The union is having immediate benefits, as Reilly’s first order of business was to successfully bid Zach Braff on a comedy job out of Saatchi & Saatchi, New York on a P&G brand that combines live action, visual effects and tabletop.  The spot will be produced out of Curious.

The move brings Reilly back to his roots in visual effects — he got his start in the industry fresh out of UCLA’s film school with a job at Dream Quest Images, an early and influential visual effects studio in Simi Valley.  He later worked at ILM (where Geier is also an alum) before teaming up with the comedy director Mike Bigelow, his UCLA classmate, to launch Space Program. 

While Bigelow eventually left the company, Reilly continued to build Space Program into a respected boutique.  Over the years he’s worked with a range of directorial talent that includes the Academy Award-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, Elma Garcia, Michael Shapiro and others. 

Curious already boasts a deep bench of animation and live action directors; its roster includes such talents as the comedy specialist Steve Chase, tabletop director Greg Ramsey, animation and stop-motion director Rohitash Rao and the fashion photographer and documentarian Douglas Keeve.  Most recently the studio signed David Turnley, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and documentary director, whose TV commercial work includes spots for such brands as Nike and others.

“We’re delighted in finding someone of Bill’s background, reputation and experience to head up our commercials division,” says Korbelin.  “This move gives him a broader base to continue doing what he’s been doing, which has been working closely with directors to build and manage their careers and collaborating closely with agencies to get the best product available for their clients.”

About Curious Pictures

Curious Pictures (www.curiouspictures.com) is a creatively driven, multi-platform production and entertainment company. It uses its extensive production, animation and advertising expertise to create entertainment in all media in the form of television shows, video games, new media content, feature films, commercials, network promos, music videos, visual effects, and books. Its credits include TV series such as the recently debuted Team Umizoomi (Nick Jr.), Little Einsteins (Disney) and Codename: Kids Next Door (Cartoon Network); animation for the videogame sensations Rock Band and Rock Band II; and work for many of the most respected brands worldwide. The studio is home to more than 150 accomplished artists, writers, directors and designers, as well as producers, advertising professionals and marketing and media experts. Founded in 1993, the 30,000-square-foot studio in lower Manhattan contains 2D and 3D animation departments, a 7500-square-foot shooting stage, a motion-capture system and digital editing rooms. Curious work, and the work of its directors, has been recognized by the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, BAFTA, the British Animation Awards, the Webby Awards, Promax/BDA, The One Show, One Show Interactive, the Cannes Lions Festival, the AICP Show, the International Animated Film Festival in France and the Ottawa International Animation Festival.