Writer-director Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari (A24) made a major splash at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, winning both the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the dramatic category. And the recognition continues--even when the film is on the receiving end of a controversial Golden Globes decision to limit it to the foreign language category. Minari wound up winning the Globe for best foreign language feature and it’s picked up several Screen Actors Guild nominations, often a... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Paramount+ debuts Thursday as the latest — and last — streaming option from a major media company, this time from ViacomCBS. It's betting that consumers are willing to add yet another paid streaming service in an increasingly crowded field. Its backers hope a smorgasbord of offerings — live sports and news, reboots of properties like "Frasier" and "Rugrats," original shows like "Star Trek: Discovery" and the ViacomCBS library — will entice viewers. But its relatively late entrance to a... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Netflix on Friday released a study it commissioned from top academic researchers that shows the streaming giant is outpacing much of the film industry in the inclusivity of its original films and television series. For years, academic studies have sought to capture inequalities in Hollywood and to hold studios accountable for making film and television that doesn't reflect American demographics. Those studies have generally relied on box-office or ratings data, often leaving out streaming... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- With homebound nominees appearing by remote video and hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on different sides of the country, a very socially distanced 78th Golden Globe Awards trudged on in the midst of the pandemic and amid a storm of criticism for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, with top awards going to “Nomadland,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “The Crown” and “Schitt’s Creek.” The night’s top award, best dramatic film, went to Chloé Zhao’ “Nomadland.” Zhao, the China-born filmmaker of... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- The Visual Effects Society (VES) has unveiled the nominees for the 19th Annual VES Awards, the yearly celebration that recognizes outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games--and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life. The Mandalorian garners the most nominations and leads the broadcast field with 13 nominations. Soul is the top animated film contender with five nominations. Project... Read More 

BURBANK, Calif. -- ASIFA-Hollywood has unveiled nominations for its 48th Annual Annie Awards™ recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. This year’s ceremony will be streamed live on Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m. PST. This year’s Best Animated Feature nominations include: Onward (Pixar Animation Studios), Soul (Pixar Animation Studios), The Croods: A New Age (DreamWorks Animation), The Willoughbys (Netflix Presents A BRON Animation Production in association with Creative Wealth Media) and Trolls World... Read More 

LONDON (AP) -- Google says it won't develop new ways to follow individual users across the internet after it phases out existing ad-tracking technology from its Chrome browser, a change that could shake up the online advertising industry. Google says it's taking the move to protect user privacy. It's part of a broader shift in the industry as marketers such as Apple and regulators in the U.K., U.S. and elsewhere increasingly are seeking ways to phase out more egregious data collection practices. Still, there... Read More 

NEW YORK & LONDON -- Dave Rolfe has been appointed to the new role of global head of production, WPP and Hogarth. Rolfe, who was most recently head of production for global business marketing at Facebook, will be based in Hogarth Worldwide, WPP’s creative production arm. He joins this month, reporting to WPP’s incoming global chief creative officer, Rob Reilly, and Hogarth CEO Richard Glasson. In this newly created role, Rolfe will be responsible for executing a strategy that elevates the role of production in... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Tony Awards could bring Cynthia Erivo another Emmy. Days after the British performer belted Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way" during a red carpet interview at the 2019 Tonys — explaining that it's her guilty pleasure song — she got a call from the producers of the National Geographic series "Genius: Aretha." "I was like, 'I beg your pardon,'" she continued. "In my head I'm like, 'There is another film happening and I'm excited to see that, so what is this?'" NatGeo had already completed... Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Chloé Zhao became the second woman to win best director at the Golden Globes and the first female winner of Asian descent on a night in which her film "Nomadland" was crowned the top drama film. Zhao, who was among three women nominated in the directing category, was honored for her work on "Nomadland," about people who take to the road and move from place to place seeking work for usually low wages. It stars two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand and includes nonprofessional actors. "I... Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The organization hosting the Golden Globes says it is developing a plan to recruit Black members after falling under sharp criticism for lacking diverse members. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said in statement Friday that an "action plan" is under development to admit Black members. The group currently has 87 members who are journalists, but none are Black. Former HFPA president Meher Tatna told Variety in an interview that the organization hasn't had a Black member in nearly two... Read More 

ATLANTA -- Shaquille O’Neal has joined forces with award-winning marketer Omid Farhang to create Majority, an independent, creative marketing agency based in Atlanta. In addition to his career as a Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA analyst, O’Neal is a prolific celebrity marketer. Meanwhile, Farhang was most recently chief creative officer at Momentum Worldwide (part of the McCann Worldgroup family), after stops at Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Creative Artists Agency. The name Majority speaks to the agency... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- Director Adrian De Sa Garces has joined Eleanor--the L.A.-based house founded by veteran executive producer Sophie Gold--for U.S. representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos. De Sa Garces has turned out top-shelf work for brands such as BMW, Coca-Cola, Standard Bank, First National Bank, Chicken Licken, and VW Polo. Along the way he’s earned Gold at the Dubai Lynx Awards, Bronze at Europe’s Premier Creative Awards, Millward-Brown’s Best Liked Ad of the Year, Gold,... Read More 

CHICAGO -- O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul (OKRP) has hired Elena Robinson as its head of production with the goal of redefining, expanding, and growing its production capabilities. She takes over leadership of both the agency’s production work for clients and its independent production capability from long-time agency exec Scott Mitchell who will refocus on producing key agency projects at OKRP, with the new title of executive producer. Industry vet Robinson’s resume includes everything from Cannes-winning... Read More 

NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES -- Bicoastal production studio m ss ng p eces has added award-winning director Tobias Nathan to its roster for commercials, branded content and music videos. Nathan’s work explores the nuances of the human experience--stemming from his background as a journalist--and spans advertising, music videos, and short film. Nathan is known for his music video work for artists such as G-Eazy, Miguel, Luav, Walk the Moon, and Alessia Cara, which have over one billion combined views. In the ad realm, he has... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has unveiled nominations in its television specialty categories for the 32nd Annual Producers Guild Awards. The PGA Awards virtual awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. The winners of the Sports, Children’s and Short Form categories, as well the PGA Innovation Award, will be announced during a new nominees event titled “A Day with the PGA Awards Nominees,” being held virtually on Saturday, March 20. The event will also feature panels... Read More 

STUDIO CITY, Calif. -- The Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) has unveiled the nominees in the 68th Annual MPSE Golden Reel Awards. Nominees represent the work of the world’s most talented sound artists and their contributions to the past year’s most outstanding feature film, television, animation, computer entertainment, and student productions. “We’re very excited about this year’s MPSE Golden Reel Awards. It will feature a dynamic, virtual format that will be great fun and allow people from around the world to... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- The Cinema Audio Society has revealed the nominees for the 57h Annual CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2020 in seven categories, as well as the Outstanding Product Nominations. “2020 was wrought with unprecedented challenges, yet the nominees of the 57th Annual CAS Awards display a stellar example of quality and creativity that rivals any of our previous years. This year’s celebration is a testament to the outstanding technical ingenuity and creative prowess of our... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- Nominees have been unveiled for the 23rd CDGA (Costume Designers Guild Awards) celebrating excellence in film, television, and short-form costume design. Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony which will take place on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. For the first time in CDGA history, the annual awards show will be livestreamed for fans worldwide exclusively on Twitter @CostumeAwards at 5:30pm PT/8:30pm ET. This year’s host, presenters and honoree will be announced in the coming weeks... Read More 

LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK -- Bicoastal production company ArtClass has signed director/writer Ryan Ebner to its roster for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. Known for his dry, understated brand of humor, Ebner, a performance-driven director with a sharp eye for casting, has had his work garner honors from the Cannes Film Festival, D&AD, and The One Show, among others. At ArtClass, Ebner has already wrapped a campaign for State Farm out of DDB. Ebner has helmed projects for such brands as... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- International production company Great Guns has added directors Melody Maker and Suzanne Kim to its roster. Great Guns reps Maker in the U.S. while Kim is handled globally outside of Australia. This marks Kim’s first representation in the U.S. market and outside of Australia and New Zealand. She continues to be repped Down Under by production house Collider. Meanwhile Maker’s last company affiliation was The Mill. Having begun her career as creative director at fashion house BOY LONDON, Maker... Read More 

TORONTO -- After a year-long global search, Zulu Alpha Kilo has found its newest executive creative director much closer to home: Brian Murray who was most recently chief creative officer at Ogilvy Canada in Toronto. During his time at Ogilvy, Murray led a creative renaissance, resulting in numerous Cannes Lions, and Ogilvy being named the fourth most effective agency in North America by the 2020 Effie Awards, and the only Canadian agency in the top 10. Murray has consistently ranked amongst Canada’s top... Read More 

LONDON -- The directorial duo of Haein Kim and Paul Rhodes, aka Haein & Paul, has joined Nexus Studios for worldwide representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos. This is believed to be the first time that the directing team has signed with a production house. However, they have collaborated in the past with Nexus sister shop/Sydney branch, Mighty Nice. Kim and Rhodes are based in Sydney. Haein & Paul’s short film, Peepin’ , a delicately crafted, humorous take on... Read More 

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Twenty-two feature films have been selected for the latest round of tax credits under California’s Film & TV Tax Credit Program. They include 11 independent and 11 non-independent film projects representing a wide range of budgets, genres and locations. Consistent with the program’s goal of bringing production jobs and spending to regions across California, more than half the projects plan significant production outside the Los Angeles 30-Mile Studio Zone (TMZ). The list includes projects... Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- As "The Handmaid's Tale" returns in April for season four, its creator is reluctant to predict when the dystopian drama will be ready for its final act. "Every time I come upon a season, I don't have any idea what we're going to do," said Bruce Miller. "And every time I get to the end of the season, I'm thrilled with what we've done .... and I feel like I could go on and on forever." That's if Elisabeth Moss sticks with the series based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, said Miller. He lavished... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- When Eddie Murphy made the original "Coming to America," he was, almost indisputably, the funniest man in America. Murphy was at the very height of his fame, coming off "Beverly Hills Cop II" and the stand-up special "Raw." They were heady times. Arsenio Hall, Murphy's longtime friend and co-star in "Coming to America," remembers them sneaking out during the shoot to a Hollywood nightclub while still dressed as Prince Akeem and his loyal aide Semmi. "We were insane," says Hall. The '80s, Murphy... Read More 

Imagine being trapped in the confines of your own neighborhood, losing a sense of the outside world — and of yourself — with each passing day. Things are seeming kind of flat lately, and sometimes downright colorless. Everything looks reasonably placid, but something's not quite right with reality. The days feel … episodic. Does the world taper off at the end of the block? Does life loop back on itself? Are your neighbors with you, or against you? This has been the premise of "WandaVision,"... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- The pandemic-era Golden Globes sunk to 6.9 million viewers, down a whopping 64% from 2020 and only barely beating the year when a writer's strike forced NBC to show a news conference announcing the winners. Last year's show, in the pre-lockdown era, reached 18.4 million viewers, the Nielsen company said. Big winners in Sunday's ceremony were the films "Nomadland" and "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" and the television programs "The Crown" and "The Queen's Gambit." The writer's strike curtailed the... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- A not-so-distant recovery for movie theaters could be glimpsed Sunday, as Warner Bros.' live-action-animation hybrid "Tom & Jerry" debuted with $13.7 million in ticket sales, the best domestic opening of the year. The better-than-expected opening came despite just 42% of U.S. theaters being open, according to data firm Comscore. "Tom & Jerry" also played in 2,475 North American cinemas simultaneously as it did in the home, where it's streaming on HBO Max for a month. Yet "Tom &... Read More 

Directed and shot by Lance Acord of Park Pictures for ad agency Highdive, this spot titled “Earth Odyssey” marks the launch of the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, part of the drive to make Jeep the world’s greenest SUV brand by 2022. In honor of this mission and the electrification of Jeep’s most iconic vehicle, Highdive tapped the classical music recording “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” often associated with the film 2001: A Space Odyssey , to introduce Jeep’s newest addition. In this spot, you’re taken on a... Read More 

Singer Jimmy Somerville (Bronski Beat, The Communards) and producer Sally Herbert will donate all profits from their new single, a cover of Nina Simone’s classic “Everything Must Change” to UK Charity Network, End Youth Homelessness--supporting over 30,000 young vulnerable people across the U.K. The charity network, which includes Centrepoint alongside other regional charities, has warned of an increase in youth homelessness against a backdrop of strained provision, and increases in... Read More 

“Uncontained” is a new Canadian human trafficking awareness campaign, directed by Mark Zibert of production company Scouts Honour for Banfield Agency. The emotional Public Safety Canada campaign video is set to Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over” and reveals a shocking stat--almost one-third of human trafficking victims in Canada were trafficked by a current or former intimate partner. Shot during COVID-19 with heightened restrictions and parameters in place, the intimate partners depicted... Read More 

This “Work is better with play” film takes us through a day in the life of a mom--the real MVP-- and her adorable son as they navigate a packed and exciting day full of work, play and everything in between, with the help of the versatile Samsung Galaxy Tab S7/7+, the ideal work-from-home or anywhere productivity tool that’s rooted in entertainment, and features gaming partnerships so you can shoot outer space aliens on the same device you use to design presentations. Directed by Fredrik Bond of... Read More 

In this two-minute public service film, a granddad writes a letter to his grandson Daniel, explaining why he can’t be there for his 10th birthday party. The grandfather, a war veteran, talks about self-sacrifice for things that are bigger than all of us--in this case staying safe and protecting yourself and others during a pandemic. The lesson imparted is that when you wear a mask, maintain social distance, get vaccinated, responsibly refrain from experiences you would normally enjoy, you’re... Read More 

This short film commissioned by Google, Business as Usual , celebrates the artistry and community-based spirit of Black-owned businesses in the U.S. . The two minute film is written and directed by division7’s Joshua Kissi, a Ghanian-American director and photographer. Told through graphic black-and-white visuals lensed by DP Ben Goodman, Business as Usual follows the protagonist through his morning ritual--splashing water on his face, making breakfast, reading the newspaper--before he emerges... Read More 

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