New films from Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrea Arnold and Francis Ford Coppola, as well as a portrait of 1980s Donald Trump, will compete for the Palme d'Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival next month, organizers announced Thursday. Thierry Frémaux, Cannes's artistic director who announced the selections in a news conference in Paris with festival president Iris Knobloch, said this year's lineup was plucked from 2,000 submissions. Though Frémaux noted he went into the process concerned about the... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Garland's films have vividly conjured a virus-caused pandemic (2002's "28 Days Later"), an uncontrollable artificial intelligence (2014's "Ex Machina") and, in his latest, "Civil War," a near-future America in the throes of all-out warfare. Most filmmakers with such a record might claim some knack for tapping into the zeitgeist. But Garland doesn't see it that way. He's dealing, he says, with omnipresent realities that demand no great leaps of vision. He wrote "Civil War" in 2020, when... Read More 

In Hulu's limited-series "We Were the Lucky Ones," the Kurc family in Poland is separated during World War II and spends years trying to reunite. This was before the Internet and cell phones so tracking each other's whereabouts was hard. It's based on a non-fiction book of the same name by Georgia Hunter, who wrote about her own family's story. As a teen, Hunter discovered her late-grandfather Eddy, (who had changed his name from Addy), along with his parents and siblings — were Holocaust... Read More 

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Warner Bros. isn't resting on its " Barbie " laurels: The 100-year studio has its sights on a record-breaking 2024 as well, with a release slate that includes a new Mad Max film, " Furiosa," Kevin Costner's two-part Western epic, " Horizon: An American Saga, " the " Beetlejuice " sequel, and "Joker: Folie à Deux," which brings Lady Gaga to Gotham City. The studio was first up Tuesday night to dazzle theater owners who are gathered this week in Las Vegas for the annual CinemaCon convention and... Read More 

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- With reports and rumors swirling about possible mergers and bids to acquire Paramount, the film studio put its best foot forward for theater owners at CinemaCon on Thursday. The historic studio announced a new film with Oscar-winning "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle, a "G.I. Joe/Transformers" crossover and that Glen Powell will star in Edgar Wight's "Running Man" reboot. Paramount CEO and President Brian Robbins also teased some more that are in development, including a Bee Gees film from... Read More 

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Margot Robbie has her sights on another toy. The " Barbie " producer and star is making a Monopoly movie, with Hasbro and Lionsgate behind it, the companies announced Wednesday at the CinemaCon conference in Las Vegas. Robbie, and her production company LuckyChap, were the ones who got "Barbie" to the finish line after many years in development stagnation. The film topped the box office in 2023 with over $1.4 billion in ticket sales worldwide. And now they'll bring that vision to the classic... Read More 

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- With the dust settled from a big 2023, winning best picture and topping the box office, Universal Pictures is looking to the future. The studio's upcoming releases include the big screen adaptation of "Wicked," "Twisters" and the newly announced sequel to "Five Nights at Freddy's." Universal brought some of the stars of its biggest films, like Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Glen Powell, Lupita Nyong'o, Daisy Edgar Jones and Anthony Ramos to CinemaCon in Las Vegas on... Read More 

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Movie theater owners are still feeling the high from "Barbenheimer." The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" brought audiences to cinemas around with the world, ultimately earning nearly $2.5 billion in combined ticket sales. But, gathered in Las Vegas this week for the annual CinemaCon convention and trade show, they're also acutely aware that they need more than two movies to survive. "It is not enough to rely solely on blockbusters," said Michael O'Leary, the president and CEO... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Global creative network McCann Worldgroup, part of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), and [Ai]magination, the creative Artificial Intelligence (AI) content studio founded by highly awarded creative agency talents, have entered into a strategic partnership that combines the latest generative AI technologies with leading creative minds to produce creative content at speed for McCann Worldgroup’s top clients. The partnership is designed to fully realize the potential of generative AI to optimize the... Read More 

Cannes Lions has revealed the lineup of global experts selected to award the world’s very best creative and effective work and benchmark excellence this June. Work from across the globe will be judged, awarded and celebrated during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, running from June 17-21, 2024. The Awarding Jury represents the global industry’s leading talent from a diverse range of disciplines, from across 54 markets--the highest number of markets ever represented on the... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- It didn't take long for Nellie Borrero to encounter racism in 1986 when she joined a major consulting firm that was the predecessor to Accenture. A secretary handed her a subway token and told her she was the "token hire." At her first Christmas party, the partner who hired her gave her brightly wrapped gift that turned out to be roach spray and told her everyone knew Puerto Ricans had roaches in their homes. The next Monday, Borrero confronted the partner to explain she felt humiliated and... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Global independent agency Special is expanding its U.S. partnership team, bringing aboard Amy Ferguson to be a U.S. partner and chief creative officer of its growing New York office. Ferguson will join Special in May. Ferguson comes to the agency from Omnicom held TBWA\Chiat\Day NY, where she spent the last six years as both executive creative director, and more recently, chief creative officer. In her new role, she will join the Special U.S. partners, alongside CEO Kelsey Hodgkin, co-CCOs of... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- Bicoastal production company Interrogate has added London-based filmmaker Jamie Rafn to its global roster of directorial talent. Rafn is known for his expansive portfolio of work, from commercials and branded content to film and television projects. Prior to joining Interrogate, Rafn was most recently with Superprime for commercial representation. He is known for deftly utilizing intelligent humor, beautiful imagery, and sharp dialogue, with a knack for capturing surprising shifts and emotional... Read More 

LONDON -- Great Guns has signed director and photographer Laura Martinova to its U.K. and U.S. roster. Having made homes in Barcelona, Prague, London, Paris, and Berlin, Martinova’s versatile short films, documentaries, music videos, and commercials are a true melting pot of her experiences in these bustling cultural hubs. Her portfolio is characterized by her passion for cinema as well as alternative and experimental content, citing Agnes Varda, Claire Denis, Michael Haneke, David Lynch and Claude... Read More 

NEW YORK -- VaynerMedia New York has named Seth Jacobs as executive creative director. Jacobs will be responsible for creative initiatives across a range of clients. He will report directly to VaynerMedia’s global chief creative officer Rob Lenois. Jacobs joins from Anomaly where he spent 12 years, most recently as executive creative director and managing partner for the New York office. “At VaynerMedia, our creative approach is social-first, grounded in creating culturally relevant content that truly... Read More 

The United States is crumbling in Alex Garland's sharp new film "Civil War," a bellowing and haunting big screen experience. The country has been at war with itself for years by the time we're invited in, through the gaze of a few journalists documenting the chaos on the front lines and chasing an impossible interview with the president. Garland, the writer-director of films like "Annihilation" and "Ex Machina," as well as the series "Devs," always seems to have an eye on the ugliest sides of... Read More 

The makers of the influential 2008 documentary "Food, Inc." never planned to make a sequel. They figured they'd said it all in their harrowing look at a broken, unsustainable food system — a system led, they argued, by a few multinational corporations whose monopoly squeezes out local farmers, mistreats animals, workers and the soil itself, and makes all of us less healthy. But 16 years after that Oscar-nominated film, they're back with "Food, Inc. 2." What happened? Well, first of all, the... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Production company Dress Code has added animation director Limbert Fabian to its roster for commercial representation across the U.S. and Canada. Hailing from New York City with roots in the Dominican Republic, Fabian brings a wealth of experience as an illustrator and Emmy Award-winning creative director, boasting a diverse skill set across multiple disciplines. His journey began at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in illustration before... Read More 

LONDON -- Object & Animal (O&A) has added director Josh Cohen to its roster for representation in the U.K., U.S., the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland. This marks Cohen's first production company representation in the commercialmaking space. The London-based Cohen has collaborated with brands such as Heinz, McDonald’s, KitKat and THINK!, showcasing his sharp comedic timing and a touch of surrealism. His work is distinguished by a keen eye for production design and ability to bring... Read More 

NEW YORK -- Panoptica has signed director Bill Horace for U.S. representation spanning commercials, branded content and special projects. Known for his work as a storyteller and documentary filmmaker, Horace had been freelancing prior to joining Panoptica, which becomes his first production company roost for representation. Horace stated, “Panoptica is the right fit for me because of their adaptability and passion for growth. Our goals and aspirations are very much aligned. I look forward to developing... Read More 

LOS ANGELES -- Content studio Afterhrs. has added London-based director, writer and illustrator Danny Sangra to it talent roster for representation covering commercial collaborations in North America. His branded credits include films for Samsung, adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Balenciaga x My Theresa, Netflix and Hermes. Sangra’s body of work also includes numerous original shorts, a feature film, an animated music video for The Beatles’ “The Taxman,” and his own design imprint for Casetify. “Afterhrs. was forged... Read More 

NEW YORK -- The One Club for Creativity revealed the group of advertising, design, and education innovators named to be 2024 inductees into the Creative Hall of Fame in September. The Creative Hall of Fame has a rich heritage of honoring the lifetime achievements of creative luminaries in all forms of advertising and design, starting with the induction of Leo Burnett in 1961. This year’s inductees are as follows. Creative Hall of Fame Bob Barrie, partner, ECD, Rise and Shine and Partners; and former art... Read More 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two influential lawmakers from opposing parties have crafted a deal on legislation designed to strengthen privacy protections for Americans' personal data. The sweeping proposal announced Sunday evening would define privacy as a consumer right and create new rules for companies that collect and use personal information. It comes from the offices of Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, both of Washington state. Cantwell chairs the Senate Commerce Committee... Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) -- "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" easily swatted away a pair of challengers to hold on to the top spot at the box office for the second week in a row, according to studio estimates Sunday. After its above-expectations $80 million launch last weekend, the MonsterVerse mashup brought in $31.7 million over its second weekend, a 60% drop from its debut. The Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures release, directed by Adam Wingard, has thus far outperformed any of the studio's recent monster films... Read More 

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- O.J. Simpson, the decorated football superstar and Hollywood actor who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but later found liable in a separate civil trial, has died. He was 76. The family announced on Simpson's official X account — formerly Twitter — that Simpson died Wednesday after battling cancer. Simpson's attorney confirmed to TMZ he died in Las Vegas. Simpson earned fame, fortune and adulation through football and show business, but his legacy was forever... Read More 

Hinge unveils its fifth global “Designed To Be Deleted” ad campaign, taking the platform somewhere brand new--the afterlife. The campaign encourages daters to go on dates and find love in person, cheekily bringing dark humor and deeper storytelling to what happens to the beloved app icon, Hingie, after a match is made on Hinge. Actress and comedian Patti Harrison portrays The Oracle, who celebrates each deletion of the app as the result of a new relationship. Upon entering the afterlife, each... Read More 

Forty families arrive in Lima, Peru, every day in search of a home to help them cope with medical treatment for children. Currently only one child gets a place--and that’s because of Casa Ronald (Ronald McDonald House). With the aim of raising awareness about the difficult situation faced by families of children in need of medical treatment in Lima, Casa Ronald, together with McDonald’s Peru, has launched a moving campaign carried out by Publicis Peru. Centerpiece of the campaign is this film... Read More 

Andreas Nilsson directed this spot for Deutsche Telekom via production company Czar Film Berlin out of ad agencies adam&eve Berlin and DDB Hamburg. (Nilsson is repped in the U.S. and U.K. by Biscuit Filmworks.) The 30-second commercial--titled “No fiber. No football.”--ties into Telekom’s sponsorship of the UEFA EURO 2024 football tournament, serving as an official partner providing telecommunication services via fiber optics. Without fiber, there would indeed be no football fever in June... Read More 

The creative and technical journey that yielded Busta Rhymes “OK” music video featuring Young Thug reflects an ever expanding toolbox which carries implications and applications for both the present-day and future production landscape. “OK’ meshes the live-action and digital performances of Rhymes and Young Thug, respectively. There was no live-action option for the latter artist in that he wasn’t readily available for filming as he’s been incarcerated and on trial facing criminal charges,... Read More 

This spot from Pedigree pet food out of BBDO New York starts seemingly right out of a movie with a young woman in the pouring rain declaring her eternal love for presumably an off-camera beau. The camera then reveals her dearly beloved--a precious dog who is in dry weather. A supered message reads: “Love at first sight isn’t just in the movies. It’s available at your local shelter. Titled “Rain,” the commercial--directed by Lucas Shannon of production company Landia--shows us the joy of pet... Read More 

More than 200,000 visitors are expected in Cleveland, Ohio, to get a look-see at today’s (4/8) total solar eclipse. Local businesses have come up with exclusive events, special offers and limited-edition merchandise to capitalize on this celestial rarity. But one Cleveland-based advertising agency couldn’t help but observe the irony that people were flocking to its fair city to witness four minutes of darkness. That observation led Marcus Thomas to create “Greetings from Sunny Cleveland,” a... Read More 

FactSet, a global financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider, has unveiled a B2B campaign that demonstrates how, when it comes to the facts, context is everything. Titled “Not Just The Facts,” the campaign from agency VSA shows what happens when members of the investment community are pelted with increasingly absurd and irrelevant facts. The ending reminds viewers that getting just facts—without context or personalization—is useless. “The premise is comedic, but the point it... Read More 

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