HOLLYWOOD--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reigning Oscar®-winning Supervising Sound Editors Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers are joining Formosa Group, a new talent-based post-production sound company serving film and interactive clients, it was announced today by Robert C. Rosenthal, President and Chief Operating Officer.
“Joining Formosa Group feels like a fresh start,” said Hallberg. “There’s a group of people here who are the best of the best.”
“Formosa Group is offering the freedom that I think is so important as well as the opportunity to take what we do to the next level,” said Baker Landers. “It’s an independent company managed by creative people who understand other creative people. Bob Rosenthal is somebody I trust immensely.”
“Hallberg and Baker Landers are two of the motion picture industry’s most respected sound artists,” said Rosenthal. “We are delighted to welcome them to our team.”
Hallberg and Baker Landers received Oscars® for Best Achievement in Sound Editing for “Skyfall” in 2013 and “The Bourne Ultimatum” in 2008. Hallberg also received the 1996 Oscar® for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing for “Braveheart” (shared with Lon Bender) and a 1998 Oscar® nomination for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing for “Face/Off” (shared with Formosa Group’s Mark Stoeckinger). The duo has received seven MPSE Golden Reel Awards out of 27 nominations and three BAFTA Awards out of six nominations.
The pair’s supervising sound editor credits include “Skyfall,” “The Bourne Legacy,” “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” “American Gangster,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Ray,” “Seabiscuit,” “The Bourne Identity,” “Black Hawk Down,” and “Gladiator.”
Baker Landers met Hallberg when both were assistants and they enjoyed an instant creative rapport. They recently celebrated their 25th anniversary together as a supervising sound editor team.
A native of Sweden, Hallberg moved to the United States in his twenties. Supervising sound editor Wylie Stateman asked Hallberg to work with him at his new venture. Hallberg accepted and became immersed in the world of motion picture sound. He started as an assistant and also worked in all the different disciplines of his craft including editing dialogue, sound effects, and foley.
The first woman to ever win two Oscars® for Sound Editing, Baker Landers was recently selected for Variety’s Women’s Impact List 2013, featuring women in entertainment who innovated in business, pushed boundaries, and grabbed headlines over the past year. She first displayed an affinity for sound at age 11 when her parents gifted her with a tape recorder. She would walk around her house and make up stories just through sound effects. While studying Film at California State University at Long Beach, her professor brought in two sound designers (Richard Anderson and Formosa Group’s Mark Mangini) to do a seminar about their profession. The designers were impressed by Baker Landers and hired her to work at their company.
Hallberg and Baker Landers join Formosa Group’s roster of nine entertainment sound industry veterans, who have more than 500 movie credits among them: Odin Benitez, Scott M. Gershin, Greg Hedgepath, Andy Koyama, Mark Mangini, Julian Slater, Mark Stoeckinger, Todd Toon, and Martyn Zub. The nine artists have a combined total of six Oscar® nominations, three BAFTA nominations, and 21 MPSE Golden Reel Awards from over 110 nominations.
Formosa Group is a talent-based post-production sound company serving film and interactive clients. The company was formed in 2013 to provide an environment where sound artists can be respected and heard, while working within a state-of-the-art entity that supports the best creative setting possible for artists. Formosa Group is based at The Lot, an 11-acre studio in West Hollywood with a rich history. The Lot was originally founded in 1918, and has been the United Artists Studio, Samuel Goldwyn Studios, and Warner Hollywood Studios. In addition, Formosa Group has a second West Hollywood facility (“Formosa 66”) and a west side facility (“Formosa West”).
