Patrick Ness' novel and screenplay resonate for "The Impossible" filmmaker
All three of director J.A. Bayona’s creatively ambitious features share the bond of what he describes as “characters finding themselves in a very intense situation, with death on the horizon.” It started with The Orphanage , a poignant horror movie from screenwriter Sergio G. Sanchez which made its initial mark at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The Orphanage became at that time the highest grossing Spanish-language film in Spain’s history and one of the most successful Spanish-language films...Takes Best Picture, Director, Cinematography and Supporting Actor honors
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Film Critics Association was captivated by Moonlight , bestowing upon writer-director Barry Jenkins’ film a total of four awards-Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography (for James Laxton) and Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali). La La Land was named runner up in three of those categories--Best Picture, Director (Damien Chazelle) and Cinematography (Linus Sandgren). Runner up for Best Supporting Actress was Issey Ogata for Martin Scorsese’s Silence . La La Land also...SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Director, producer and actress Elizabeth Banks has joined harvest films’ directorial roster for commercials and branded content. Banks is one of a select group of actresses to successfully transition to the other side of the camera. She optioned, developed and produced the blockbuster cult classic Pitch Perfect and returned to the series in 2015 adding director to her many credits for Pitch Perfect 2 . The film bowed to strong reviews, taking the #1 slot in box office sales (beating Mad Max:...
NEW YORK -- Smuggler has added Björn Rühmann to its directorial roster for worldwide commercial/branded content representation. He was formerly handled by production house Furlined. Born and raised in Germany, Rühmann is a film director who made his initial industry mark as a creative at TBWA Paris, working on a series of award winning international campaigns. He launched his directing career in 2007 as co-founder of lauded directing collective The Vikings, whose work attracted over 100 international...
BROOKLYN, NY & LOS ANGELES -- Bicoastal m ss ng p eces has hired Catherine Day as head of VR/AR/360 and added VR director Sam Smith to its roster. The moves fortify the production and entertainment company’s already established pedigree in virtual reality storytelling which includes delivering one of the first commercial VR projects, Dos Equis’ “Virtual Masquerade,” bringing a U.S. President into VR with Bill Clinton’s “Inside Impact,” and turning out a groundbreaking VR sports documentary “Follow My Lead: The 2016 Finals”...
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Independent ad agency RPA has hired Marlon Hernandez for the role of VP, group creative director, Digital Group. Hernandez will report to EVP, chief creative officer Joe Baratelli and will manage the Digital Design group and guide digital programs for all clients. Most recently Hernandez was creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi L.A. where he led the Platform Design team, which creates and manages Toyota’s digital presence across multiple consumer touchpoints. “The ever-changing world of...
LOS ANGELES -- The American Film Institute (AFI) announced the Official Selections of AFI Awards 2016, celebrating the year’s most outstanding achievements in the art of the moving image--with 10 films and 10 television programs deemed culturally and artistically significant. In addition to the 20 honorees, AFI also recognizes O.J.: Made In America with an AFI Special Award. An almanac documenting works of excellence, AFI AWARDS is the only national honor for the entertainment community’s creative teams as a...
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former “Daily Show” correspondent Jessica Williams flexes her dramatic chops, Cate Blanchett pays homage to great 20th century artists and “Silicon Valley” star Kumail Nanjiani tells a very personal story in some of the films premiering at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Festival programmers announced their selections for the documentary and narrative premiere sections Monday, which has launched films like “Boyhood,” ‘’Manchester by the Sea” and “O.J.: Made in America.” As with many years, the...
LOS ANGELES -- The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has announced its television nominees for the 31st annual Outstanding Achievement Awards. Winners will be revealed on February 4, 2017, at the organization’s annual ceremony at the Hollywood & Highland Ray Dolby Ballroom. This year’s nominees are: Regular Series for Non-Commercial Television John Conroy for Penny Dreadful , “The Day Tennyson Died” (SHOWTIME) David Dunlap for House of Cards , “Chapter 45” (NETFLIX) Anette Haellmigk for Game of...
NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES -- The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, new media, news, radio, and promotional writing during 2016. Winners will be honored at the 2017 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2017, at concurrent ceremonies in New York City and Los Angeles. TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA NOMINEES DRAMA SERIES The Americans , Written by Peter Ackerman, Tanya Barfield, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields,...
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 89th Academy Awards®. One hundred forty-five films were originally submitted in the category. The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies: “Cameraperson,” Big Mouth Productions “Command and Control,” American Experience Films/PBS “The Eagle Huntress,” Stacey Reiss Productions, Kissiki Films and...
LOS ANGELES -- Directors Guild of America President Paris Barclay announced the recipients of two special DGA Awards recognizing extraordinary contribution to the Guild: Thomas Schlamme and Marie Cantin will be honored at the 69th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 4, 2017. Schlamme will receive the DGA’s 2017 Robert B. Aldrich Award for extraordinary service to the DGA and to its membership. Cantin will receive the DGA’s 2017 Frank Capra Achievement Award, which is given to an assistant director or unit...
LOS ANGELES -- The Producers Guild of America (PGA), announced the 2017 Stanley Kramer Award will honor the feature film Loving produced by Ged Doherty, p.g.a., Colin Firth, p.g.a., Sarah Green, p.g.a., Nancy Buirski, p.g.a., Marc Turtletaub, p.g.a., and Peter Saraf, p.g.a. The Focus Features release is written and directed by Jeff Nichols, and stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga. The Stanley Kramer Award will be presented to Loving at the 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, January 28,...
LOS ANGELES -- The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced that Megan Ellison will receive the 2017 Visionary Award. Ellison will accept the award at the 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles. The Producers Guild Visionary Award recognizes television, film, or new media producers for their unique or uplifting contributions to our culture through inspiring storytelling or performance. The Producers Guild 2017 Visionary Award is sponsored...
STUDIO CITY, Calif. -- The Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) will honor Guillermo del Toro with its annual Filmmaker Award. The acclaimed director of such films as Hellboy (2004), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Pacific Rim (2013), Crimson Peak (2015) and the forthcoming The Shape of Water is being recognized for his outstanding contributions to the art of cinema. He will receive the award at the MPSE Golden Reel Awards ceremony February 19th in Los Angeles. A master of horror, fantasy and science fiction, del Toro is a...
LOS ANGELES -- Ryan Murphy, one of television’s busiest and most successful writers/directors/producers, will be named Television Showman of the Year at the 54th Annual International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) Publicists Awards honoring excellence in publicity and promotion for motion pictures and television programs, to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday, February 24. Murphy has created a wide array of shows and has won four Primetime Emmys, 11 additional award wins and 45...
Musical lovers, take a bow. Your favorite art form is having quite the cultural moment. On Broadway, of course, we've got the "Hamilton" phenomenon, making the stage musical feel more vital and relevant than it has in years. And we have popular live TV revivals like "Grease" and "Hairspray." Now, in time for Christmas, there's the eye-popping, heart-lifting "La La Land," which both honors and modernizes the screen musical to such joyful effect that you might find yourself pirouetting home from...
Chilean director Pablo Larrain is on a hero's quest to destroy the conventional biopic it seems. He turned the post-assassination days of Jacqueline Kennedy into an atmospheric examination of mythmaking and the public and private self in "Jackie," and in "Neruda ," the story of a poet on the run, into a thrilling meditation on authorship. The stories of both Jackie Kennedy and Pablo Neruda are already compelling on their own, but Larrain manages to go beyond the specifics and get to their...
NEW YORK (AP) -- After spending the night shooting the most devastating scene in "Manchester by the Sea" - a scene in which, Casey Affleck's character, clutching a bag of groceries, stands before a tragedy that haunts him throughout the film - Affleck tripped and felt a shooting pain run up his back. Writer-director Kenneth Lonergan, a veteran back-thrower, quickly yelled for Affleck to move around to keep the muscles from seizing up. "He's like, 'Get up! Pretend you're throwing me a ball!'" Affleck recalled...
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there were more stories than those of the Skywalker family. That was the idea Disney was counting on when it purchased George Lucas's empire Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012, and the rights to everything in the "Star Wars" universe. Sure, they'd continue chronicling the trajectory of the Skywalkers, but what else was out there? It was 30-year Lucas veteran John Knoll who thought of telling the story of the rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star...
NEW YORK (AP) -- There may have been enough aerosol spray to burn off the rest of our ozone layer, but Wednesday's ambitious live version of the musical "Hairspray" on NBC was worth the environmental damage. It was light and fun and soon had you stuck. Fittingly for a musical about pushing the boundaries, this was not a safe telecast in any way. It was shot with many outside scenes and with complex moving parts. Actors dodged real cars and buses, they dodged real dodge balls and some dancers dodged other...
PARK CITY, Utah -- Sixty-eight short films will complement the lineup of longer fare at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The short film slate aligns thematically with other Festival categories, including Midnight and The New Climate, the Festival’s new programming strand highlighting climate change and the environment. The Festival hosts screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort January 19-29. The Institute’s support for short films extends internationally and year-round. Select...
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Audiences came back for a second helping of "Moana" and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" this weekend. Both family-friendly films topped the post-Thanksgiving box office charts, with "Moana" bringing in $28.4 million and "Fantastic Beasts" earning $18.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Disney's animated "Moana," in only its second weekend in theaters and second weekend at No. 1, has grossed $119.9 million, while Warner Bros.' Harry Potter spinoff "Fantastic Beasts" has...
NEW YORK (AP) -- With the help of Dolly Parton, an iconic Christmas tree lighting, “The Voice” and the Dallas Cowboys, NBC enjoyed one of its best weeks in television ratings in years. Aside from times when NBC had the Olympics or Super Bowl, the week ending Sunday was the network’s most-watched in 19 years, said Bob Greenblatt, NBC chairman. The Parton movie, “Christmas of Many Colors,” finished among the Nielsen company’s top 10 programs last week. The network also had strong weeks for “The Voice” and the...
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Grammy Awards are sipping all of Beyonce’s lemonade. The pop star leads the 2017 Grammys with nine nominations, including bids for album of the year with “Lemonade,” and song and record of the year with “Formation.” The singer, who already has 20 Grammys and is the most nominated woman in Grammy history with 62 nods over the course of her career, is also the first artist to earn nominations in the pop, rock, R&B and rap categories in the same year. Behind Beyonce are Drake, Rihanna and...
As we look to regroup after a year marked by an inordinate dose of divisiveness and negativity, Microsoft’s “Art of Harmony” Xmas campaign spotlights a group of eight real-life people: Joel Artista is an artist, educator and advocate for social change through community-based public art. Zianna Oliphant is a child activist, who pleaded to the Charlotte City Council for equality and for the fighting to stop. Bobby White is a Florida police officer nicknamed the “basketball cop” after a video of...
Tattoos on David Beckham’s body come to life, depicting scenes of violence against children in this UNICEF PSA “Violence Marks Forever.” While Beckham’s actual tattoos were chosen to represent happy or important memories, the tattoos created for this commercial show memories of another variety--ones that leave long lasting scars on their young victims. Animation and production studio BlindPig, sister company of Absolute Post in London, creatively executed this new :60. The animation illustrates...
In this heartwarming :90 online spot, we see a worker spreading joy by cleverly leaving pennies adorned with tiny little bows all around the office for his colleagues to find. Puzzled, these co-workers later in the day each make their way to their cars where they find California Lottery Holiday Scratchers on their windshields and realize the meaning of the special pennies. A super appears on screen which reads, "A Little Gift Goes A Long Way." The Argentines of Bob Industries directed the...
Us The Duo, a folk pop music act consisting of husband and wife Michael and Carissa Alvarado, is launching a series, Public Record , as part of the AT&T Hello Lab initiative, which is in collaboration with agency Fullscreen. For Public Record , Us The Duo crowdsourced the inspiration for its next album from their fans, asking them to submit their real life stories of live, life, struggles and happiness for the chance to be featured in the music act’s new EP (extended play record). The...
Martin Rodahl, who made one of his initial career marks when selected for SHOOT ’s 2012 New Directors Showcase, directed, produced and edited this Special Olympics Illinois’ PSA titled “Different Like Me.” The spot features real athletes practicing various sports as their voices recite a poem that speaks to their respective journeys as Special Olympians. All aspects of the production, from concept to editorial, were handled by 71 Degrees North . Rodahl said of the piece, “As far as unique...
