Director and producer Hiro Murai’s collaborative relationship with Donald Glover spans 10-plus years, yielding a mix of breakthrough music videos, short films and television. “With all good collaborations, a lot of what works is sort of unspoken,” related Murai who observed that he and actor, comedian, singer, rapper, director and producer Glover are “kind of interested in the same sort of minutiae in character stories. We like error, things that feel kind of thrown away.” There’s a mutual... Read More 

One cinematographer described the limited series he lensed as perhaps “the most personal project I’ve ever done.” Another DP found it gratifying to get the opportunity to work with groundbreaking director Mimi Leder. Our third cinematographer valued his return engagement with not only writer-creator-exec producer Bennie Safdie but also actor and EP Emma Stone. And our fourth DP entered the Star Wars universe for the first time, adding to her far-ranging body of work. Here are insights from... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- Director-producer Ron Howard has notably diversified into the documentary realm with such work as The Beatles: Eight Days a Week--The Touring Years (2016), Pavarotti (2019) and We Feed People (2022), which spotlighted renowned chief José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen which evolved from a group of grassroots volunteers to one of the most highly regarded humanitarian aid organizations in the disaster relief sector. Sandwiched in-between Pavarotti and We Feed People was the 2020... Read More 

NEW YORK -- The year’s best advertising was saluted tonight (6/6) at The Museum of Modern Art at a gala AICP Awards celebration and screening. Since 1992, AICP has hosted this industry-wide celebration at MoMA to honor the winning work, which is annually made a part of the archives of the museum’s Department of Film. Winners for the 2024 AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial, the AICP Next Awards and the AICP Post Awards premiered earlier in the week at MoMA. The top winners in each... Read More 

It’s only natural that jury presidents and judges think that the award category they are involved in is one of, if not the most significant in competition. And generally a good case can be made--and has been in this Cannes Lions Preview by the likes of Social & Influencer Lions jury president Amy Ferguson, Creative Business Transformation judge Michael Treff, Glass: The Lion For Change judge Suresh Raj, Entertainment Lions judge Olivier Lefebvre and Dan Wieden Titanium Lions jury president... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Director Dawn Porter has added another unique distinction to her far-reaching career achievements as for the first time she brings two documentaries to this year’s Tribeca Festival, which got underway yesterday (6/5) and runs through June 16. Selected to compete in the Spotlight Documentary program are her Luther: Never Too Much and Power of the Dream . The former takes an in-depth look into the life and career of Luther Vandross as he overcomes personal and professional challenges to become an... Read More 

NEW YORK -- As a follow-up to its Tribeca Festival Preview --which included feedback from director Dawn Porter on her two films being screened, Luther: Never Too Much and Power of the Dream , and co-directors John Antonio James and Bill Mack on their documentary Black Table -- SHOOT takes a look at opening proceedings over the first two days for an event which runs through June 16. The 2024 Tribeca Festival kicked off with the world premiere of the highly anticipated Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge... Read More 

Making one’s directorial debut is a dream come true. And the dream is elevated all the more when it sees its first light of day at the Sundance Film Festival. That dream turned reality is what Josh Margolin experienced as his feature film Thelma received an ovation at this year’s Sundance premiere where the groundwork was laid for it being acquired by Magnolia Pictures, which has slated it for theatrical release on June 21. Thelma is a poignant action-comedy that gives veteran actor June Squibb... Read More 

NEW YORK -- The Gotham Film & Media Institute (The Gotham) unveiled the winners of the inaugural Gotham TV Awards at a ceremony on Tuesday evening (6/4) held at Cipriani 25 in New York City. Winning Breakthrough Limited Series was Baby Reindeer , a unique exploration of stalking and buried traumas created by and starring Richard Gadd, based on his own autobiographical one-man show. Outstanding Performance in a Limited Series was awarded to Andrew Scott for his take on the con-man created by Patricia... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Renato Fernandez has been appointed as the chief creative officer for Publicis Creative in the U.S. In this newly created role, Fernandez will oversee and support the creative vision and client impact for the U.S. creative agencies including Leo Burnett, Saatchi and Saatchi, Fallon, Team One, BBH, and the community. Officially starting August 1st, he will report to Publicis Creative US CEO Susie Nam. Nam said of Fernandez, “He brings with him the right combination of experience and hunger--he... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- Director, singer-songwriter and actor Moses Sumney has joined production company Serial Pictures for commercials, branded entertainment and music video representation. This marks his first time being represented as a director. While Sumney’s work defies expectation, genre and categorization, a consistent theme across his creative explorations in the worlds of film and music is his assertion that the undefinable still exists and dwelling in it is an act of resistance. Akin to his upbringing... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- Park Pictures has added filmmaker Leo Aguirre to its roster for U.S. representation. Aguirre is a multi-hyphenate talent who utilizes his diverse experience as a writer, photographer, cinematographer, and editor to his advantage as a director. Aguirre is a first-generation Mexican-American born and raised in the border town of El Paso, Texas. This bicultural experience and his adolescence in the Caribbean have greatly influenced his cinematic style and relationship with storytelling. During... Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria are the next family set to star in their own reality series. The actor and producer, who has seven kids under age 10 with his wife, announced the TLC reality show about their life as a party of nine. "The Baldwins," the show's working title, is set to release in 2025. "We're inviting you into our home to experience the ups and downs, the good, the bad, the wild and the crazy," Baldwin said in a video he shared to Instagram on Tuesday. In the announcement video... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- One of Idris Elba's grandfathers fought in World War II, but he doesn't know what he endured. No pictures or stories survive. "That part of my family's history has been erased somewhat," says Elba. That helped fuel the actor's push to narrate and executive produce the four-part National Geographic docuseries "Erased: WW2's Heroes of Color," which premieres Monday, days ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when the Allies landed on the coast of France, on June 6. Episodes will also later be... Read More 

Lola's red hair might have been a mistake. Not the color, mind you. Franka Potente's electric locks in "Run Lola Run" are as intrinsic to the adrenaline rush of her sprint through Berlin as the film's heart-racing electronic score. Given the choice now, however, Potente would say no to bleaching her hair three times in one day. Still, regrets are few about the film and the whirlwind frenzy of its life-changing success. And when you're 22 and making an experimental indie with like-minded,... Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- NBC is inserting some pop culture flavor into the world's biggest sports spectacle: From Megan Thee Stallion dancing with dressage horses at the Palace of Versailles to Peyton Manning riding a giant baguette blimp over the Eiffel Tower, the network has strategically partnered with several big names to build anticipation for the Paris Olympics. Enlisting a plethora of entertainers and non-Olympic athletes is designed to entice viewers after the network — and longtime Olympics broadcaster in the... Read More 

BOSTON -- Integrated strategy, creative and media agency Hill Holliday has expanded its creative department with the addition of four new creative directors--Jim English, Scott Padden, Danny Murphy and Alexandra Ebright--as well as two new executive vice president roles, with Dave Weist appointed EVP, head of brand and Kevin Daley promoted to EVP, head of art. In addition, Hana Abate was named social community coordinator. Weist joins Hill Holliday from MullenLowe U.S., where he was ECD and worked with... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Effie Worldwide has unveiled the 2023 Effie Index®, the 13th annual ranking of the companies behind the world’s most effective marketing initiatives. FMCG/CPG, fast food and beverage companies dominated this year’s rankings, with 3 out of the Top 5 Most Effective Brands being QSRs. AB InBev and McDonald’s demonstrate their dedication to effectiveness by taking top spots in the Marketer and Brand rankings, respectively, for the third year running. The competition for Most Effective Agency Office... Read More 

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- “Cancel the World Cup,” a technology-driven effort designed to raise awareness of the importance of visiting a cardiologist to help prevent heart disease, was named Best of Show at this year’s American Advertising Awards sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). The campaign was created by Texas-based agency BeautifulBeast on behalf of Fundación Cardiológica Argentina (Argentinian Heart Foundation). The American Advertising Awards received more than 25,000 entries as part of the... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- Director Todd Kapostasy has signed with bicoastal Cultivate.Media--the commercial and content production company overseen by managing director/executive producer Mark Thomas and EP Stuart Wilson--for exclusive U.S. spot representation. Kapostasy’s projects range from commercials and branded content to feature documentaries and episodic docuseries. His work spans clients like Amazon, Bose, ESPN and Nike, and includes such sports figures and entertainers as Erin Andrews, Giannis Antetokounmpo,... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- JOJX--the L.A. shop led by executive producers and partners Jackson Morton and Joe Care--has entered into a partnership with London-based Agile Films. The partnership expands the U.S. presence of some of Agile’s most sought after directors, adding Zac Ella, Joshua Vii, Noah Harris, Emilie Badenhorst, Jamie Whitby, and Lucy Bridger to JOJX’s roster. These directors bring with them a history of inventive and expressive filmmaking, featuring collaborations with brands like Nike, McDonald’s,... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Creative production studio LOBO has entered into a strategic partnership with Surreal Hotel Arts. The arrangement further enhances LOBO’s new live-action division and expands its roster of directors. News of the collaboration comes just weeks after LOBO formally launched its live-action division. LOBO is no stranger to the discipline, as even its widely known animation-led projects often feature a sprinkle of live-action elements. The introduction of a dedicated department, however, gives LOBO... Read More 

U.S. antitrust enforcers have decided to investigate the roles Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI have played in the artificial intelligence boom, according to people familiar with the pending actions. The Department of Justice will launch an investigation of chipmaker Nvidia, while the Federal Trade Commission will scrutinize close business partners Microsoft and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, according to two people who were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigations and spoke to The... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Janis Paige, a popular actor in Hollywood and in Broadway musicals and comedies who danced with Fred Astaire, toured with Bob Hope and continued to perform into her 80s, has died. She was 101. Paige died Sunday of natural causes at her Los Angeles home, longtime friend Stuart Lampert said Monday. Paige starred on Broadway with Jackie Cooper in the mystery-comedy, "Remains to be Seen" and appeared with John Raitt in the smash hit musical "The Pajama Game." Her other films included a Hope comedy... Read More 

It was a quiet weekend at North American movie theaters, dominated once again by Sony's "The Garfield Movie," Warner Bros.' " Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga " and a slew of holdovers. Flipping the script from their Memorial weekend openings, the animated orange cat crept ahead of the wasteland warrior in their second outing. "The Garfield Movie" earned a chart-topping $14 million in ticket sales while "Furiosa" settled into third place in a close race with "IF," according to studio estimates on Sunday... Read More 

The Renault 5 was an iconic model of the brand and the best-selling car in France during the 1970s and early ‘80s. But production stopped in ‘84. And now 40 years later the Renault 5 is back--redesigned from scratch, 100 percent electric, using resourceful materials. It’s a turning point for the brand, marking a revolution in the automotive industry. Marking the development is this creatively ambitious spot, “R5volution is a French thing, directed by Sebastian Strasser via production company... Read More 

A few months ago, Madrid woke up with a question: Who is Marina Prieto? That’s what thousands of Spaniards asked when they came across photos of a 100-year-old lady in Madrid’s subway stations. A granny’s Instagram photos of her watering her plants, eating churros, or taking a nap filled hundreds of advertising spaces in Madrid overnight. People started searching for her, following her, discussing her on social media, and even taking selfies with her pictures on the billboards. But nobody knew... Read More 

Apple’s latest back-to-school campaign for Mac consists of three spots--including this one titled “Powered”--directed by Tom Kuntz of MJZ and lensed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema ( Oppenheimer ). Powered takes us to a university where a librarian cautions a student that he’s gone too far loading multiple apps onto his laptop computer. She affirms that he’s “a hot dog in a hurricane” and there’s no saving him from a laptop implosion--that is until he informs her that he’s... Read More 

Cadbury and VCCP London have teamed to create “distracted” ads, including this one titled “Mum,” with the source of the distraction being the newly created Cadbury Dairy Milk &More bar--which comes in two flavors, Nutty Praline Crisp and Caramel Nut Crunch. The idea behind the campaign is to celebrate the bar’s depth by showcasing the distracting power of the &More bar’s fillings, proudly celebrating that “there’s a lot to take in.” In this spot a woman has locked herself out of the... Read More 

Bitburger, Serviceplan and Stink Films Berlin took a road trip around Germany to capture the emotion of football fans in the lead up to the UEFA Euro 2024. Bitburger is the official national beer of the UEFA Euro Championships in Germany. Directed by documentary specialist Eliot Rausch via Stink Films, the “Bitte” tour campaign celebrates all that brings people together around major football events--food, traditions, storytelling, paraphernalia, hugs, and of course, shared moments with... Read More 

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