NEW YORK -- Director Lance Oppenheim’s next project is his thesis film at Harvard. Yet unlike most students, he has already established a substantive foothold in the marketplace at large. For one, he enjoys a working relationship with a notable production company, Tool of North America , which represents him for commercials and branded content--plus, he’s had three documentary shorts make the grade at The New York Times ’ Op-Docs. Begun by The New York Times' opinion section in 2011, Op-Docs is a series of... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- The Tribeca Film Festival unveiled winners of this year’s Audience Awards on Saturday (4/28) with To Dust topping the narrative competition and United Skates being voted best documentary. Directed by Shawn Snyder and starring Matthew Broderick and Geza Rohrig, To Dust tells the story of a Hasidic cantor who’s traumatized by the death of his wife and obsesses over how her body will decay. He seeks answers from a local biology professor in this, the unlikeliest of buddy comedies. Directed by... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Liz Garbus' first day shooting inside The New York Times newsroom was President Donald Trump's inauguration day. Her final day was April 16, when the Pulitzer Prizes announced the Times had won three of the coveted awards. In between, she spent more than a year documenting one of journalism's most distinguished institutions while it grappled with, and tirelessly reported on, an unprecedented presidency. From the first moments of "The Fourth Estate" — as Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- The ADVERTISING Club of New York’s 2018 International ANDY Awards, the first advertising award show of the season, has announced its list of the top ten ads it predicts will sweep the 2018 awards season. “It’s a Tide Ad” (Saatchi & Saatchi New York), KFC’s “FCK” (Mother London) and “Live Looper” (the Facebook Live music video from BBDO New York) were the top three picks chosen after the judging and based on jurors’ comments/observations during the entire judging process as well as during... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Biscuit Filmworks has added Joaquin Baca-Asay to its directorial roster in the U.S. and U.K. Also coming aboard is executive producer Jeff McDougall who will be based in Biscuit's L.A. office, Baca-Asay is an acclaimed director and cinematographer known for his elegant realism. Previously with MJZ, he has directed campaigns for leading worldwide brands including Nike, Apple, the NFL, Volvo, Chevrolet and Bud Light, earning accolades from Cannes Lions, Clios, AICP Show, The One Show, and a DGA... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- TheBridge.Co, which specializes in connecting artists and brands, has added Paul Kelly, Michael Elliot, Jon Kane and Barry Alexander Brown to its talent base. Primarily known for their work as editors, they’re all multi-faceted creatives who’ve contributed to award-winning and notable campaigns and films throughout their careers. The quartet joins founding partners Michael Jurkovac and Igor Kovalik, along with directors/producers Gary Koepke and Bill Boyd, to form a highly experienced creative... Read More, Comment

TORONTO -- The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) announced its 2018 lineup of programs and programmers. The programming team, comprised of 22 of the industry’s most seasoned and talented film experts and curators, consists of nine men and 13 women. “In 2017, the TIFF programming team worked tirelessly to curate a Festival experience that resulted in the release of some of year’s most critically acclaimed films, including Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri (Winner, TIFF 2017 Grolsch... Read More, Comment

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. government pleaded its case Monday for blocking AT&T from absorbing Time Warner, saying the combination would hurt consumers. In the landmark antitrust trial's last day in federal court, lead Justice Department attorney Craig Conrath argued that the $85 billion proposed merger "would have a massive effect on the structure of the pay-TV industry." The Trump Justice Department sued in November to block the deal, saying it would force consumers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars... Read More, Comment

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- The summer movie going season roared to life with the record-breaking opening weekend for "Avengers: Infinity War," but industry leaders want audiences and theater owners to know that a healthy movie business is not just about the superheroes. Last week at the 2018 CinemaCon convention, where movie theater owners, exhibitors, celebrities and studio executives gather in Las Vegas to preview their upcoming slates, attendees got a look at what's to come in the next calendar year — and what's worth... Read More, Comment

CHICAGO -- Director Laurence Thrush has joined STORY for exclusive representation covering ad work in the U.S. With work marked by naturalistic storytelling and cinematic style, Thrush has helmed commercials for such brands as ESPN, HP, Amstel Light, McDonald’s, Mastercard and Honda. Among his recent work is a campaign for University of Florida Health that compares the problem-solving skills of the medical center’s staff to the ingenuity of kids. Born in England, Thrush began his career as a documentary... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Bigger Picture has signed director/DP Michael Bernard. At his new roost, Bernard is currently on a multi-city campaign for a luxury car brand, which will break in the coming months. Bernard has an affinity for developing emotional connections through visual narratives as reflected in the documentary series Finding Bespoke , which explores stories of makers who bring an unwavering passion and deeply personal connection to a craft, from violin masterworks to custom designed shoes. Los Angeles... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Charlize Theron had wanted to work again with screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman since the movie "Young Adult," in which Theron got to play a true mess of a character — alcoholic, all-around stunted and viciously hilarious. So when Cody dreamed up the idea for "Tully," a somewhat undefinable look at the harsh, messy and often funny realities of motherhood, Theron didn't even have to read the script before saying yes to playing the mother of three, who finally decides to let... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ron Howard's 40-year directing career almost ended before it began. His first day directing a feature film, the high-octane road movie "Grand Theft Auto," came the day after his 23rd birthday. "I thought I was going to be fired by lunchtime," remembers Howard. "The second day felt more comfortable. By the wrap party, it had fulfilled all my expectations for how the job would energize me and satisfy me." Howard's continued exhilaration for the challenges of filmmaking are evident in an online... Read More, Comment

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- AFI DOCS has announced its Opening and Closing Night films, and Centerpiece and Special Screenings. For its 16th edition, the American Film Institute’s annual celebration of documentary film in the nation’s capital will open with the world premiere of Personal Statement (directors Juliane Dressner and Edwin Martinez) and will close with United Skates (directors Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown). This year’s program also includes Above And Beyond: NASA’s Journey To Tomorrow (director Rory Kennedy)... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Until Thursday, Roman Polanski had been a film academy member for over 40 years since pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in 1977. In his 40 years as a fugitive the "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" filmmaker had been nominated for three additional Oscars, one for "Tess" and two for "The Pianist." He won an Academy Award for directing "The Pianist" in 2003 to thunderous applause. He continued attracting A-list talent for his films, A-list support for his freedom and had become a... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- A private equity firm emerged Tuesday as the winning bidder for the Weinstein Co., the studio forced into bankruptcy by the sexual misconduct scandal that brought down Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. The Weinstein Co. announced in a statement that no other bidder made a better offer than Dallas-based Lantern Capital, which made a "stalking-horse" bid last month to pay $310 million in cash for the Weinstein Co.'s assets. The emergence of another qualified bidder would have triggered an auction... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ashley Judd sued Harvey Weinstein on Monday, saying the former movie mogul hurt her acting career in retaliation for her rejecting his sexual advances. In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Judd accuses Weinstein of defamation, sexual harassment and violating California's unfair competition law. Judd was in the first group of women who came forward last fall about Weinstein's sexual misconduct, putting her at the forefront of the #MeToo movement. Central to the suit is... Read More, Comment

The title character of Jason Reitman's "Tully" descends not from the clouds, carried by an umbrella in the wind, but glides cheerfully through the front door on a black night. She arrives just as Marlo (Charlize Theron), the mother of two plus an unplanned-for newborn, is reaching the limits of exhaustion. "Tully," directed by Jason Reitman and penned by Diablo Cody, isn't a song-singing fantasy like "Mary Poppins." It lives in the unglamorous and sleepless postpartum haze of breast pumps and... Read More, Comment

Is RBG getting enough kale? That was the question — only partly in jest — that circulated back in early 2017 when President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The idea — for liberals, anyway — was that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had better stay healthy, or the court's precarious balance would be lost. Well, after watching "RBG," an engrossing, entertaining and unabashedly adoring new documentary about the now-legendary justice — seemingly a full-fledged pop culture hero at this... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- A whole lot of superheroes added up to a whole lot of ticket sales. The superhero smorgasbord "Avengers: Infinity Wars" opened with predictable shock-and-awe, earning $250 million in box office over the weekend and edging past "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" to set the highest opening weekend of all-time. "Infinity War," which brings together some two dozen superheroes in the 10-year culmination of Marvel Studio's "cinematic universe," also set a new global opening record with $630 million even... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- With someone walking onstage every few minutes to read a name off a piece of paper, the NFL draft wouldn’t seem like a big television draw. Yet the 11.2 million people who watched this year made it the week’s second most popular program. The first round of the draft was shown on Fox, the NFL Network and several ESPN networks simultaneously. This year’s assignment of college football players to NFL teams was particularly suspenseful, with a handful of quality quarterbacks waiting to be drafted,... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- NBC's "Days of Our Lives" topped the Daytime Emmy Awards, capturing five trophies including best drama series and lead actor honors for James Reynolds. The soap opera also claimed trophies for its writing and directing teams and supporting actor Greg Vaughan at Sunday's ceremony. ABC's "Good Morning America" won its second consecutive trophy for best morning program, amid rocky times for two other shows nominated in the category. Sexual misconduct allegations led to the 2017 exits of Matt Lauer... Read More, Comment

The latest iteration of AT&T’s “It Can Wait” campaign, now in its seventh year, is making sure that everyone hears the message loud and clear during Distracted Driving Awareness Month: No distraction is worth a future. Oscar-winning ( The Fog of War ) documentarian Errol Morris directed these two campaign spots via Biscuit Filmworks for BBDO New York, shining a light on the faces of distracted driving by showing us what might have been for two teenage boys. If Caleb Sorohan and Forrest... Read More, Comment

This spot is part of the new “Flavors Hook Kids” campaign created by agency Duncan Channon for the California Department of Health’s CA Tobacco Control Program, which aims to expose the tobacco industry’s latest deception: using flavors and e-cigarette products that masquerade as snacks to hook kids when their brains are most susceptible to addiction. Four out of five kids who’ve used tobacco started with a flavored product--with 15,000+ flavors (and counting) on the market. The Hoffman/Metoyer... Read More, Comment

Energy BBDO partnered with PAVE, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that works to shatter the silence and prevent sexual violence, to create this video entitled, “What She Was Wearing.” The film sheds light on the flawed assumption that a woman is responsible for being sexually assaulted. Using spoken word poetry from Steve Connell, the piece calls into question the notion that “an outfit can ask for it,” stripping the power of speech from these inanimate objects and restoring voices to... Read More, Comment

Agency Area 23 and production company Great Guns have teamed to launch the campaign film for Change the Ref’s “Posts Into Letters,” an initiative that transforms social media posts into handwritten letters to petition members of Congress to introduce stricter gun control laws. The initiative was developed in reaction to the outpouring of social media posts in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The font was developed using the handwriting... Read More, Comment

This “Shortest Billboards” campaign from Munich agency Serviceplan Campaign X lets pedestrians in Berlin experience what MINI drivers do via the car’s Real-Time Traffic feature. This film captures the essence of the concept as doors, ladders and stairs are custom fit to special billboards, enabling pedestrians to shorten the distance they walk by up to 12 minutes. In short, everyone finds the quickest way through the city with MINI Connected--the antidote for rush hour and traffic congestion in... Read More, Comment

Comedy director Matt Pittroff and his long-time producer Steve Blair celebrate the reboot of Pittroff’s full-service production company Working Stiff, along with the release of their latest Bear Paws campaign for Dare. The new comical spot through Toronto’s Grip Limited observes a threatened husband and father, who happens to be a walking, talking goldfish, as he suspiciously watches new furry neighbors move in across the street. Titled “New Neighbors,” the spot introduces Dare Bear Paws... Read More, Comment

Cyber security company Symantec has produced an advertising campaign tied to the Solo: A Star Wars Story film. Developed by Symantec, the creative supports the company’s announcement that its Norton and Lifelock consumer brands are now one and working together to protect consumers against the increasing threats invading their digital world. Fans can see footage from the Solo: A Star Wars Story movie in this Symantec’s TV spot, which is running in national broadcast. This collaboration with... Read More, Comment

Created by Pereira O’Dell in collaboration with Andrew Strickman, realtor.com’s head of brand and chief creative, this “Home of Search” campaign for realtor.com includes a dozen TV spots directed by Stacy Wall of Imperial Woodpecker. One of those ads is “You Want Privacy” in which we meet a man who wants neighbors--but not too close to him. He gets his wish as realtor.com has situated him on a home in the mountains where he can play music at a high volume to his heart’s content. This and two... Read More, Comment