EXCLUSIVE: Laugh Cry Wow, the nonfiction studio launched earlier this year by Jami Gertz and Bayan Joonam, has made its first executive hire with Eddy Moretti joining the team as Executive Producer.
A prolific producer of film and television, Moretti is best known for his two decades as Chief Creative Officer at Vice Media, during which he produced hundreds of hours of programming, including dozens of features. In his new role, he will collaborate closely with LCW’s creative and development teams to develop bold, original stories that challenge conventions and connect with audiences across platforms. He will also lead the company’s efforts to build and integrate key strategic brand partnerships.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to join Laugh Cry Wow!,” Moretti told us. “Bayan and Jami have built a wonderful company, a wickedly well-oiled content creation machine focused on telling stories that resonate deeply with core human emotions and values. The people here are exceptional, a tight-knit family of amazingly talented creatives full of curiosity that they back up with loads of energy and commitment. It’s a transitional time in the production and distribution landscape, and I have a lot of experience managing disruption and navigating opportunity in times of change. I’m bringing all of my hard-won lessons on the frontlines of media transformation to help position Laugh Cry Wow for success. I am beaming with pride to be a part of this team.”
Joonam added, “Having known the impact of Eddy’s work for many years before I even met him, I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome him to Laugh Cry Wow. His innovative approach to storytelling is exactly what we are looking for here as the nonfiction space evolves.”
During his time at Vice, Moretti created and led partnerships that helped launch brands like Noisey and Motherboard, highlighting the possibilities when it comes to brand collaboration within storytelling. Narrative feature credits include Amazon’s The Report starring Adam Driver, writer-director Ana Lily Amirpour’s The Bad Batch, Harmony Korine’s The Beach Bum starring Matthew McConaughey, Gaspar Noé’s Climax, and Jonas Åkerlund’s Lords of Chaos.
In 2016, Moretti launched Viceland, an Emmy-winning 24-hour cable TV channel available in more than 80 territories around the world. His numerous awards and nominations include multiple Emmys, Peabodys, Canadian Screen Awards, and Cannes Lions. Moretti’s work has been invited to screen at such notable festivals as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, TIFF, Telluride, Sundance, and SXSW, and he will be speaking at AdWeek’s BrandWeek: Made in ATL panel this week, on November 5.
Gertz and Joonam’s Laugh Cry Wow is currently building a library of premium nonfiction content in three core verticals — sports, music, and stranger-than-fiction — each, exploring untold stories that reflect the emotional and cultural pulse of our time. The company principals’ debut collaboration, Magic City: An American Fantasy, uncovers the story of Atlanta’s iconic strip club known for launching the careers of hip-hop’s biggest stars while shaping the sound, aesthetic, and energy of Southern rap. The five-part docuseries premiered to critical acclaim at SXSW, earned a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Limited Documentary Feature, and is now streaming on Starz.
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