Cinematographer Peter Deming, ASC was brought onto The Good Lord Bird (Showtime) by Albert Hughes, who directed the first episode and served as an EP on the limited series which is based on James McBride’s novel of the same title. Set in the mid-19th century, The Good Lord Bird is told from the perspective of the fictionalized Henry “Onion” Shackleford, a teenager freed from slavery by abolitionist John Brown. Onion joins Brown’s movement and goes on to meet the likes of Harriet Tubman and... Read More 

Cannes Lions has unveiled the winners from the Film Lions, Titanium Lions and Sustainable Development Goals Lions, as well as Glass: The Lion for Change, in the final Awards Show of the week. Also revealed were the winners of the Special Awards for 2020/2021 and the Grand Prix for Good. Bodyform/Libresse/Essity’s “#wombstories” came up big, winning one of three Film Lions Grand Prix honors awarded, as well as the Titanium Grand Prix. Directed by Nisha Ganatra of Chelsea Pictures, “#wombstories... Read More 

ATHENS, Ga. -- The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors today (6/24) unveiled the remaining recipients of honors, making for a total of 30 programs representing the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting and streaming media during 2020. Of the 30 winners, PBS led with five, followed by Netflix with four, HBO with three, and Amazon, Apple TV+, and Showtime each with two. Additional winning platforms include ABC, The Atlantic, CBS, Disney Channel, ITV, KING 5, KNXV-TV, MTV, Nashville Public... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Steven Spielberg, a filmmaker synonymous with big-screen enchantment, has set a new deal with Netflix in which his production company, Amblin Partners, will make multiple feature films per year for the streaming giant. The partnership, one long courted by Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer, is a major get for the company that, amid increasing competition, brings perhaps the most beloved film director more officially into the streaming fold. The deal announced Monday doesn't... Read More 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly going to review Amazon’s proposed $8.45 billion deal to acquire MGM, the movie and TV studio behind such properties as the James Bond franchise, Legally Blonde and Shark Tank . News of FTC scrutiny comes after President Joe Biden last week promoted antitrust legal scholar Lina Khan to head the FTC. That appointment signaled a tough stance generally toward tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple. Furthermore the current climate in... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Toronto International Film Festival is planning an extensive in-person festival in September, a year after turning to virtual red carpets and outdoor screenings because of the pandemic. Festival organizers announced Wednesday that the 45th edition of TIFF will take place Sept. 9-18 and return to in-person screenings in many of its usual downtown Toronto venues, like the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Roy Thomson Hall, and the Princess of Wales Theatre. Organizers acknowledged those plans are hopeful... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Fifteen months after shuttering for the pandemic, New York's Radio City Music Hall reopened its doors Saturday for the Tribeca Festival premiere of a new Dave Chappelle documentary for a full-capacity, fully-vaccinated audience. The debut of "Dave Chappelle: This Time This Place," which chronicles Chappelle's pandemic stand-up series held in rural Ohio cornfields, marked the first time the hallowed midtown hall was yet again packed since closing in March 2020 — a shutdown that put a year-plus's... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Procter & Gamble once again comes together with Tribeca Studios and its partners to give a platform to Black creators at Tribeca Festival as part of its Juneteenth program. This year, the festival has debuted eight original films from Black creatives and filmmakers. These films are the latest demonstration of P&G’s commitment to Widen the Screen, intended to improve the portrayal of Black life on screen and expand inclusion efforts for Black creators behind the camera in order to... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Dustin Yellin has teamed with the National Wildlife Federation, Droga5, Squint/Opera, Q Department, Mach1 and Vrai Pictures to launch Procession , an interactive artwork that lets anyone in the world place a Yellin sculpture in their immediate environment and bring the art to life by walking around and inside it, revealing hundreds of narratives within the piece. The interactive project debuted globally at this year’s Tribeca Festival. Procession is a groundbreaking augmented-reality (AR) app... Read More 

Cannes Lions has announced the award winners in the penultimate day (6/24) of Cannes Lions Live, running from June 21-25. The Brand Experience and Activation Lions, Creative Business Transformation Lions, Creative eCommerce Lions, Creative Effectiveness Lions, Mobile Lions, Innovation Lions, and Radio & Audio Lions winners were all unveiled in the Awards Show, streamed from Cannes, France. Experience Track In the Brand Experience and Activation Lions, honoring creative, comprehensive brand... Read More 

Cannes Lions continued today (6/23) with the third of its Awards Shows streaming from Cannes. Winners of the Craft Track and Entertainment Track have been announced, and Taiwan is awarded its first Grand Prix. The Film Craft Lions, celebrating onscreen artistry, received 1,994 entries. The jury chose to award 65 Lions, 9 Gold, 24 Silver and 31 Bronze. The Grand Prix was presented to Chelsea Pictures, L.A. and NY/AMV BBDO, London, for “#wombstories,” the campaign for Libresse that gave a voice... Read More 

Cannes Lions has unveiled the winners in the second Awards Show of the week--this time spanning the Social & Influencer Lions, Media Lions, PR Lions, Direct Lions, Creative Strategy Lions and Creative Data Lions all within the Reach Track. In the Creative Data Lions, which honor the interplay of ideas and information, 12 Lions were awarded from 364 entries: 2 Gold, 4 Silver and 5 Bronze and a Grand Prix was presented to “Saylists,” by Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive, Dublin, for... Read More 

The Cannes Lions awards have kicked off today (6/21) with the winners of the Pharma, Health & Wellness, Outdoor, Print & Publishing and Design Lions unveiled during the Awards Show streamed from Cannes. The U.K., U.S., Sweden, Romania, Italy, France and Canada have all seen Grands Prix awarded. The Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good--given to work created for non-profit organizations and charities--has been awarded to AMV BBDO London, for "addresspollution... Read More 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Without speaking a word or scratching a pen across paper, President Joe Biden drove up the pressure on Big Tech companies already smarting under federal and congressional investigations, epic antitrust lawsuits and near-constant condemnation from politicians of both parties. Biden last week elevated a fierce critic of Big Tech, antitrust legal scholar Lina Khan, to head the powerful Federal Trade Commission. The surprise move was a clear signal of a tough stance toward tech giants Facebook,... Read More 

Every year, Hollywood inevitably comes under criticism for its lack of racial diversity. But another lesser-known yet still pervasive problem also resurfaces: the lack of diversity in skin tone. It happened again with "In the Heights," a big-budget film based on the musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, which was called out this week for its dearth of dark-skinned, Black Latinos in leading roles. Colorism — or discrimination against darker-skinned people within their same ethnic group — lurks... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- During the pandemic, Steven Soderbergh has shot two feature films, released a pair of movies, written a sequel to his first film (1989's "Sex, Lies and Videotape"), re-edited some of his older movies (mostly for fun) and co-produced the Academy Awards. It's an amount of accomplishment that really puts to shame the 1,000-piece puzzle some of us are still proud of assembling last May. Yet at a time when much of Hollywood is going through profound change, Soderbergh has, like few others, seized an... Read More 

NEW YORK -- The shortlists for the 2021 AICP Awards--the AICP Post Awards, the AICP Next Awards and the AICP Show--have been released. Winners in each of these three competitions for excellence will be revealed during a series of free virtual premieres set to take place in late July--the AICP Post Awards will debut July 27, followed by the AICP Next Awards on July 28, culminating in the premiere of the AICP Show on July 29. The work on all three shortlists can be found here . Details to register for the... Read More 

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Director Nolan Goff has signed with CoMPANY Films for spot work in the U.S. Goff’s body of work includes commercials for Nike, Lululemon, Lebron Jame’s Ladder Nutrition and most recently, Peloton. “Nolan (Goff) found early success as an agency creative here on the West Coast and that’s no easy task,” said executive producer Ron Cicero who heads CoMPANY along with EP Richard Goldstein. “That he then gained the trust of clients like Nike and Peloton to direct the work was even more impressive... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Honor Society has signed director and writer Jazeel Gayle for U.S. commercial representation. Gayle, who is passionate about telling thought-provoking, unnerving, and inspiring stories, has turned out work that is a mix of human rights messaging with stylized visuals that blur the line between graphic design and cinematography. He has brought his vision to projects for brands such as Nissan, Eastern Bank, Alfa Romeo, and Men’s Health. Lifelong film lover Gayle was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and... Read More 

LONDON -- Sam Hawkey is joining AMV BBDO as CEO after 12 years at Saatchi & Saatchi London, most recently as its CEO. Hawkey’s career started at Glue Isobar and from there he moved to Saatchi where he held roles including managing partner, managing director and chief operating officer. Andrew Robertson, global CEO, BBDO Worldwide, said, “Sam has an infectious energy and passion for creativity, a refreshingly crisp perspective on the future of the business, and a proven ability to lead. He asks good... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Content creation studio BODEGA, with bases of operation in NY, L.A. and San Francisco, has signed the directing duo Bright Black, consisting of Austin Rhodes and Ivan Landau, for U.S. representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos. Bright Black’s work features a range of captivating cinematography, insane graphics, visual effects and animation anchored around the strength of the central story and message. Bright Black has turned out content for such brands as Nike, Apple... Read More 

Director Heidi Ewing makes a powerful narrative debut with " I Carry You with Me," a dreamy and tender, decades-spanning story about love, sacrifice, memory and immigration. The central character is Iván (Armando Espitia), an aspiring chef who we meet in Mexico as he's struggling to get a spot in a kitchen and to make enough money to support his son. His boss, who has him washing dishes and fixing toilets, tells him to be patient. Iván's culinary school degree and talent are of no interest to... Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" is rising again on screen, this time for TV. The bestselling novel, which was adapted for the 1994 Brad Pitt-Tom Cruise film, will be the basis for a new AMC and AMC+ series set for 2022, AMC Networks said Thursday. The announcement follows the company's 2020 acquisition of 18 works by Rice, including 1976's "Interview with the Vampire," its sequels and the Mayfair Witches series. Producer Mark Johnson ("Breaking Bad," "Halt and Catch Fire") will be in... Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Amid all the back-and-forth about the feasibility of holding the Tokyo Olympics during the pandemic, there are early indications of viewer interest in the summer games. U.S. Olympic team trials in swimming and track and field that aired Sunday on NBC fell short of gold-medal ratings but won enough viewers to edge into the top 20, according to Nielsen figures released Tuesday. NBC's coverage of the trials to date is down 26% compared to viewership for comparable Olympic trials in 2016 on the... Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" struck the top box office target. The Lionsgate's film starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek brought in $11.6 million domestically to claim the No. 1 spot in its debut. The action-comedy — which appeared in 3,331 locations — is the follow up the 2017 breakout hit "The Hitman's Bodyguard." "A Quiet Place Part II" took hold of the second spot in its fourth weekend of release. The Paramount horror-thriller, which stars Emily Blunt and was... Read More 

Due to gun violence, 3,044 students did not graduate this year. Change The Ref is making sure these victims are not forgotten, and is forcing pro-gun legislators and proponents to face the tragic consequences of their policies by creating “The Lost Class.” This month, a graduation ceremony was held to honor The Lost Class. In this video a most unlikely commencement speaker is seen and heard--David Keene, former president and current board member of the NRA. The NRA has used its power and... Read More 

The Danes love their bikes, and the Danish capital of Copenhagen is the world’s most cycle-friendly city. One problem, though, is that helmets have never become as popular as cycling itself. To combat this, the Danish Ministry of Transportation, aka the Danish Road Safety Council, has launched a campaign--from ad agency &Co.--which pokes gentle fun at those who are too vain to wear a helmet, by recruiting a group that wore theirs with pride, the Vikings. This slice of Viking life in the... Read More 

Running out of ink can be a pain in the neck. Luckily, HP has created the remedy to the many challenges of printing at home. Instant Ink — a subscription that automatically delivers ink to your door before you run out. To spread the word, in this campaign from Goodby Silverstein & Partners, HP is enlisting modern day spokes-vampires, portrayed by Beth Dover ( Orange is the New Black ) and Tom Musgraves ( Fargo ). The immortal couple has seen many human innovations over the centuries, but... Read More 

For The Africa Center, home isn’t just a place--it’s a feeling. Located in New York City’s iconic Harlem neighborhood, The Africa Center exists as a cultural bedrock focused on centering African people on the continent and across the diaspora. Through its programming, the institution amplifies African history, heritage, and global influence, and offers a deeper understanding of contemporary Africa through authentic engagement with African culture and people living in communities across the... Read More 

PRETTYBIRD filmmaker Jess Kohl has directed a series of short films commissioned by Unilever to celebrate the stories of real-life members of the LGBTQI+ community in the U.K. The shorts from agency RanaVerse are part of Unilever’s “United We Stand” campaign in the U.K. For the fourth consecutive year, Unilever is teaming with Superdrug to continue supporting Switchboard LGBTQ+ helpline to provide a safe space for the community to discuss anything, including sexuality, gender identity, sexual... Read More 

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