LOS ANGELES -- The lion’s share of the time there is at least one difference between the Best Director Oscar and DGA Award nominee lineups. In only five of the 70 years of the DGA Awards have the Guild nominations exactly mirrored their Academy Award counterparts. This time around Paul Thomas Anderson is in line with that history, earning a Best Director Oscar nomination for Phantom Thread (Focus Features) despite not being one of the DGA Award nominees named a couple of weeks earlier. Four of the five... Read More, Comment

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) -- Guillermo del Toro’s lavish monster romance “The Shape of Water” fished out a leading 13 nominations, Greta Gerwig became just the fifth woman nominated for best director and “Mudbound” cinematographer Rachel Morrison made history as the first woman to earn a nod in that category in nominations announced Tuesday for the 90th annual Academy Awards. Oscar voters put forward nine best-picture nominees: “The Shape of Water,” ‘’Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” ‘’Lady Bird,” ‘’Get Out,” ‘’... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- This year’s field of DGA Award nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for 2017 includes a past winner, a second helmer also with two career nominations, a duo gaining its first ever nod, and two other first-timers. Martin de Thurah of Epoch Films won the DGA Award in 2014; this is his second nomination. Miles Jay also has two career nominations, the first coming back in 2016. The duo entering the DGA nominees’ circle for the first time is MJZ’s Hoffman/Metoyer,... Read More, Comment

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Guillermo del Toro’s fantastical romance The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight) won the Producers Guild’s coveted Darryl F. Zanuck Award, topping 10 other nominated features at a gala ceremony on Saturday (1/20) in Beverly Hills. While the Guild honor has a history of being a harbinger of what’s to come at the Academy Awards, that hasn’t been the case the past couple of years when PGA Award winners The Big Short and La La Land failed to garner the Best Picture Oscar. Still overall, in the Guild... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Western-inspired revenge tale “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” swept the female-focused and led Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday with wins for best ensemble, best actress for Frances McDormand and best supporting actor for Sam Rockwell. It was almost an exact repeat of the major Golden Globe Awards wins with Gary Oldman also winning best actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” and Allison Janney taking supporting actress for playing Tonya Harding’s mother... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Comcast's NBC is airing both the Super Bowl and the Olympics in February, a double-whammy sports extravaganza that the company expects to yield $1.4 billion in ad sales, helping it justify the hefty price it's paying for both events. NBC is banking heavily on these sports events since traditional TV ratings have slumped in recent years. Live sports are marquee TV events that draw most of the largest TV audiences, but even those ratings have declined. More Americans are dumping their cable... Read More, Comment

LONDON -- The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has set the initial slate of its lineup of 2018 jury presidents. The selected group of industry leaders are tasked with judging the best work in the world to win the Lions awards, alongside their jury teams. Jose Papa, managing director of Cannes Lions, said, “With all the changes we’ve introduced to the awards architecture, this year’s jury presidents have joined at an exciting time of renewal for the Festival. Every one of our presidents... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Director Dee Rees--whose Mudbound (Netflix) earlier this week earned four Academy Award nominations, including one she shares with Virgil Williams for Best Adapted Screenplay--has joined production and management company Anonymous Content for commercial representation in the U.S. and U.K. Rees becomes the first African-American woman ever to be nominated for a writing Oscar. In addition to directing Mudbound and co-writing its screenplay, Rees served as an executive producer on the film which... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Mary J. Blige is still getting used to the idea of being a double Oscar nominee. The nine-time Grammy winner was nominated for two Academy Awards on Tuesday: Supporting actress and original song for "Mudbound." Blige said she spent the morning "yelling and screaming and about to cry." The 47-year-old called the nominations beautiful. "This is a new one, the actress nominee, and this is beautiful. This is really special," she said. "So is the song because it's something that I love to do. I love... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- There's never a bad time for a film company to land 20 Oscar nominations, but the timing is especially good for Fox Searchlight. Thanks to Guillermo del Toro's full-hearted monster romance, "The Shape of Water," and Martin McDonagh's gleefully profane revenge drama, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," Searchlight led all studios in Tuesday's Academy Award nominations. The haul, which ties Searchlight's previous best showing, comes as the Walt Disney Co. is purchasing 21st Century Fox,... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oscar nods for women and minorities drew many of the headlines in Tuesday's nominations, but this year's Academy Awards also mark a breakthrough for transgender filmmakers. Yance Ford, the director of the documentary "Strong Island" and a trans man, became the first transgender filmmaker nominated for an Oscar. His film, a Netflix release about Ford's investigation into his brother's 1992 murder, was nominated for best documentary. Sebastian Lelio's "A Fantastic Woman," Chile's Oscar entry, was... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Producers Guild of America has ratified guidelines for combating sexual harassment in the entertainment industry, requesting that every film and TV production offer in-person harassment training and provide multiple ways for alleged victims to complain. The guidelines are the product of a task force asked to research and propose solutions to sexual misconduct following a flood of accusations that started with revelations about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. He was expelled from the group... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Nick Law--a veteran of R/GA, currently serving as its VP and global chief creative officer--has been hired to move over to the newly created dual role of Publicis Groupe CCO and president of Publicis Communications. He is set to start his new career chapter at Publicis in May. Law will join the Publicis executive committee and report directly to Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe. Law’s mission will be to take the Groupe’s creative performance to the next level; leveraging,... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Lisa Topol and Derek Barnes have been hired to serve as co-chief creative officers at DDB New York, effective in March. They will be responsible for leading the agency’s creative department across a range of clients including Unilever, PepsiCo, Henkel, J&J, Merck, Tribeca Enterprises, Mars, and Cotton Inc. The pair will report to Ari Weiss, chief creative officer of DDB North America. Before joining DDB New York, Topol and Barnes spent four years at Grey working across multiple clients such... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Amazon Studios has entered into an exclusive two-year overall deal with Emmy-nominated writer and creator Sharon Horgan. In addition to her personal deal, Horgan’s production company Merman has signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios. Per this arrangement, Amazon Studios will get first-look rights to Merman concepts to which Horgan is attached and remake rights to Merman-produced television series. The first look deal will be overseen by Horgan and Merman co-founder Clelia Mountford... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Maru Kopelowicz, Jeff Anderson, and Cam Hoelter have joined McCann New York as executive creative directors, and Holly Hessler has come on board as a group creative director. “The creativity and passion each of them brings to the table will help us continue to push boundaries with the work we produce,” said Tom Murphy, co-chief creative officer at McCann New York. Kopelowicz joins McCann from Ogilvy & Mather, where she most recently led global creative for brands like Holiday Inn, Holiday... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- JoRoan Lazaro has been named executive creative director at BBH NY. He will report to BBH NY’s chief creative officer Gerard Caputo. Prior to joining BBH NY, Lazaro was executive creative director at Havas where he led digital creative work for IBM, including marketing for the company’s AI and Machine Learning capabilities, IBM Watson and Cognitive. He has also held senior creative director positions at agencies including R/GA and The Barbarian Group where he helmed creative work for Samsung,... Read More, Comment

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Global creative agency Wieden+Kennedy has hired design veterans Nicole Jacek and Noreen Morioka as heads of design, leading its 100+person Portland design studio. Jacek and Morioka will oversee client projects, creative direction and business development for the studio, which has recently completed projects for Nike, KFC and Airbnb. The duo is relocating to Portland from Los Angeles, where Jacek has been running her own design agency NJ(L.A.) since 2013, focusing on creating high-value brand... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Global production studio RadicalMedia has signed international filmmaker Mollie Mills to its directorial roster for commercials. She will be represented in the U.S. by RadicalMedia and live in L.A. Mills--who on the strength of her The Cowboy Prayer was selected for the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase at the 2017 Cannes International Festival of Creativity--has also been named “One to Watch” by MTV, placed second in Dazed & Confused ranking of U.K.’s top 10 new-gen visionaries... Read More, Comment

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Jane Fonda and Gloria Allred were all born within eight years of one another — 1933, 1937 and 1941. While their trajectories couldn't be more different, they're also similar in some ways. Each went on to defy expectations of their time and become powerhouse representatives of women, and all are getting the spotlight this year in three films playing at the Sundance Film Festival. Ginsburg soldiered through sexist obstacles, like the Dean of Harvard Law School asking "How do... Read More, Comment

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) -- English actress Andrea Riseborough ("Birdman," ''Battle of the Sexes") may be the MVP of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, with four films playing in Park City, Utah. There's "Mandy," a revenge actioner in where she plays Nicolas Cage's object of affection; "The Death of Stalin," from "Veep" creator Armando Iannucci where Riseborough is the dictator's daughter; "Burden," where she makes a Ku Klux Klan member (Garrett Hedlund) start to question his beliefs; And one that is especially dear to her... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Production company m ss ng p eces (mp) has signed director David Ma who’s known for his food/tabletop prowess. Ma started his career as an agency creative working at Droga5, TBWA and 360i before becoming a popular creator with a large social media following. His unique take on the intersection of food and film combines surprising concepts with a more polished, cinematic food imagery, yielding a fresh take on the tabletop genre. In 2017, his latest viral project, #foodfilms, transformed recipe... Read More, Comment

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Anderson Wright, a filmmaker who creates content for brands and global agencies, athletes and artists, has joined the directorial lineup at Bullitt for commercials and branded content in the U.S. His short documentary NZINGHA , featuring Olympic fencer Nzingha Prescod, won a Clio and a place on the shortlist at Cannes’ Young Director Awards, and was published by National Geographic and The Atlantic. Other noted projects include a spot for the app Duet Display, which has been seen over 18... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Sweet Shop has signed director Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson for international representation. He will be available for scripts coming into The Sweet Shop’s seven offices in London, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Shanghai, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. The Sweet Shop is the first commercialmaking/branded content production house roost for Gudmundsson. After graduating from Icelandic Art Academy in Fine Art, he moved to Denmark and studied screenwriting. His short films and feature debuts have been... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Yard Dog has signed director Kelsey Larkin for exclusive representation in the U.S. The agreement is the first with a U.S. production company for Larkin, who, although born in Chicago, resides in Toronto and has previously worked exclusively in Canada. She has recently directed projects for GoodLife Fitness, Inov8, Vega and Bikes on Wheels, among others. Larkin studied filmmaking at Humber College, Toronto, and spent the early years of her career rising through the production ranks. She got her... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Strike Anywhere, the L.A. and San Francisco-based production company, has brought comedic director Aaron Beckum aboard its roster. This marks his first formal representation for commercials and branded content. Originally from Kansas City, Beckum grew up mostly in Europe before coming to Los Angeles by way of Vancouver. Beckum has a background in editing, producing, writing, and directing, having studied film at the Vancouver Film School, where his debut short won an Achievement in Direction... Read More, Comment

VENICE, Calif. -- Production company Rodeo Show has signed director Alec Sutherland for U.S. commercial representation. He has helmed spots for such brands as AT&T, Budweiser, Visa, General Electric, USAID and Benjamin Moore. Sutherland’s work for Benjamin Moore was awarded an Integrated Lion at Cannes Lions and a Titanium award. Sutherland brings over five years of experience directing in-house for agencies including Anomaly, The Martin Agency, MRY and Barbarian Group, and production companies such as... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Dana Fahey Valdes has joined Grey as executive director, creative talent. She will report to John Patroulis, Grey’s worldwide chief creative officer and be based at Grey’s New York flagship office. In her new post, Valdes will lead Grey’s growing creative management team which includes creative recruitment, resource management and creative culture initiatives. Patroulis said, “Dana brings a tremendous track record of success in building creative organizations. She will help us continue to... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) has unveiled nominees for the 65th MPSE Golden Reel Awards. Nominees represent the work of the world’s most talented sound artists and their contributions to the past year’s most outstanding feature film, television, animation and computer entertainment productions. Among the features in the running are, for example, in the Oustanding Achjievement in Sound Editing--Dialogue/ADR category are: Baby Driver, Blade Runner 2049, Darkest Hour, Detroit, Dunkirk,... Read More, Comment

LONDON (AP) -- British regulators said Tuesday that 21st Century Fox's takeover of London-based pay TV company Sky is not in the public interest because it would give Rupert Murdoch too much control over the country's news media. But they offered remedies that may pave the way for the deal go ahead. The regulator's preliminary finding is the latest hurdle for Fox's effort to buy the 61 percent of Sky PLC it doesn't already own for 11.7 billion pounds ($16.3 billion). A previous takeover attempt six years ago... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" outdid another weekend's worth of newcomers to top the North American box office for the third straight weekend, making the surprise hit the fifth-highest grossing film of all time for Sony Pictures. "Jumanji," starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, sold $20 million in tickets, according to studio estimates Sunday, bringing its five-week domestic total to $317 million. That makes Sony's reboot the studio's best non-Spider-Man movie domestically, not adjusting... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- More than 40 million people watched the NFL’s two preliminaries for the Super Bowl on Sunday, a drop of more than 8 percent compared to last year’s conference championship games. The Nielsen company said an average of 43.2 million people watched the games. While that’s down from the 47.1 million who watched the conference championships last year, it was a more heartening report than the NFL had gotten only a week earlier. This year’s divisional championship round had seen a 16 percent dip in... Read More, Comment

Last September, Diesel introduced its “Go with the Flaw” mantra intended to inspire people to not only accept flaws in their lives, but to wear imperfection with pride and to embrace them. Society constantly strives for perfection. But perfection is boring, its forgettable. The world needs to hold tight to the imperfections and individuality that makes it worth living. Now continuing in that vein, Diesel presents a short film centered on a beautiful “Go with the Flaw” romance, the story of a... Read More, Comment

In this offbeat spot for Aspen Dental directed by Nick Ball via MJZ for agency CP+B, a dentist and his patient chair emerge from a tomb on exhibit in a museum. The dentist reassures a couple of museum-goers that he makes the insurance process easier. In the blink of an eye, the male museum visitor is in the dentist’s chair, grateful that things have gotten easy in terms of his dental care. “Museum” continues the humorous bent that CP+B has deployed for Aspen Dental since taking on the account... Read More, Comment

Why doesn’t Taco Bell have fries? In this trailer for a movie that doesn’t exist, Josh Duhamel plays a father determined to cut through a “Web of Fries” to find the truth. The new ad--for cinema and TV--was created by Deutsch, directed by Joseph Kosinski of Reset and edited by Jim Haygood of Union Editorial. The piece parodies the suspense genre as a means of introducing Taco Bell’s new #nachofries, coming January 25. This :90 runs in cinemas and on television, with :60, :30 and :15 versions... Read More, Comment

Creative agency Humanaut, based in Chattanooga, Tenn., has created a new ad campaign for organic juice brand Suja, This marks the brand’s first video production and integrated marketing campaign, with the anthem “Drink Plants” spot being paying homage to the power of plants, celebrating our love for them. Directed by Basak Erol of production house Ruffian, the 90-second piece is a speed lesson on plants and photosynthesis that explains how the process--along with Suja’s cold-pressed production... Read More, Comment

Chanel’s four-spot campaign directed by Eva Michon for its Chance fragrance includes this one featuring Selah Marley, the daughter of singer Lauryn Hill. Shot in Venice, Italy, each playful video looks into a different individual muse’s narrative through a circular lens, which mirrors the shape of a bottle of Chance. The campaign plays off these narratives, encouraging consumers to “Choose Your Chance” and enter a world where anything is possible. The Chanel campaign was created in partnership... Read More, Comment