stories

Kristian Manchester
Global Executive Creative Director, Partner

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
Looking back on 2019, HBO’s Euphoria stands out to me from both a spectacular visual and storytelling approach. I highly recommend it!

🎄 Tradition 🎄
A Charlie Brown Christmas… I listen to this classic album on a loop around the holidays.

Jared Stein
EVP, Growth & Innovation, Partner

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
The holidays are often synonymous with entertaining and food, both of which I love. This year, I’m most excited to dig into Meredith Erickson’s newest cookbook, Alpine Cooking. Part cookbook, part travel log, I’m 100% excited to sit by the fire and flip through this for inspiration on what to cook for friends and family.

 
🎄 Tradition 🎄
During the holidays, I love any and all Jimmy Buffett holiday music — and Elvis’s Christmas album is played on a loop too. While we’re at it, let’s be honest: who can resist Bobby Helms’s classic "Jingle Bell Rock"? All of this drives my wife nuts, largely because we’re Jewish but also because it’s on repeat... always.

Kim Tarlo
Creative Director

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
What I’m most looking forward to watching during the holidays is Firecrackers, written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Jasmin Mozaffari. It’s a badass, atmospheric coming-of-age film about two young women trying to escape their hometown. It may not be a groundbreaking storyline, but it’s incredibly artfully crafted.

🎄 Tradition 🎄
My favorite Christmas movie? Die Hard. At least, I wish it was. But really, it’s the original Bridget Jones’s Diary. My British side really flares up during the holidays. Mince pie, anyone?

Philippe Meunier
Chief Creative Officer, Co-founder

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
A film that everyone needs to watch (and then rewatch) is Joker. Why watch it twice? You’ll need a second viewing just to take in all the details poured into the creative direction and to appreciate the soundtrack.

🎄 Tradition 🎄 
While it hasn’t been around long enough to spark nostalgia, Klaus is an instant holiday classic in my book. The film’s animation is refreshing and the storyline is touching, making it a great movie to watch when you’re all cozy in your pyjamas with the kids.

Christian Quenneville
EVP, Brand Growth & Innovation, Partner

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
Although it was published in 2018, Creative Quest by Questlove really had an impact on me this year. Questlove is ultra-curious about creativity (and about everything else, for that matter), and embarks on a quest documenting his encounters with a range of creators in order to enhance his own creative abilities. A fascinating read.

🎄 Tradition 🎄
Classic Albums is a great series about — you guessed it — classic albums produced by the BBC in the ‘90s. As a music fan, it’s amazing to rewatch this series with my teenaged, music-loving sons every year. Learning about the production of Nevermind, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and The Joshua Tree is fascinating; it’s almost like being there for the genesis of these timeless albums.

Celine et Clement Mornet Landa
Creative Directors 

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
The Irishman, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, is at the top of our list of things to watch during the holidays. Because Scorsese didn’t direct Heat and Al Pacino didn’t star in Casino! 

🎄 Tradition 🎄 
Watching John McClane in Die Hard and Die Hard 2 as a family with our son is an annual holiday tradition of ours.

Richard Jean-Baptiste
Global Head of Studio, Partner

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
I’m really excited to read Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement by Rich Karlgaard. All about reinforcing the idea that it’s never too late to find your creative voice and pursue your professional passion, it's a refreshing counterargument to the widespread obsession with attaining overnight success.

🎄 Tradition 🎄
My go-to holiday classic? A Christmas Carol, the 2009 animated version directed by Robert Zemeckis. Yes, the one with Jim Carrey.

Eve Rémillard-Larose
Co-Managing Partner

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
Bedtime Stories for Managers by Henry Mintzberg is an easy read that highlights key management principles through engaging storytelling. As a manager, it’ll inspire you to get out there and experience the world from your customers’ and employees’ perspectives. Most of all, it’ll challenge the way you conduct yourself as a team leader, one story at a time.

🎄 Tradition 🎄
My Christmas Eve tradition is listening to "O Holy Night" on a loop. It’s a classic!

Nicolas Van Erum
Managing Director, Marketing Communications and Experiential, Partner

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
I’m excited to watch Netflix’s Our Planet docuseries. While Greta Thunberg’s message has been resonating in my heart and conscience throughout 2019, I haven’t invested enough time this year into thinking, learning, and celebrating this beautiful and fascinating Earth we’re so fortunate to live on. Not to mention the production value and breathtaking footage...

🎄 Tradition 🎄
It’s not exactly festive, but watching the World Junior Hockey Championships and NCAA Bowls is my holiday tradition!

Vito Piazza
Group President, Senior Partner

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
A book I’m looking forward to reading over the holidays is Exhalation by Ted Chiang, a collection of stories on time travel. I like the conceptual mind-bend of such a topic, especially when it’s been masterfully crafted, with each story exploring a philosophical question... And what’s better than suspending your disbelief in time travel and having us wonder, “What if?”

🎄 Tradition 🎄
Watching A Charlie Brown Christmas is my essential holiday tradition. It’s from 1965, so it’s nostalgic and from an era when the art of storytelling had to work harder than the tech-enabled possibilities of today. Plus, it’s full of life lessons and won an Emmy... How can you beat that?

Mehdi Benali
Managing Director

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
I’m really looking forward to introducing my 4-year-old son to the 2019 reimagined versions of the Disney classics from my own childhood, like the new Aladdin and The Lion King movies. He’s never seen the originals or the modern versions, so I’m really excited to watch them with him and see his reaction!

🎄 Tradition 🎄
Every year, I listen to "Petit Papa Noël" by Tino Rossi. It may be a silly song, but I have fond memories of listening to it while decorating our Christmas tree when I was little. It’s a reminder of simpler times!

Pauline Rosen
VP, Strategy

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
I can’t wait to read Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher. Originally published in 1981, it’s all about the art of negotiating both personal and professional disputes. This is a very timely read for me, as 2019 was a year of many negotiations, both at home and at the office. 

🎄 Tradition 🎄
My go-to holiday classic is the French film Le père Noël est une ordure. I grew up watching this legendary holiday film, and never got tired of its cult-classic dialogue, which became an intrinsic part of pop culture. It’s something I can rewatch over and over; I definitely recommend it if you’re in the mood for a mindless festive night curled up on the couch.

Stewart Devlin
Executive Creative Director

🎬 2019 Pick 📖 
The piece I’m most excited about at the moment is David Hockney’s new book, My Window. This new book contains 120 never-before-seen images where Hockney captured the changing seasons and moments from his window at his former home in Yorkshire, all created by drawing on an iPhone or iPad. Hockney’s endless passion for experimentation is a lesson for us all.

🎄 Tradition 🎄
As far as holiday traditions go, my family’s might be a little out of the ordinary: my wife, daughter, and I listen to the Queen deliver the Royal Christmas Message every year with a cup of tea.

Mariota Essery
Executive Creative Director

🎬 2019 Pick 📖
We travel to South Africa to visit our family every year, so there’s plenty of time to kill on the journey, which takes over 24 hours. Among the things I’ll definitely binge-watch on the plane is The Crown season 3. 
 
🎄 Unplugging for the Holidays 🎄
Since we’ll be away on a safari spending time with our family (and with limited Wi-Fi), we won’t have many opportunities to watch films. That’ll have to wait until the New Year!