Casta Diva Pictures extends and strengthens its global presence

September 10, 2014

Casta Diva Pictures has added a North American arm to a network that now has eleven offices in nine countries across the world. Following the appointment of Richard Robinson as Executive Producer in Los Angeles earlier this year, David Schiavone joins as Casta Diva Pictures New York EP to unite operations in the US East, Mid-West, and West Coast. And with a brand new roster of creative talent across all global markets, the claim of being the most extensive advertising production network in the world is more than justifiable.

Schiavone moves across from his previous role as Executive Producer at Atelier Leo Burnett New York, where he had great success with global brands such as Vidal Sassoon, Herbal Essences and Koleston. Starting his career in production in 1998 with Grey New York, he brings with him a great wealth of knowledge in production and an acute understanding of client and agency requirements and expectations. Of the new role he said, “As an agency producer I always felt that the best way to approach productions these days is to have the mindset that I was looking to find a partner for a project, rather than just a vendor. The thing I love about Casta Diva Pictures is that our number one goal is to be that partner. We look to design unique production solutions for each client’s individual need. We have a diverse group of talented Directors, Photographers and Creatives whom we can package. Additionally, our global network permits us to easily bid multiple locations around the world, with no additional markup; if the budget, creative or client guidelines require.“

Lori Youmans of Matchmaker Media also joins the team in New York, building a successful and efficient centre for Casta Diva Pictures’ East Coast operations.

The move follows the establishment of Casta Diva Pictures Los Angeles earlier this year with Robinson at the helm. Connie Mellors and Ellen Dempsey of Connie Mellors & Co join the team as West Coast reps, bringing their wealth of knowledge and connections to build on the success of several commercials (notably for Procter & Gamble’s Venus and for McDonalds) that have already been produced by Casta Diva Pictures in Los Angeles.
Laurel Dobose of Gypsy joins both parties as Mid-West rep to complete a dynamic team of experienced professionals.

Such growth and success is a testament to Andrea de Micheli and Luca Oddo, who created Casta Diva Pictures in Milan, Italy in 2005. Since then, offices in London, Manchester, Prague, Munich, Cape Town, Istanbul, Mumbai, Buenos Aires, New York, and Los Angeles have been established to create a truly global presence and outlook. At the core of this strategy lies the belief in making the global, the local – an acute understanding of local sensitivities that allow us to shoot anything anywhere, but always with an eye to a client’s global strategy. The network provides a plethora of know-how to ensure that the best solutions are found to all production aspects, whether that be locations, climate, casting etc. It also provides the ability to bid through multiple offices – a US agency can contact their local office to shoot with a local partner in any office across the globe – with no double-mark-up.

This year Casta Diva Pictures has also announced a variety of new additions to their exclusive director roster. A combination of youth and experience has created a talent pool which includes the likes of film powerhouse Rob Lieberman, winner of 29 clio awards & 2 DGA awards, and exciting new inclusions such as duo Mike & Steve and Paris-based Camille Marotte. A global Directors Researcher, a position designed specifically to manage the current roster whilst also sourcing new talent, exists to ensure that no matter what the requirements are, Casta Diva Pictures can provide directors to meet them. Other new additions include, Stewart Sugg, John Perez, Noe Lefebre, Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, Katja Brauer-Baratin, Daniele Testi, Matthieu Jorrot and Phil Hawkins. The full roster can be viewed here: http://www.castadivapictures.com

Casta Diva Pictures has continued its forward-thinking approach to production with the addition of a new Head of Branded and Digital Content, Linda Pianigiani, this month. Pianigiani was made Associate Producer at Di Bonaventura Pictures in Los Angeles (of Transformers fame to name only one) having begun as Di Bonaventura’s Assistant in 2004. This wide experience of the film industry is a valuable source as the network endeavors to find new ways to provide content for clients. With a 3D arm already in place (Casta Diva Cubed), an eye to the growing importance of pioneering new technologies such as virtual reality, and several teams within the network currently concentrating solely on online and digital content, Casta Diva Pictures is well placed to cover content across all media touch points. Moreover, their proven offer of such a 360 production approach (in which the various elements of production are brought under one collective push) is gaining more emphasis as advertising budgets decline and the need for synergy across production elements increases.

Casta Diva Pictures: We make things happen.

West Coast rep – Connie Mellors & Co.

Connie Mellors: 818 216 1500 / connie@conniemellors.com

Ellen Dempsey: 818 441 4587 / ellen@conniemellors.com

Mid West rep – Gypsy

Laurel Dobose: 312 282 3476 / laurel@gypsyreps.com

East Coast rep – Matchmaker Media

Lori Youmans: 917 553 7325 / lorimatchmakermedia@gmail.com