HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- The issue of gender equality came up unexpectedly in one session and as anticipated in another during the course of the Production Music Association’s (PMA) three-day Production Music Conference which wraps today (9/28) in Hollywood. A Thursday morning keynote session set the tone in part as Variety ’s Jon Burlingame interviewed composer, multi-instrumentalist , songwriter and record producer Tyler Bates who reflected on his extensive movie work, which includes scoring for the Guardians of the... Read More, Comment

CULVER CITY, Calif. -- Production company Superprime has added filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos to its directorial roster for U.S. commercial representation. Lanthimos is a multi-award-winning director whose first English language feature film The Lobster , starring Golden Globe nominee Colin Farrell, won the Jury Prize at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in 2015. The film also won Best Screenplay and Best Costume Design at the 2015 European Film Awards and was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Original... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Elizabeth Olsen is not a user of social media, has never been married, and has never experienced profound loss, but the actress has spent her 2018 surrounded by grief as a young widow in the new Facebook Watch series “Sorry For Your Loss.” The 10-episode, half-hour drama premiered earlier this month on the social media site’s new on-demand platform. “It’s just a journey into how we handle grief and sometimes it’s not in the prettiest of ways, and what it brings out in people,” said Olsen... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic “On the Basis of Sex” (Participant Media) is having its world premiere at the 32nd AFI Fest in Los Angeles. The American Film Institute says the film starring Felicity Jones as the Supreme Court Justice will open the festival at the TCL Chinese Theater on November 8. Mimi Leder directed “On the Basis of Sex,” which follows Ginsburg’s early years as a young lawyer before her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. Leder was also a groundbreaker in her own field as... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Merman--the production company founded and run by Sharon Horgan (the Emmy-nominated creator of the Amazon series Catastrophe ) and partner/producer Clelia Mountford--has launched Mermade, a digital arm which will specialize in the creation of non-broadcast content of all shapes and sizes, funded by and for social and streaming platforms, brands and publishers, with a particular focus on short-form episodic. “Mermade gives creators control over their output, fostering new and original voices... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- WPP is creating a new agency, VMLY&R, uniting two leading shops to deliver a contemporary, fully integrated digital and creative offering to clients on a global scale. VMLY&R’s proposition will combine brand experience and brand advertising, drawing on the complementary expertise of VML and Y&R to create connected brands that drive value for clients. The new agency will be led by global CEO Jon Cook, who is currently global CEO of VML. Cook will report to Mark Read, CEO of WPP... Read More, Comment

LONDON -- Saatchi & Saatchi London has hired Guillermo Vega, the former ECD of 72andSunny New York, as its chief creative officer. Joining on October 1, Vega will lead the agency’s creative department and build on its creative success. His appointment completes the Saatchi & Saatchi London management team, alongside COO Sam Hawkey, chief strategy officer Richard Huntington and managing director Larissa Vince. Across his career, Vega has a track record of growing agencies in established markets... Read More, Comment

LONDON (AP) -- Comcast has emerged as the top bidder for European broadcaster Sky after a rare auction held by British regulators. After three rounds of secret bidding on Friday and Saturday, Comcast offered the higher price of 17.28 pounds ($22.58) per share for Sky, the equivalent of nearly 30 billion pounds ($39 billion). Rival 21st Century Fox offered 15.67 ($20.47) per share. In a statement, Sky recommended that shareholders accept Comcast's offer and sell their shares immediately. Comcast said it hoped... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Robert Greenblatt, who has run NBC's entertainment division for nearly eight years and engineered a comeback, said Monday that he is calling it quits and the network named two of his executives to replace him. George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy were promoted to co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment. Cheeks has been in charge of NBC Universal's cable networks and NBC's late-night programming, while Telegdy has run the broadcaster's non-scripted programming division. Like all broadcast networks, NBC has... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Nominations for the 2018 International Emmy ® Awards were announced by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. There are 44 nominees across 11 categories and 20 countries. Winners will be announced at a black-tie Ceremony on November 19 at the Hilton New York Hotel. Nominees come from: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom and the... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- The Ad Council, the venerable non-profit organization dedicated to driving social change, unveiled its most significant rebrand in its 75-year history. This includes an evolution in how it works with corporate brands to address the country’s most pressing social issues, an expansion of its content creation model, leveraging technological innovations that advance communications for social causes, as well as a new brand platform and visual identity (including a new logo) created by WPP branding... Read More, Comment

BURBANK, Calif. -- The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the 2018 nominees for the HPA Awards creative categories. The Awards are considered the standard bearer for creative excellence and technical innovation in an industry embracing an expanding array of groundbreaking technologies and creativity, honoring achievement and artistic excellence by individuals and teams who bring stories to life and outstanding content to audiences around the world. Launched in 2006, the HPA Awards recognize... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Production house m ss ng p eces has brought L.A.-based comedy directing team Nick & Charles aboard its roster. The duo had previously been repped in the ad arena by Gifted Youth, the commercial arm of Funny Or Die. Ari Kuschnir, founder of m ss ng p eces, said, “Nick & Charles are funny dudes with funny ideas. They came out of Funny or Die and Adult Swim where they wrote and directed really funny stuff all the time. They make spots and they get Internet humor. I really like them and... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nike caused an uproar earlier this month with its ad featuring former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick that debuted just as the football season was about to begin. But the shoe maker's stock is up and sales have been steady. The furor seems to have largely died down and the company reported an earnings beat on Tuesday. While purpose-driven marketing can be a land mine for some companies, others like Nike have found it a useful way to appeal to their core demographic and differentiate themselves... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Director Shelley Lewis has joined Bullitt for exclusive spot and branded content representation in the U.S. Lewis--whose body of work spans films, music videos and commercials--continues to be handled by production house Suneeva in the Canadian ad market. Lewis has helmed spots for Panasonic, Starbucks, Angie’s List and the Paralympic Games, a music video for Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning and a short film for the Vancouver International Film Festival. Most recently, Shelley was... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Director and photographer Jason van Bruggen has joined Community Films for spots and branded content in the U.S. This marks his first representation in the American ad market. He continues to be handled in Canada by production house Suneeva. Earlier in his tenure at Suneeva, van Bruggen earned a slot in SHOOT ’s 2016 New Directors Showcase. Van Bruggen is known for his visually arresting landscapes and the ability to elicit emotion from his subjects. Full of natural beauty, found light and an... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES & CHICAGO -- Food and lifestyle director Brett Froomer has launched French Butter Films. The new venture opens with offices in L.A. and Chicago, the acumen of veteran ad agency EP Ivo Knezevic, and an expertise in food, beverage and restaurant brands. French Butter initially has Froomer as its sole director, but both he and Knezevic said the company plans to add to its roster. The pair have been working together since the start of the year, producing work under the Froomer Pictures banner. Knezevic is best... Read More, Comment

Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly might not be obvious picks to play brothers, but French director Jacques Audiard made an inspired choice by casting them as such in "The Sisters Brothers ." By the end, it's obvious that these two seasoned vets of both absurdist comedy and drama are in fact the only two actors who could have made sense of the skilled but simple assassins, Charlie (Phoenix) and Eli Sisters (Reilly) at the center of this unconventional Western. Based on a novel by Patrick deWitt... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- After spearheading an epic, 18-hour documentary on the Vietnam War, acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns has turned to more personal subject matter — one that knows him very intimately, too. Burns tackles the famed Mayo Clinic in his next film, exploring the history of the innovative Rochester, Minnesota-based hospital that has been dubbed "The Miracle in a Cornfield." It has treated luminaries such as the Dalai Lama — and Burns. The first time Burns went, he was immediately impressed by the level and... Read More, Comment

CHICAGO -- Director/choreographer Hans Emanuel has rejoined Roy Skillicorn’s Chicago-based production company Seed Media Arts. Emanuel currently splits his time between Barcelona, Spain and Los Angeles. His European work has won him broad acclaim. Having lived in Europe, Mexico and in the U.S. has given Emanuel a cultural perspective and polish. He started his directing career in Paris shooting beauty commercials. This beauty work is the foundation for the sexier edge that embodies his work today and that... Read More, Comment

VENICE, Calif. -- Production company Durable Goods has signed director David Falossi II for U.S. commercial representation. His work spans such clients as Samsung, Four Seasons, Pacifico Beer, President, Stussy, Casamigos tequila and Caliche rum. Falossi recently helmed a campaign for Moe’s Southwest Grill with Durable that is currently airing. A University of Southern California film school graduate, Falossi grew up in California’s central coast between the beach and desert where he developed a natural sense of... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Director Tobin Sanson has come aboard the roster of kaboom productions, marking his first representation by a national production company. He’s already wrapped his first project with kaboom--a campaign for lifestyle brand Everlane. Sanson’s storytelling spans collaborations with such clients as Clif Bar, Camelback, Cole Haan, Mountain Hardware, Huckberry and Hanah. He was also part of the creative team that lensed the “Walk On Water” music video for the band :30 Seconds to Mars. “Tobin’s work... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced the 2018 class of VES Fellows--Craig Barron, Joyce Cox, Dan Curry, Paul Debevec and Michael Fink. The Fellows distinction, bestowed by the VES Board of Directors, signifies that the individual has maintained an outstanding reputation and has made exceptional achievements and sustained contributions to the art, science or business of visual effects, as well as enabling members’ careers and promoting community worldwide and by providing sustained... Read More, Comment

TORONTO (AP) -- The important thing to rock climber Alex Honnold is that the movie screen be big. IMAX, whatever. But big. It's shortly before the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of "Free Solo," the documentary that chronicles Honnold's legendary, ropeless ascent up Yosemite's El Capitan, a 3,000-foot wall of sheer granite and possibly the world's most fabled rock face. Honnold has just come from free soloing — climbing without safety gear — a 69-story luxury apartment building in Jersey City, New... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- As beguiling and powerful as Jane Fonda is onscreen, she has yet to play a role that's a match for her whiplash-inducing life of artistry, celebrity and polarizing activism. Then there's the personal drama, including serial marriages to three very different husbands with their own claims to fame. When the 80-year-old Fonda decided to participate in a documentary about her — "Why not? I don't know how much longer I'm gonna live" — it was with award-winning filmmaker Susan Lacy, who made an... Read More, Comment

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress is taking the first steps toward setting national rules governing how companies use consumers data — although one of its goals might be to prevent states from enacting stronger privacy protections of their own. The approach being pondered by policymakers and pushed by the internet industry leans toward a relatively light government touch. That's in contrast to stricter European rules that took effect in May and a California law that takes effect in 2020. Other states are also... Read More, Comment

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- When Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger sold Instagram to Facebook in 2012, the photo-sharing startup's fiercely loyal fans worried about what would happen to their beloved app under the social media giant's wings. None of their worst fears materialized. But now that its founders have announced they are leaving in a swirl of well wishes and vague explanations, some of the same worries are bubbling up again — and then some. Will Instagram disappear? Get cluttered with ads and status updates? Suck up... Read More, Comment

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- At an age when other Hollywood stars are settling into retirement and collecting lifetime-achievement awards, an 81-year-old Bill Cosby was led away to prison in handcuffs Tuesday, sentenced to three to 10 years behind bars in what was seen by many of his accusers as a reckoning richly deserved and long overdue. The comedian, TV star and breaker of racial barriers became the first celebrity of the #MeToo era to be sent to prison. He was found guilty in April of drugging and sexually assaulting... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- “America’s Got Talent” ended its summer run last week with the most-watched entertainment programs on television since May, although its popularity dipped this summer. Just under 13 million people watched the final two episodes of the NBC competition last week, where magician Shin Lim was chosen as the winner. While those were bigger audiences than any entertainment show since the last original episode of “The Big Bang Theory,” Wednesday’s finale was down 18 percent from the 2017 season finale... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- The gothic family fantasy "The House With a Clock in Its Walls" exceeded expectations to debut with an estimated $26.9 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office, while audiences showed considerably less interest in Michael Moore's Donald Trump-themed documentary, "Fahrenheit 11/9," than his George W. Bush-era one. "The House With a Clock in Its Walls" was easily the biggest draw on a quiet weekend at North American movie theaters, where the other three new wide releases all disappointed... Read More, Comment

From the beginning, Amnesty International is made of people of all backgrounds and ages, gathered to raise their voices and fight for the respect of human rights. The nonprofit operates without any financial support from governments or companies, which gives it full independence and great legitimacy. Citizens and volunteers are the true driving force of the movement. To remain effective, Amnesty International France has to bring new blood into the movement. Recruiting is the real challenge in... Read More, Comment

Director Jack Cunningham of Nexus Studios directed this stop motion film for startup energy company Hometree out of U.K. agency SNAP LDN. Titled “Bath Time with the Field Family,” the first U.K. TV spot for Hometree features a family of mice living in a tree home created by master puppet and modelmaker Andy Gent’s studio ( Isle of Dogs, Fantastic Mr. Fox ). We see the parents drawing a bath for playtime in the tub for their adorable litle tyke. Cunningham said, “The biggest creative challenge... Read More, Comment

Tricia Lee directed this short film, Meeting Mommy , which shares the story of six-year-old Zoe who once a year on her birthday gets to see her late mom in a special video message. Zoe this time around has some tough questions for her single dad. After premiering at the Reel World Film Festival in Toronto and a Los Angeles debut at the Asians On Film Festival, Meeting Mommy --written by Simu Liu and Tina Jung--was selected as a semi-finalist for the 13th annual NBCUniversal Short Film Festival... Read More, Comment

The Prince Estate, in partnership with Warner Bros. Records, released a video for “Mary Don’t You Weep,” a rare recording of the 19th Century spiritual that is featured on Piano & A Microphone 1983, a nine track, 35-minute album featuring a previously unreleased home studio cassette recording of Prince solo at his piano captured in 1983. This is the first original Prince video to be released posthumously. Directed by filmmaker Salomon Ligthelm through Stink Films and shot in New York City,... Read More, Comment

Created by consumer robotics pioneers Anki®, Vector, the Good Robot isn’t just technologically advanced; he represents a friendly, peaceful future where robots and mankind live in peace—not intent on destroying each other. Or at least that’s the message behind a new campaign from Wieden+Kennedy, which compares Vector to the other, much more menacing robots that absolutely don’t want to be our friend. The campaign launched with this film titled “The Decision”--directed by Nick Gordon of Somesuch... Read More, Comment

---