LOS ANGELES -- Editor Kevin Tent and casting director John Jackson share a common bond--a lengthy, ongoing collaborative relationship with director/writer Alexander Payne, their latest round of creative togetherness having been on Downsizing (Paramount Pictures), a feature that’s part sci-fi, part romantic comedy, part adventure, part social commentary as well as bits and pieces of other genres. Matt Damon stars as a working class guy seeking a better life through shrinking himself. Damon and assorted others... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The American Film Institute (AFI) announced the official selections of AFI Awards 2017, celebrating the year’s most outstanding achievements in the art of the moving image--with 10 films and 10 television programs deemed culturally and artistically significant. In addition to the 20 honorees, AFI also recognizes The Vietnam War with an AFI Special Award. AFI Awards is a coveted honor for its noncompetitive celebration of collaboration. Honorees are selected based on works that advance the art... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Los Angeles Film Critics Association voted “Call Me by Your Name” the best film of the year, bestowing a total of three awards on Luca Guadagnino’s erotic coming-of-age tale. The critics, who announced their awards Sunday on Twitter, also named the film’s breakout star, Timothee Chalamet, best actor. Guadagnino shared in the award for best director with Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water.” Del Toro’s Cold War-era fairytale also came away with three awards, including best actress for... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Director/co-writer Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water leads the way with 14 nominations for the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Broadcast Film Critics Association voters have the movie up for such honors as Best Picture, Director, Actress (Sally Hawkins), Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), Sci-Fi/Horror Film, Screenplay (del Toro and Vanessa Taylor), Visual Effects, and Cinematography (Dan Laustsen, DFF). The Shape of Water is a fairy tale set during the Cold War era of America circa 1962... Read More, Comment

BURBANK, Calif. -- The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced nominations for its 45th Annual Annie Awards™ recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. Leading the way with 13 nominations was Pixar Animation Studios’ Coco . Scoring 10 nods was Cartoon Saloon/Aircraft Pictures/Melusine Productions’ The Breadwinner . Coco is one of five films in the running for Best Animated Feature, the other nominees being Captain Underpants (DreamWorks Animation), Cars 3 (Pixar Animation... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The art of collaboration and the contributions of key artists spanning editing, production design, sound and casting will be front and center during a special event on the evening of Wednesday, December 13, at The Landmark theatre in Los Angeles. It starts with a screening of director Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit at 7 pm followed by a live in-person interview session with editor Harry Yoon, production designer Jeremy Hindle, sound designer/supervising sound editor/re-recording mixer Paul N.J... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK -- The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional writing during 2017. Winners will be honored at the 2018 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 11, 2018, at concurrent ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City. Nominated in the Drama Series category are The Americans, Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale and Stranger... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) announced the nominees for the 23rd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards. Netflix leads the television honors with 20 nominations, followed by HBO with 15, FX with 13, and ABC with 12. Topping the list of nominated series is Feud: Bette and Joan (FX) with six. Big Little Lies (HBO) and Fargo (FX) follow closely behind with five each, as does GLOW (Netflix) with four nominations. American Gods (Starz), Black-ish (ABC), Game of Thrones (HBO),... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that 20 films are in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 90th Academy Awards®. The films are listed below in alphabetical order: “Alien: Covenant” “Beauty and the Beast” “Blade Runner 2049 “Dunkirk” ‘‘Ghost in the Shell” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” “Justice League” “Kong: Skull Island” “Life” “Logan” “Ojka” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” “The Shape of Water” “... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 90th Academy Awards®. One hundred seventy films were originally submitted in the category. The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies: “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” Mitten Media, Motto Pictures, Kartemquin Educational Films and WGBH/FRONTLINE “Chasing Coral,” Exposure Labs in partnership... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 90th Academy Awards® has been narrowed to 10 films, of which 5 will earn Oscar® nominations. Voters from the Academy’s Documentary Branch viewed this year’s 77 eligible entries and submitted their ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers for tabulation. The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies: “Alone,” The New York Times “... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that 10 animated short films will advance in the voting process for the 90th Academy Awards®. Sixty-three pictures had originally qualified in the category. The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies: “Cradle,” Devon Manney, director (University of Southern California) “Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, director, and Kobe Bryant, writer (Glen Keane Productions) “Fox and the Whale,” Robin... Read More, Comment

LONDON -- Terry Savage, chairman of Cannes Lions, will leave the Festival following the 2018 event. Savage has been associated with the Lions for 33 years, initially as the representative for Australia, then as CEO, and for the last decade as chairman. Savage said, “Creativity has been central to everything I believe in and having spent a large part of my career involved with Lions I leave in the knowledge that creativity in all of its varied forms will continue to thrive and be centre stage at Cannes... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Joe Staples has come aboard indie creative agency Mother as executive creative director and partner in its Los Angeles office. He will be responsible for all creative coming out of Mother L.A. Prior to joining Mother, Staples was ECD at Wieden+Kennedy’s office in Portland, Ore., where he oversaw the advertising, technology and design for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Old Spice, Chrysler and Weight Watchers. “I love Mother’s independence,” said Staples. “I have truly enjoyed the time I’ve... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Moxie Pictures has added Academy Award-nominated director Kief Davidson to its roster for commercials and branded content worldwide. Davidson has credits spanning such brands as GE, Toyota, Absolut and Facebook. Davidson earned his Oscar nomination in 2013 for Best Short Subject Documentary on the strength of Open Heart , which centered on eight Rwandan children who embark on a life-or-death journey to Sudan in order to have high-risk heart surgery performed at The Salam Centre, Africa’s only... Read More, Comment

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Bullitt has added Allison Amon to its management team as EVP of sales and development. She will work closely with president/EP Luke Ricci on the company’s continued growth in the realm of branded entertainment and advertising. Formerly a partner, executive producer, and co-owner of Chelsea Pictures, Amon spent 18 years shaping and developing that company into a world-class entity winning awards at Sundance, the Emmys and numerous Cannes Lions, among others. Prior to Chelsea, she was head of... Read More, Comment

SAN FRANCISCO -- Dentsu Aegis Network has acquired Swirl, an independent digital-first, full-spectrum ideas agency in San Francisco. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Swirl will become part of global creative agency mcgarrybowen, which is in the Dentsu Aegis family. Swirl expands mcgarrybowen’s capabilities in digital and social-first marketing, branded content, and eCRM. Founded in 1997, Swirl lives at the intersection of innovation, technology, and human engagement. The shop has grown to 175-... Read More, Comment

SAN FRANCISCO -- Airbnb has appointed Jenny Gadd to serve as its global head of production. After spending more than 20 years working for ad agencies and production companies, Gadd finally switches to the client side. Her hire at Airbnb follows the recent promotions of Alexandra Anderson and Samya Deb to creative directors in San Francisco and Singapore, respectively, and the hire of San Francisco-based Naz Arandi as creative director. Gadd will be based in San Francisco, and report to James Goode, director of... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- MPC--a global visual effects and creative production studio known for its work in commercials, feature films, and immersive technology--has set its sr. leadership team in the U.S. for MPC Advertising. Justin Brukman has been appointed managing director of North America with Camila De Biaggi and Robert Owens taking the managing director reins for the New York and Los Angeles ad studios, respectively. Brukman--previously MD of MPCNY and acting MD of MPCLA--will be responsible for the overall... Read More, Comment

CHICAGO & LOS ANGELES -- Veteran executive producers Lisa Masseur and Reid Brody have partnered to launch Tessa Films, a production company with bases of operation in Chicago and Los Angeles. Masseur has been a fixture on the Chicago production scene for years, most recently as the executive producer at ONE at Optimus, the production division of postproduction company Optimus. Prior to that she was EP at Radar Studios, a hybrid production and post studio that also offered visual effects, and before that an EP at Ebel... Read More, Comment

"I, Tonya" is the Tonya Harding film you never knew you wanted: an outrageously entertaining reappraisal of the Olympic figure skater who, in 1994, was involved in a scheme to injure her main rival, Nancy Kerrigan. Resurrecting Harding from the yellowed pages of '90s tabloids may seem about as necessary as a production of "Lorena Bobbitt on Ice." But yesterday's media spectacle has been very good for today's movies. It's no surprise by now that the tabloid caricatures sketched in a sensational... Read More, Comment

PARK CITY, Utah -- Works selected across the Indie Episodic, Shorts and Special Events sections of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival have been announced, underlining Sundance Institute’s commitment to showcasing bold independent storytelling, regardless of form, format or length. New this year is the Indie Episodic section, designed as a dedicated showcase for emerging independent voices and their work. In recent years, the Festival has screened episodic content in the Special Events section, which includes new... Read More, Comment

WASHINGTON (AP) -- This year's Kennedy Center Honors recognizing outstanding artists and performers managed to skip the political drama that loomed over it earlier this year — just ask honoree Norman Lear. Ahead of Sunday night's festivities at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the longtime television producer behind "All in the Family" and other hits reacted with mock surprise when reminded that President Donald Trump was not attending. "Really? Wow!" Lear said as he entered the building. "I'm... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- The White House is hostile to the press, public figures misbehave and a vital Washington Post is at the center of the national conversation. Think any of those things are new? HBO's film on the legendary Post editor Ben Bradlee proves otherwise. "The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee," which debuts Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the cable network, feels strikingly contemporary as it follows the editor through his Boston upbringing, friendship with President John F. Kennedy and leadership... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- When "Marvel's The Punisher" debuted on Netflix last month, it was greeted with great interest and high anticipation. But it arrived as just one of many comic-book adaptations. "The Punisher" is only the latest in a flood now comprising some 28 shows across nine broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, with no end in sight. Granted, all comic-book shows aren't created equal. AMC's "The Walking Dead," beset by zombies, differs markedly from the teen adventures of Archie Andrews on the CW's "... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- While surely a week NBC wouldn’t want to repeat, Matt Lauer’s firing lured viewers to the “Today” show. The NBC morning show beat ABC “Good Morning America” last week for the first week in three months, the Nielsen company said. “Today” had more viewers than “GMA” every day last week — the first time that has happened since last December. NBC fired Lauer following a colleague’s charge of an inappropriate relationship that began in 2014, and since then other women have come forward to charge him... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- In a sleepy post-Thanksgiving weekend at the box office, Pixar's "Coco" remained the top film for the second straight week while a number of Oscar contenders packed theaters in specialty release. "Coco" again easily led all films with $26.1 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. The acclaimed animated tale based on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) has dominated new releases both domestically and abroad. It has already racked up a global... Read More, Comment

Againtsallodds via Passion Pictures directed this charming animated holiday spot for Swiss department store Manor out of agency BETC Paris. ‘Tis the hectic season for Santa who is overwhelmed with kids’ letters--with the younger ones sending him drawings to illustrate what they want for Xmas. But what happens when St. Nick can’t make head or tails of a drawing, unable to discern what a lad or lass would like to get? That dilemma comes front and center in this commercial. Santa calls upon his... Read More, Comment

A visit from Santa Claus, particularly to kids in a hospital, is a thrilling experience. But this one was even more inspiring as these young cancer patients, almost all of whom are bald, were able to cut Santa’s hair, helping to make him bald just like them. This real-life surprise came as Jose Salomao, who’s donned a Santa Claus costume for 11 years, visited Hospital ITACI, Institute of Childhood Cancer Treatment, connected to Children Institute of Hospital of Clinics from University of São... Read More, Comment

More than a third of road fatalities in Canada involve alcohol impairment. Crashes involving alcohol and/or drugs are the leading criminal cause of death in Canada, with an average of four Canadians killed in crashes involving alcohol and/or drugs every day. With this in mind, Uber Canada in partnership with MADD Canada are launching a joint fundraising and awareness campaign to remind Canadians of the dangers and consequences of impaired driving. The partnership campaign kicks off with the... Read More, Comment

Part of the National Safety Council’s “Stop Everyday Killers” campaign out of Energy BBDO in Chicago, this piece titled “Avi's Story” shows a father, Avi, remembering Michael, his son who died of an opioid overdose. As part of this remembrance, we see a human face representing Michael carved into a pill. This pill is placed with other “face pills” on a “Prescribed to Death” memorial paying tribute to the victims of the Opioid crisis. The wall consists of 22,000 such pills--the number of people... Read More, Comment

Daniele Anastasion directed this latest entry from the UPS #WishesDelivered campaign, a short entitled Girl Powered for agency T3. In this short we meet a 10-year-old girl, Taylor, who aspires to be a pilot. She gets her wish as she teams with a UPS pilot, Captain Dave, on a wondrous flight, filmed on location--and in the air--at the UPS Global Flight Center. At the end of the flight, the UPS pilot informs the girl that he’s slated to retire in 18 years. At that point he hopes to take his last... Read More, Comment

A swashbuckling captain is more than up to meeting head on an intergalactic invasion--that is, if he can find his keys. Otherwise his space ship will stay grounded. So rather than an adventure and a battle, we’re relegated to watching him, with his compatriots, fumbling around to see where he misplaced his keys. A spokesman intervenes that as long as people misplace keys, you can count on GEICO to save you money on car insurance. Randy Krallman of Smuggler directed this spot titled “Captain”... Read More, Comment

Noah Marshall of The Sweet Shop directed this “The Road Is No Place For Excuses” PSA for the Transport for New South Wales (NSW) out of Aussie ad agency Enigma. The PSA introduces us to various people who deliver common excuses for getting behind the wheel of a car when they are tired, had a bit too much to drink or are otherwise impaired. The PSA is part of a campaign targeting people living in regional NSW in order to help save lives on country roads. Director Marshall said, “These films aren... Read More, Comment