LOS ANGELES For director Sydney Freeland’s Rez Ball (Netflix), cinematographer Kira Kelly, ASC had to develop a sense of court, culture and community. The court refers to the basketball hardwood as regular season, tournament and championship round high school games had to ring true in this American sports drama which made its world premiere at last month’s Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) Robert Harris had just completed a trilogy of novels about Cicero when he watched the election of Pope Benedict live on television. As a chronicler of power and its mutations, the scene — the Sistine Chapel smoke signaling a decision, of course, but also the whole, secretive tableaux — fascinated him. “Just before the pope Read More 

LONDON (AP) The imagination of Tim Burton has produced ghosts and ghouls, Martians, monsters and misfits — all on display at an exhibition that is opening in London just in time for Halloween. But you know what really scares him? Artificial intelligence. Burton said Wednesday that seeing a website that had used AI to blend his drawings Read More 

LONDON Director Adam Elliot’s Memoir of a Snail won the Best Film Award at the BFI London Film Festival which wrapped today (10/20). The funny and moving stop-motion feature tells the tale of separated twins in 1970s’ Australia. The Official Competition jury said: “Our jury was incredibly moved by Adam Elliot’s Memoir of a Snail, which Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) Chuck Lorre is responsible for some of the most successful sitcoms of all time. He says he has the recipe for success, and it’s simpler than you’d think. “The whole thing boils down to great actors and great scripts. And if either one of those is missing, it doesn’t work,” he said. Lorre’s latest venture, Read More 

LOS ANGELES The lineups are set as 20 feature-length and 20 short documentaries have been shortlisted for the 40th IDA Documentary Awards. This year, the IDA Documentary Awards shortlists and nominees are selected by independent committees of 300 documentary makers, curators, critics, and industry experts from 40-plus countries. More than 700 total entries were submitted for all Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Walt Disney Co. is tapping Morgan Stanley executive James Gorman to serve as its next chairman, beginning early next year. The entertainment giant also announced that it anticipates naming its new CEO in early 2026. Gorman will become chairman on Jan. 2, 2025. He will succeed Mark Parker, who is leaving after serving on Read More 

NEW YORK Franklin Leonard and his company, the Black List, the platform dedicated to nurturing written storytelling and empowering writers to maximize their professional potential, will receive The Gotham Anniversary Tribute at the 34th annual Gotham Awards ceremony, taking place on Monday, December 2, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The Anniversary Tribute was created Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) Reba McEntire finds herself behind the bar in her latest return to network TV, making a series that’s a nicely calibrated cocktail of drama and comedy. “The things that are most important in my life is love, hope, faith, happiness, energy, light. And that’s all of the things that are happening with this show,” the Read More 

LOS ANGELES Park Pictures has added director Sean Wang to its roster of talent for representation spanning commercials and branded content. His feature-length debut, Dìdi, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by Focus Features and released later that summer to critical acclaim. Wang is a Taiwanese-American filmmaker hailing from Fremont, Calif., and Read More 

NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES Production company m ss ng p eces has added Bao Nguyen to its directorial roster. This marks the first U.S. commercial representation for Nguyen, an Emmy Award-nominated Vietnamese-American filmmaker known for his nimble, nuanced documentaries. Nguyen has directed more than 20 short films and documentaries, and worked with clients including Google, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Uber, and Read More 

LOS ANGELES Biscuit Filmworks has added filmmaker Jack Begert to its roster in the U.S. and U.K. This marks Begert’s first representation in advertising, building upon his acclaimed work in music video and film. He is best known for his striking aesthetic and surreal use of visual effects, displayed in his feature film debut Little Death, which Read More 

NEW YORK The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025. These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work. Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows: –Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Read More 

NEW YORK Creative agency VML has launched Brand Design at VML, a studio specializing in powering brand growth through design. Brand Design at VML aggregates the agency’s robust capabilities in design positioning, visual and verbal identity systems, and brand governance. Leading the North America group will be Robb Smigielski, chief design officer for North America. While VML Read More 

MINNEAPOLIS After nearly 17 years as CEO of Colle McVoy, Christine Fruechte will assume a strategic advisory position as  chair of the agency. Jessica Henrichs, who currently serves as the agency’s president, will be elevated to CEO effective Jan. 1, 2025. Fruechte was tapped to run the agency in 2007, as president, when the organization was Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) The parent company of WWE and UFC is buying Professional Bull Riders, On Location, and IMG from Endeavor Group in an all-stock deal valued at $3.25 billion. The deal is part of Endeavor’s efforts to shed some of its assets as it looks to be taken private in a proposed transaction with private equity firm Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) The Museum of Modern Art was filled with expletives and laughter Wednesday evening as Samuel L. Jackson’s family and friends celebrated the actor and director’s storied career of box office hits, larger-than-life characters and explosive one-liners at the annual film benefit. Jackson, known for his infamous F-bombs, stuck to a more sentimental speech at the Read More 

MIAMI Monica Albuquerque has been appointed sr. VP, content and development for Telemundo Studios, part of the NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises’ family. In this newly created role, Albuquerque will be responsible for overseeing the development of content for all linear and streaming platforms reporting directly to Javier Pons, executive VP at Telemundo Studios. Albuquerque will work closely Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) When Tears for Fears hit the stage at Firstbank Amphitheater in Franklin, Tennessee, on July 11, 2023, there were no tears but some fears. “We walked on stage and I felt like a deer caught in the headlines,” says singer and guitarist Roland Orzabal, half of the duo. Curt Smith, his musical partner, agreed: “We Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) In Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” the selection of the pope is no holy affair. Instead, it’s a petty, political campaign carried out in secrecy, where gossip flows, agendas are malleable and loyalties are fleeting. All are there to serve God, they say. But we all know how helpful that has been in conflicts throughout history. “Conclave” Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) It’s not your typical stop-motion film when characters name pets after Sylvia Plath and read “The Diary of Anne Frank” — or when the story’s inspired by a quote from existentialist thinker Søren Kierkegaard. And it’s certainly not your typical stop-motion film when you find yourself crying as much as the characters do — in Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) For three films now, Tom Hardy has smushed Jekyll and Hyde into one strange and slimy double act. In a Marvel universe filled with alter egos that cloak stealthy superpowers, his investigative reporter Eddie Brock doesn’t transform. He shares his body with an ink-black alien symbiote (voiced with a baritone growl by Hardy), who sometimes Read More 

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Bernie Taupin, the prolific and successful lyricist who’s a storied collaborator with Sir Elton John, will receive the Outstanding Career Achievement Award during the 15th Annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards™ (HMMA) to be held on November 20 at The Avalon in Hollywood. The Hollywood Music in Media Awards honor composers, songwriters, and music supervisors Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) Foreign adversaries have shown continued determination to influence the U.S. election –- and there are signs their activity will intensify as Election Day nears, Microsoft said in a report Wednesday. Russian operatives are doubling down on fake videos to smear Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, while Chinese-linked social media campaigns are maligning down-ballot Republicans who Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) Horror movies topped the domestic box office charts and an Oscar contender got off to a sparkling start this weekend. “Smile 2,” in its first weekend, and “Terrifier 3″ in its second proved to be the big draws for general movie audiences in North America, while the Palme d’Or winner”Anora” got the best per-theater average Read More 

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