LOS ANGELES -- While shooting Mother! in Montreal, Matthew Libatique, ASC got “word out of the blue” from the film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, that Bradley Cooper was coming by to meet him. Cooper wanted to discuss the possibility of Libatique lensing A Star Is Born (Warner Bros.). It turns out Mother! actress Jennifer Lawrence--Cooper’s co-star in Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and Joy --recommended Libatique to the actor who was prepping for his feature directorial debut. “I owe a debt of... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Responding to widespread backlash to the fact that four Oscars--for Best Cinematography, Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Live-Action Short--will be presented during commercial breaks at the 91st Academy Awards, the film academy has issued a statement saying that all Academy Award winners will still be included in the broadcast on Feb. 24. A joint statement from the film academy’s board of governors on Wednesday criticized “inaccurate reporting” and social media posts for what they... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Ironically just two days after John Bailey, ASC, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, extolled the artistry of DPs, presenting the marquee American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Award for feature achievement to Lukasz Zal, PSC for Cold War (it was accepted by his camera operator, Ernest Wilczynski), the film academy announced on Monday (2/11) that the Oscars for excellence in four categories--cinematography, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, and live action... Read More, Comment

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Łukasz Żal, PSC won the marquee honor at the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards, earning best feature cinematography distinction on the strength of Cold War (Amazon Studios). Żal’s ASC Award for Cold War topped a field of nominees that additionally consisted of: Alfonso Cuaron for Roma ; Matthew Libatique, ASC for A Star is Born , Robbie Ryan, BSC, ISC for The Favourite , and Linus Sandgren, ASC, FSF, for First Man . The win boosts Żal’s prospects on the Best Cinematography Oscar... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Lee Clow, the visionary creative who touched the hearts of consumers and revitalized brands with iconic advertising campaigns, is retiring. The global director of Media Arts at worldwide advertising collective TBWA, and founder and chairman of TBWA\Media Arts Lab, will move into an advisory role as chairman emeritus of the agency he founded in 2006 to serve Apple and to embody his vision of an agency that impacts culture, rather than just “makes ads.” “The years I spent doing this thing called... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Chelsea has signed Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated director Nisha Ganatra for her first commercial representation. She is a heavyweight in episodic television whose new feature, Late Night , is making big waves following its premiere at the recently wrapped Sundance Film Festival. Late Night , penned by Mindy Kaling and co-starring Kaling and Emma Thompson, premiered to rave reviews and a standing ovation in Park City this January. The film was immediately acquired by Amazon for a... Read More, Comment

LONDON (AP) -- Tragicomic royal drama “The Favourite” and Mexican family memoir “Roma” split the honors with multiple wins each at Sunday’s British Academy Film Awards — victories that suggest a wind of change may be blowing through the movie industry. “The Favourite” won seven trophies including best British film and best actress for OIivia Colman, who plays Britain’s 18th century Queen Anne in the female-centric drama. Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” which centers on the nanny to a middle-class Mexico City family... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- When ASC member John Bailey was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017, he became the first cinematographer to hold the position in nearly 60 years (the other being George Stevens, who was better known as a director). Now in his second term as Academy president, Bailey did double duty on Saturday (2/9) night--first at the Academy’s annual Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills and then presenting the marquee honor for feature film... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Daniel Bergmann, founder and president of global creative network Stink, will serve as chairperson of the 2019 AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the American Commercial. The AICP Show is one of the central arms of the association’s new troika of awards presentations encompassing the full spectrum of advertising and brand communication in the moving image. This grouping includes the AICP Next Awards and the newly re-branded and revamped AICP Post Awards, formerly known as the AICE Awards. “... Read More, Comment

LONDON -- Blink and Rogue, two of London’s leading commercial production houses, will form an ambitious new venture next month. While each company retains its own distinct brand and roster, Blink and Rogue will use their shared culture and resources--spanning commercial production, automotive wherewithal, animation, long-form entertainment and music production--to maximize creative opportunities for their directors and cost-effective solutions for their clients. The partnership actually brings together... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Tool of North America has signed director Daito Manabe to its Innovation roster while filmmaker Alex Richanbach joins the company’s Live-Action division. Tokyo-based Manabe is a media artist, interactive director, programmer, DJ and executive at Rhizomatiks. Manabe is also well known for his experimental brand collaborations. He helped to create the famous Free Run+ campaign for Nike, in which the running shoes were utilized as musical instruments. Manabe’s work in design, art, and... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- The top films in 2018 featured more female and people of color in lead roles than ever before, according to a new study from the University of Southern California's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. In a report released Tuesday, researchers found that women were the lead or co-lead in 40 of the 100 highest-grossing films of 2018. That's an increase of eight movies from 2017 and 20 movies from 2007, when the annual study was begun. There were 28 films with leads or co-leads from an... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- The Tribeca Film Festival will open its 18th edition with the world premiere of the HBO Documentary Film The Apollo . Helmed by Academy and Emmy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams, The Apollo chronicles the unique history and contemporary legacy of the New York City landmark, the Apollo Theater. The film will debut at the iconic theater itself on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 and later this year on HBO. The feature-length documentary weaves together archival footage, music, comedy and dance... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Interrogate, the L.A./New York/Sydney-based production company, has added Oscar-winning filmmakers The Fines--the wife-and-husband team of Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine--to its roster for spot and branded content representation in the U.S. and Australia. In addition to their Oscar pedigree, The Fines have also won Emmy and Peabody Awards. The Washington D.C. residents met while they were both working for National Geographic and quickly bonded over a shared sense of storytelling — focusing on... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Bicoastal Epoch Films has added director Natalie Rae to its roster for commercial representation in the U.S. She had previously been handled in the American ad market by production house Sanctuary. Rae is an award-winning filmmaker originally from Vancouver, Canada. Born into a family of filmmakers, Rae has a way of life that’s always entailed communicating ideas through film. She has a dynamic background from producing and writing to fine arts in music and dance, and her passion lies in... Read More, Comment

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- The Corner Shop has added director Sara Dunlop to its roster for representation in the U.S. She had formerly been handled in the American ad market by Rattling Stock, which continues to rep her in the U.K. and Europe. Anna Hashmi, co-founder and EP of The Corner Shop, described Dunlop as “an impressive talent, with an accomplished cinematic reel with campaigns from Levis to Virgin Trains, Vodafone and Sky to Facebook. I have coveted her work for a long time, and am so excited to work with her... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- FINCH, Sydney, Australia, was awarded Best of Show for “The Eleven O’Clock” at last night’s (2/13) seventh annual One Screen Short Film Festival, the premiere short film festival from The One Club for Creativity that unites the film and advertising worlds. Following the delusional patient of a psychiatrist who believes he is actually the psychiatrist himself, "The Eleven O’Clock" also picked up a One Screen award in Comedy at the ceremony and screening at the SVA Theater in New York. Other... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Johannes Leonardo has brought Hope Nardini on board as creative director A multi-award winner with experience driving creative ideation across teams, Nardini joins the agency with a specific focus on the MassMutual account alongside creative director Kevin Watkins. Nardini will report directly to co-founders Jan Jacobs and Leo Premutico at Johannes Leonardo’s headquarters in New York. Nardini comes over to Johannes Leonardo from McCann New York where she was an associate creative director... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- JOJX, an L.A.-based production company, has added director and designer GMUNK to its roster for exclusive live-action representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos in the U.S. GMUNK had previously been handled for live-action fare by Tool of North America , which continues to rep him for interactive content. GMUNK’s creativity and innovation spans multiple mediums, including installations, print exhibitions, films, music videos, commercials and various forms of award-... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Yard Dog, an L.A.-based production company led by partners/executive producers Joe Piccirillo and Beth Pearson, has formed an alliance with Elma Garcia Films (EGF) for advertising projects. Yard Dog will act as executive producer and provide sales support for EGF, home to award-winning director/cinematographer Elma Garcia. The two companies will produce advertising assignments jointly. The alliance adds further creative depth to the Yard Dog roster while providing Garcia with access to a well-... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Bigger Picture has added director/writer Gary Shore to its roster. Shore’s body of work spans short-form branded content and feature films. Shore’s credits include projects for Adidas, Guinness, Jaguar, Gatorade, Samsung and Nissan, and his box-office-topping first feature, Dracula Untold (Universal Pictures). Before joining The Bigger Picture, he was represented in the U.S. via Knucklehead, which continues to handle him for spots and branded content in the U.K. Tracy Mays, founder of the L... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Stept, a creatively integrated production company with offices in Los Angeles and Jackson Hole (Wyoming), has added Michael Parenteau and Leigh Powis to its directorial roster for exclusive commercial representation in the U.S. Parenteau is a director, producer, DP and editor of films, commercials, and music videos. His films include Free Diving With Perrin James, Ride Of the Dead , and The Search For Freedom . The latter won numerous awards including Newport Beach Film Festival’s Outstanding... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Director Bryan Singer hasn't been involved with the Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" for over a year, but with a fresh exposé alleging that he sexually assaulted minors and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts "suspending" his nomination, will he be the film's Oscars Achilles heel? "Bohemian Rhapsody" has had a lifetime's worth of trials and setbacks on its 10-year journey to the big screen. And yet despite everything working against it — from Singer's surprise firing mid-production... Read More, Comment

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Coming off a big night at the Grammys, Donald Glover and his alter-ego Childish Gambino were nominated Wednesday for five NAACP Image Awards. Glover is nominated for his acting and directing on “Atlanta.” The FX show itself is nominated for best comedy series. On the music side, Childish Gambino is nominated for top male performer, and his song “This Is America” is nominated for best video and song. Glover won four Grammys including record and song of the year on Sunday night. The nominees were... Read More, Comment

Straight, "no chaser" is how NBA agent Ray Burke (Andre Holland) likes his news in "High Flying Bird," and the same could be said for the cinematic preferences of director Steven Soderbergh, whose stripped-down latest is a fleet-footed fast break of a movie. "High Flying Bird," Soderbergh's second film shot on iPhones and his first for Netflix, has been made with an exhilarating, no-nonsense immediacy. Standard movie gloss has been happily jettisoned to give it to us straight. The "it" is the... Read More, Comment

What to say about an Oscar-nominated film that's more than three hours long, apparently despised by the man whose life inspired it, and has been called both a masterpiece and a manipulation? Perhaps that the film's fascinating backstory could make for another three-hour movie. The protagonist would be German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who won the foreign language Oscar for Germany with his first feature, the hugely compelling "The Lives of Others," about the Stasi in East... Read More, Comment

Alita is just like a typical teenage girl. She loves chocolate, breaks curfew and crushes on a bad boy with floppy hair, a leather jacket and a motorcycle. But Alita isn't typical in other ways. For one, she can slice apart a single falling tear with her ferocious battle sword. Those are the two sides brought up by "Alita: Battle Angel ," our film entry into the thrilling manga world of artist Yukito Kishiro and imagined for the screen by producer James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The International Cinematographers Guild Publicists (ICG, IATSE Local 600) will debut its new award The Henri Bollinger Award at the 56th annual International Cinematographers Guild’s Publicists Awards Luncheon on February 22 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, it was announced by Tim Menke, chair of the ICG Publicists Awards. This award, named after the renowned award-winning entertainment industry publicist Henri Bollinger, will be presented to Bollinger posthumously as the first recipient. His wife... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- As the time approaches to say goodbye to Sheldon, Amy, Leonard, Penny and the gang, the CBS comedy “The Big Bang Theory” hit a season high in popularity last week. The 14.2 million viewers who tuned in to Thursday’s episode will surely be topped, since television’s most popular comedy calls it quits after 12 seasons this spring. Not everyone gets to go out on top, and the cast and crew of “The Big Bang Theory” gathered last week for a celebratory ceremony. The Burbank, California, studio on the... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" was easily the top ticket-seller in theaters over the weekend, but the film's $35 million opening failed to stack up to its expected haul, according to studio estimates Sunday. The animated sequel had been forecast to draw around $50 million. Instead, it debuted with half the $69 million the 2014 original did, despite good reviews and an A-minus CinemaScore. With about a $100 million budget, Warner Bros.' "The Lego Movie 2" had been pegged as a dependable,... Read More, Comment

Ridley Scott of RSA Films directed this epic short for Hennessy X.O. out of agency DDB Paris. A :60 version of the film is slated to air during the 91st Oscars telecast on Feb. 24. Complementing the idea that “Each drop of Hennessy X.O. is an Odyssey,” the Academy Award nominated director of the films The Martian and Gladiator as well as breakthrough films Alien and Blade Runner , creates a visual journey that explores the seven flavor profiles in a surreal, sensorial and immersive narrative... Read More, Comment

To mark the National Down Syndrome Society’s (NDSS) 40th anniversary, the organization has partnered with Saatchi & Saatchi New York to challenge the limitations imposed on people with Down syndrome. This digital and social campaign furthers the conversation following last year’s noteworthy Law Syndrome launch, which propelled legislation to reform the complex and misguided laws that hinder the Down syndrome community. This iteration of the campaign builds on this concept by focusing on the... Read More, Comment

The Emmy-winning “Love Has No Labels” campaign for Ad Council has entered its next phase with a digital series that builds on the campaign’s recent short film, Rising . The new two-part documentary series is being released by Ad Council with Facebook and Great Big Story, expanding upon the theme “why does it take a disaster to bring us together?” The Rising docuseries, produced by Courageous, Great Big Story’s branded content studio, showcases real people who have formed unexpectedly deep... Read More, Comment

Directed by Dante Ariola of MJZ for Goodby Silverstein & Partners, this spot titled “Legend” introduces us not only to the X7, BMW’s first standard seven-seater, but also to the legend of Ol’ McLanden, an epic poem read by Chris Pine. As this mysterious, fictitious folk tale unfolds, McLanden braves the challenges of cityscapes, dockyards, mountains and more. McLanden conquers everyday obstacles, although these hurdles are blown up to mythical proportions. Along the way, McLanden and the X7... Read More, Comment

To help ensure that people have the most romantic Valentine’s Day yet, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and cross-cultural creative agency the community have unveiled a mock documentary video involving a fictional motel that’s been forced to ban vegans--because of their noisy marathon love-making sessions. Created by the community, “What? This Motel Is Banning Vegans?” features a series of “investigative interviews” revealing all the “complaints” around vegans’ noisy carnal... Read More, Comment

Samsung’s mission to see the world as it could be, instead of accepting the limits of today, is reflected in this spot where the company’s developing technology is being used to do wondrous things, including a mobile device which allows a couple to see their unborn infant via ultrasound, and a tattoo artist who remotely creates an intricate design on a young woman. Sam Pilling of Pulse Films directed for Leo Burnett, Chicago. Helping to drive this anthem piece is a classic tune. Leo Burnett, in... Read More, Comment

Sallyanne Massimini, a 2018 SHOOT New Directors Showcase alum, directed, wrote, lensed and produced a short titled N.I. , billed as the first narrative live-action piece to be shot on RED Digital Cinema’s first phone, the Hydrogen. This ScreenWork entry is a trailer for that short. N.I. captures a romantic encounter that goes horribly wrong--with a high-tech twist. The short stars Giorgia Whigham ( The Punisher, 13 Reasons Why ), David Meza ( Millenials, In Echo Park ) and features an original... Read More, Comment

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