Mikhail Red signed by US management and production company

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino director Mikhail Red, who is behind critically-acclaimed films such as the Oscar-nominated Birdshot, Eerie, Neomanila, Rekorder, and the upcoming Block Z, is all set to work with Hollywood’s big guys.

US talent management and production company 3 Arts Entertainment is now exclusively representing the 27-year-old director for any future US projects in the English language. 3 Arts Entertainment is known to house A-listers like Chris Evans, Robert Pattinson, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kevin Hart, Jessica Alba, and Debra Messing. The company is based in New York and Beverly Hills, California.

“I’m very excited about this partnership,” Ari Lubet, Red’s Hollywood agent, told Inquirer.net in an email interview. “Mik is a prolific and gifted filmmaker. I reached out to him after seeing the trailers for his films. But once I saw the feature films that he’s made, I was blown away by his powerful storytelling and visual aesthetic.”

As for Lubet’s plans for Red, he said that his priority right now is to break him into the American film market with the “powerful and engaging films” that Lubet hopes Red can continue to create, and that can “reach a worldwide audience.”

“I was surprised and excited. After all, it has always been my objective to eventually transition to English-language works and international projects. Having an agent represent me stateside could only propel me closer to my goals,” Red told the Inquirer.

Red’s films set in the Philippines, while of different genres, have unifying themes and tones – but will a change in setting and language change any of these two? 

“Ari mentioned that he was fascinated by how I blend relevant social commentary with accessible genre cinema,” Red shared.

“I hope to achieve the same balance when I eventually work on English-language projects. My films have always been set in the Filipino milieu, but my themes about the human condition are actually very universal, that’s why my films travel well.”

Red kept mum about future plans but said he is currently working on an action/fantasy mini-series, a feature film about the Black Dahlia serial killer who escaped to Manila during martial law, and a Japanese sci-fi project. – Rappler.com