wendy's, Subway, Amazon, Spotify, and Liquid Death. They also are writers on the upcoming Amazon series “Ride Or Die” starring Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer, and have a series called “Granted” in development at Warner Bros Animation. 

Bonnie & Alison share some funny stories, insights on the job, and a reminder on how crucial collaboration is for our industry, whether you’re a directing duo or not.

Some highlights include:

• Transitions from actresses, to creating their own sketches
• How budget changes the approach
• Sourcing inspiration from life
• Almost quitting the industry
• And even how to approach client dinners 

Much gold to be found here. Don’t miss it!

Links:

• Ride or Die Season 1
• Bonabart's Site
• Bonnie & Alison’s Work | Tool of North America

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected] 

Today on FIA, Justin sits down with film director Russell Owen to discuss his career from commercials to feature films, and the path that led to his acclaimed psychological horror Shepherd, a New York Times Critic's Pick and BBC critic Mark Kermode's Film of the Week.

Russell shares the unconventional route that shaped his career, from making an experimental first feature and directing a zombie film to breaking into advertising and ultimately bringing a long-held passion project to life. He also explains how his feature work unexpectedly opened the door to commercial directing, leading to hundreds of campaigns for global brands including American Express and Armani

The conversation also explores Russell's role as co-founder of Kindred Pictures, a London-based production company producing both commercial and narrative work around the world. Along the way, he discusses his passion of storytelling, the creative influences that have shaped his filmmaking, and how folklore, myths, and legends continue to inspire his writing.

Russell is a true Filmmaker in Advertising, and one to keep an eye out for!

Links:

Russell’s IMDB

Shepherd | Feature Film Trailer

Kindred Pictures

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected] 

This week on FIA, Justin is joined by Creative Director Christine Taffe, and Executive Creative Director Heather Larimer, both at Orchard Creative. Also, making her first appearance on the podcast, is Michelle Mundt, Associate Producer at Cry.

In this episode, Christine and Heather discuss their collaborations at Orchard, with stories from award winning projects with Ocean Spray and Etsy. They dig into their approach to collaboration, feedback, and crafting emotionally true campaigns that have lasting impact.

They discuss pitching by closing an “imagination gap,” and finding the “truth under the truth” in the context of products & brands. They also talk about how they create manifestos as a point of view that can become campaigns and how that helps them trend toward confidently useful, profound brand work over just adding to the noise. 

Overall, their discussion is full of wisdom, laughs, and great stories you don’t want to miss.

Links:

Christine’s Site

Heather’s Site

Orchard Creative

“Jiggle” | Ocean Spray - Power Your Holidays

"Who's Waldo" | Etsy

"Little Drummer Boy" | Etsy

“Celebrate Being Human” | Etsy

Commercials That Inspired Christine & Heather:

“Balls” | Sony BRAVIA

“Find Your Gratness” | Nike

“Nothing Beats a Londoner” | Nike

CluesBySam.com (Justin’s recommendation

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected] 

Justin welcomes Head of Branded Entertainment Adam Milano and Creative Director Christina Connerton from SuperBloom, an independent creative company built around the concept of unearthing the unexpected. Together this dynamic duo has collaborated with major brands including Uber, Colgate, and Corona, bringing their distinctive off-beat approach to commercial storytelling.

In this episode, Adam and Christina discuss the collaborative nature of building fresh concepts that are both odd and weird but at the same time relatable and true. They remind us that art and commercials are not exclusive of each other, noting that the two are interconnected and often pull from and inspire each other. 

They both share practical advice on breaking into the industry, along with stories from how they got started in advertising. 

We also examine:

• Adam and Christina’s creative influences, which include re-visiting old classics and keeping up with the latest Academy nominated works
• The notion that every idea is worthy of being on the table - and the weirder it is, the better
• Why a tactile approach is gaining more clout with successful brands
• Passion projects, including Christina’s History Dolls, a series highlighting women innovators whose contributions were historically taken or overlooked

Join us in exploring the weird, eclectic, and unexpected on this edition of Filmmakers in Advertising.

Links:

• Superbloom’s Site
• Christina’s Site
• Colgate - Adventures in the Molar System

Shoutouts:

• Coinbase | Your Way Out (live action commercial imitating retro graphics)

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected] 

This week, Justin chats with Ben Steinbauer, Emmy award-winning film, television, and commercial director, and cofounder of The Bear, a production company and creative studio based in Austin, Texas.

Ben shares his journey on becoming a documentary filmmaker with the breakout hit, Winnebago Man, starting a successful production company, and navigating the industry from Austin to LA, and back. He shares about his deeply collaborative philosophy on filmmaking and his commitment to giving to back to the next generation of filmmakers.

We dig into:

• How a mixture of ambition, timing, and the early days of YouTube helped shape his creative path
• His own podcast, Doc Walks, which he co-hosts with Keith Maitland. (We highly recommend it.)
• Why building a core team and growing together over time is essential to a sustainable creative career
• Humility as a key ingredient in the creative process
• What it really means to create stories that resonate beyond trends

Ben also reflects on how the most impactful work doesn’t come from chasing what’s popular, but from exploring what is personal, specific, and deeply interesting to you.

If you’re looking to make richer, more layered work and build a creative life that lasts, this episode is for you.

Links:

• Ben’s Work
• The Bear | Production Company
• Doc Walks Podcast 
• Winnebago Man | Feature Documentary
• Documentary Subjects Wanted - James Wagner

Shoutouts from Ben & Justin:

• Brooklyn Coffeeshop
• Subway Takes

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected] 

Join us for the third in our series of director interviews from the roster of Cry, the creative and post studio behind this podcast. This week Justin chats with director & editor, Ryan Vera about his creative process, finding the flow state, and maintaining authenticity in a noisy world.

In this discussion, Ryan touches on his early days at Cry (formerly Abandon Films), and how he found his voice as a creative force, both directing and editing. 

He discusses the musicality of editing in a flow state, doing his own sound design, and creating a space that’s conducive to deep work. Ryan touches on project case studies, executing a creative vision, and bringing a genuine, human perspective.

Ryan even explores the philosophical and existential challenges faced in the cluttered world of digital content creation and the impact of AI on the industry. He gives valuable insight about finding joy in real relationships and the value that brings in a media-filled world. Overall, Ryan’s thoughts & reflections offer grounded wisdom & practical tools you won’t want to miss.

Links:

• Ryan’s Work
• Limbitless | Bionic Kids
• Atlanta Hawks | We Are Atlanta

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected] 

This week, Justin chats with Darren Foldes, Partner and Head of Films at Sibling Rivalry, an integrated creative company based in New York and Los Angeles.

Darren discusses his path to Sibling Rivalry, all the way from growing up around New York City with a father who worked as a cameraman for ABC Channel 7 News, to taking a paid internship in Los Angeles, co-writing and producing kids films for MGM, and then leaving the feature/TV world to make the switch to advertising and working as an Executive Producer. 

A major theme that Darren shares  is how great work emerges from collective spontaneity, happy accidents, and creating an egalitarian, psychologically safe environment where the best idea wins. Some of our favorite topics include:

• Advertising’s broader value through brands’ positive impact, economic contribution, and “edutainment”
• The case for increased California advertising tax credits to support local crews and the wider economy. 
• Leading with clarity, patience, and appreciation rather than fear
• Darren’s DJ background, including being asked to play a late-night event for a famous musician. (listen in to find out who)

Darren’s interview provides seasoned insight, fun stories, & a reminder of the power of kindness in our creative field. He speaks to so much of what resonates with us at Cry, and we think it will speak to you too.

Links:

Sibling Rivalry’s Site

Darren’s LinkedIn

Darren’s DJ Playlist

Projects Darren is especially proud of:

• Apple "Bounce" spot
• Nike “You Can’t Stop Us” spot

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected] 

Join us for our first video episode, now available to watch on Youtube! This week, Justin chats with Dan Blaney, an accomplished head of production, now working as Executive Director of Production at Fig. 

Dan has an impressive resume that includes roles at Wieden+Kennedy, BBDO, Apple, and more. The discussion explores various subjects including what it really means to be a great producer in advertising, not just as a manager of budgets and schedules, but as a creative partner, mentor, and problem-solver.

Dan shares personal stories from his career working on major campaigns for brands like Bud Light, AT&T, Apple, and the Jordan Brand, including behind-the-scenes insights from large-scale productions, Super Bowl activations, and high-pressure shoots where there’s only one chance to get it right. He emphasizes the significance of viewing roles beyond transactions, encouraging creative voices, and maintaining passion and dedication in the advertising field.

Dan also discusses what makes creative collaboration succeed: from choosing the right directors and production partners, to creating space for ideas to come from anywhere, and knowing when to speak up to make the work better. Throughout the episode, Dan emphasizes a simple but powerful philosophy: there’s always a way to make it happen, regardless of budget or scale.

This episode offers practical insight, hard-earned perspective, and a refreshing reminder that great work comes from curiosity, empathy, and collaboration. You don’t want to miss Dan’s insights here.

Links:

• Dan’s Site - https://www.danblaneyproducer.com/
• Bud Light: Up For Whatever - https://www.danblaneyproducer.com/#/bud-light-up-for-whatever/
• The Talk: P&G - https://www.danblaneyproducer.com/#/new-page/

From CRY, a Creative, Production, and Post house based in New York City.

Brought to you by CRY www.filmcry.com 

Intro mixed by Michael Hartman - [email protected]