LOS ANGELES -- Genius has been an awards revelation for cinematographer Mathias Herndl, AAC. Back in February for Genius: Einstein (National Geographic), Herndl earned his first career ASC Award. And for season two of Genius , focusing on painter Pablo Picasso, Herndl this month garnered his first Emmy win on the strength of the “Chapter One” episode--topping the Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie category. Meanwhile cinematographer Gary Baum, ASC, just won his second career Emmy Award... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Peter Farrelly’s crowd-pleasing Deep South road trip movie “Green Book” won the Toronto International Film Festival’s audience award on Sunday, putting it on an envious path to the Oscars. Toronto’s People’s Choice Award is one of the most closely watched of the fall festival circuit because it often corresponds with awards-season success. In the past decade, every Toronto People’s Choice winner has scored a best-picture nomination at the Academy Awards. Few pundits pegged “Green Book” as an... Read More, Comment

TORONTO (AP) -- For a festival that can be a hotbed of Oscar-predicting hysteria, the scuttling of the "best popular movie" category by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences barely registered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Most were too in the thrall of the 254 feature films unspooling across the festival to much care about the academy's withdrawn bid for a more commercial best picture award. And if the 'popular' film Oscar category was meant as a corrective to a widening gap between... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” became the first streaming series to win top Emmy comedy honors and HBO’s “Game of Thrones” recaptured the best drama series award Monday at a ceremony that largely slighted its most ethnically diverse field of nominees ever. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon’s freshman sitcom about an unhappy 1950s homemaker liberated by stand-up comedy, earned best actress honors for star Rachel Brosnahan. Her castmate Alex Borstein earned the supporting actress trophy... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In 38 years of managing the Emmy Awards — more than half its 70-year history — John Leverence has faced everything from the demands of a changing TV industry to ticket nightmares to a statuette guilty of causing bodily harm. As the TV academy's senior vice president for awards, he's seen the Emmy categories double from about 60 to 122, entries balloon from 1,500 to 9,000, and the ceremony outgrow 3,000- and 5,000-seat theaters and pack its current venue, the 7,100-seat Microsoft Theater... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- SAG-AFTRA has called a strike against advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, LLC (BBH) after the union’s National Board unanimously voted to issue a strike authorization. Members have been instructed to not accept any work for BBH, which the union contends is illegally attempting to abandon its contract with SAG-AFTRA. BBH, a global agency with U.S. offices in New York and Los Angeles, has been signed to SAG-AFTRA’s Commercials Contracts since 1999, according to the union. On Sept. 5, BBH... Read More, Comment

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Colleen DeCourcy and Tom Blessington have been named to Wieden+Kennedy as co-presidents, and Dave Luhr and Susan Hoffman will move into chair roles alongside W+K co-founder Dan Wieden. As co-presidents, DeCourcy and Blessington will absorb the former roles of chief creative officer and chief operating officer, effective October 1, 2018. DeCourcy has been at W+K since 2013, when she was hired as global executive creative director. She became partner/stakeholder in 2014 and chief creative officer... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK & GOTHENBURG -- Creative agencies Forsman & Bodenfors and KBS (Kirshenbaum, Bond, Senecal + Partners)-–both part of MDC Partners--will merge under the Forsman & Bodenfors name to form a new global creative offering. With 700 employees across eight offices in North America, Europe and Asia, the new Forsman & Bodenfors will share dual headquarters in Sweden and New York. The agency will be led by a global board overseen by global executive chairman Anna Qvennerstedt and global CEO Guy Hayward. Silla... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook and other companies routinely track your online surfing habits to better target ads at you. Two web browsers now want to help you fight back in what's becoming an escalating privacy arms race. New protections in Apple's Safari and Mozilla's Firefox browsers aim to prevent companies from turning "cookie" data files used to store sign-in details and preferences into broader trackers that take note of what you read, watch and research on other sites. Lance Cottrell, creator of the privacy... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Executive producer Tanya Cohen has launched production house Slash Dynamic. The new venture has already completed several jobs, including “The Boomsday Project” for Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone which entailed Slash Dynamic’s Syyn Labs, the experimental collective led by Adam Sadowsky, designing and constructing a Rube Goldberg-esque contraption. The elaborate machine’s chain reaction was captured in one continuous take, showcasing the expansion of the Hearthstone game, with the film... Read More, Comment

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mike Wente has been named chief creative officer of San Francisco-based Swirl mcgarrybowen. In his new role, Wente will lead creative teams focused on delivering breakthrough brand experiences in a digitally connected age for clients including Intel, Clorox, Microsoft, Dole, Juniper, Conduent, CA Technologies, and eBay. Wente will report to mcgarrybowen U.S. chief creative officer Ned Crowley. Most recently, Wente was with VML for more than a decade. He was named co-chief creative officer,... Read More, Comment

ATLANTA -- Matt O’Rourke has joined 22squared as chief creative officer, reporting to CEO Richard Ward. O’Rourke is an 18-year advertising veteran who’s worked at creative agencies including McCann, Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Wieden+Kennedy. He comes directly from Grey New York where as executive creative director he oversaw creative on the Volvo brand across the agency’s global network. 22squared has dual headquarter offices in Atlanta and Tampa and is an 100% employee-owned independent ad agency... Read More, Comment

TORONTO (AP) -- To play any brother, by blood or not, of John C. Reilly is an intimidating prospect given just how firmly entrenched Will Ferrell is as Reilly's on-screen sibling. "Step Brothers," their 2008 comedy classic that took the adolescent adult to absurdist extremes, looms large. It did even for Joaquin Phoenix in deciding to play Reilly's brother in "The Sisters Brothers," Jacques Audiard's Western. Phoenix considers "Step Brothers" one of his all-time favorites. "I knew from that movie. It's kind of... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- As in his TV series "This Is Us," jubilant and catastrophic events tend to cluster for Dan Fogelman. Days before his latest and most ambitious movie, "Life Itself," opens in theaters, and the third season of his hit NBC show premieres, Fogelman's house was robbed. The thieves returned later the same evening, smashing through a glass plate door. Fogelman says he had to chase them away. "There's been a lot of life — really intense life — happening in the last 24 hours," Fogelman said in a recent... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ethan Hawke had long been enchanted by the songs of mysterious singer-songwriter Blaze Foley. Foley wrote songs like 'If I Could Only Fly," that Willie Nelson covered and would go on to become a Merle Haggard hit, and "Clay Pigeons," which John Prine covered. Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams wrote songs about him after his death at age 39 — he was shot in 1989. And yet his is a name that few outside of the Austin music scene would know. This could change with the release of "Blaze," now... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Director Jeff Yeats has joined production house Wondros, coming aboard a roster of filmmakers which includes Antoine Fuqua, Dennie Gordon, Ellis Bahl, Gerald McMorrow, Jesse Dylan, and Riess|Hill. Sophie Gold, Wondros’ executive producer of commercials, described Yeats as “a talented cinematic visual storyteller.” His work spans such clients as Ford, Chevrolet, Acura, NBC Universal and HP, among others. Yeats, previously repped by Tool of North America , is a multi-disciplinary director and... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Humble, the bicoastal integrated production studio founded by Eric Berkowitz, has signed director Raymond Bark for spot and branded content representation in the U.S. With extensive global production experience, Bark is best known for his strong visual style and distinctive storytelling abilities through captivating narratives and drama. Since signing with Humble, he has already brought his vision and global perspective to projects for brands including Timberland, Ameriprise, Home Depot and... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Director/DP William A. Kirkley has signed with Cosmic Pictures for commercials and branded entertainment. Headed by founder/director Greg Kiefer, Cosmic is an integrated production and post company (editorial, color, mastering, VFX, AR/VR 360) with offices in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Kirkley, an L.A. native, developed a deep interest in filmmaking, graphic design and photography at a young age. His formative years were spent making documentaries and music videos on both coasts. Kirkley’s... Read More, Comment

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fighting to defend its $81 billion takeover of Time Warner from a government challenge, AT&T is arguing the Trump Justice Department has failed to show that the merger will raise prices for pay-TV programming and for the consumers who watch it. The AT&T-Time Warner marriage was completed this spring soon after a federal judge approved it. But government antitrust regulators filed to have the judge's ruling overturned, setting the stage for a landmark competition case in the U.S. Court... Read More, Comment

LONDON (AP) -- Comcast and 21st Century Fox will settle their battle for control of broadcaster Sky through a rare auction designed to put an end to months of offers and counteroffers from the American media empires seeking a foothold in the European pay TV market. The auction will begin after the London stock market's close on Friday and end sometime Saturday evening following a maximum of three rounds of bidding, Britain's Takeover Panel said in a statement. Fox started the bidding war last December, when... Read More, Comment

Wash Westmoreland's "Colette" is a very British movie about a very French feminist icon. A handsome and lively period film, it's too timid to capture the ravenous appetites of the literary force that was Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. But with Keira Knightley playing the prolific and trailblazing author, "Colette" has nimbly condensed an un-condensable life into a sprightly and self-evidently relevant biopic. "My name is Claudine, I live in Montigny; I was born there in 1884; I shall probably not... Read More, Comment

"I hope he never does one on me," Donald Trump once said of Michael Moore. It was in 1998, on Roseanne Barr's syndicated talk show. Trump complimented Moore's "Roger & Me," a takedown of General Motors and its then-CEO, Roger Smith. "It's terrific," he said, then added he hoped never to be a similar target. Everybody laughed. Well, 20 years later, Moore has done that Trump film, and he includes that strange little scene. Only Moore isn't laughing much now, and the current president probably... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Television’s biggest night wasn’t that big. The Emmy Awards drew a record-low audience of just over 10.2 million people, down 11 percent from the past two years. Michael Che and Colin Jost of “Saturday Night Live” hosted the awards show on NBC Monday. Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” became the first show from a streaming service to win best comedy, while HBO’s “Game of Thrones” was the top drama. The show reached virtually identical audiences of 11.4 million each of the last two years, the... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "The Predator" is at the top of the food chain in its first weekend in theaters. 20th Century Fox said Sunday that the film earned an estimated $24 million from more than 4,000 North American theaters. But with an $88 million production price tag, the Shane Black-directed installment in the 30-year-old franchise will be looking to international receipts to offset the cost. This weekend, it earned $30.7 million from 72 foreign markets, bringing the global total to $54.7 million. Domestic... Read More, Comment

The Martin Agency and Virginia Tourism Corporation are launching the first work since the creation of the brand’s iconic slogan “Virginia Is For Lovers” was released 50 years ago. But that was then and now the country is more divided than ever. So, Virginia Tourism set out to share some love, to prove that Virginia is still for lovers. Enter “LoveShare,” a campaign which includes a series of films in which real people divided by race, sexual identity and socio-economics were brought together to... Read More, Comment

The launch of a Kenyan community-built boat known as the Flipflopi--the first in the world to be made entirely from recycled marine plastic and flip-flops--is being supported with a new, six-minute film created by agency Droga5 London and production house Borderland. Directed by Simon & Ben of Borderland, the film documents the journey from Kenya’s plastics ban to the creation of the Flipflopi boat, which made its way onto the Indian Ocean on Sept. 15. The nine-meter sailing vessel has been... Read More, Comment

A new campaign from Paris ad agency Rosapark for train company Thalys, which connects cities in France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium, looks to drum up interest in and visitors to the latter country. While visitors flock to the first three countries, they’re not quite as keen on taking a trip to Belgium. Thalys and Rosapark want to change that by celebrating the capital city’s people. This anthem spot, “Bruxelles by Thalys,” does just that with a poetic presentation of Brussels and its... Read More, Comment

Leo Burnett Italy has rolled out a campaign for Fiat’s crossover vehicle, the 500X. Titled “New 500X--A Taste of Tomorrow, Today,” the work is inspired by the film Back to the future. Centerpiece of the campaign is this short directed by Ago Panini for the Movie Magic production company. The film is set in a ‘60s’ Italian city, where a young couple are riding in a D series Fiat 600 along streets lined with the shops, passers-by and cars of the period. We are viewing the origins of the Italian... Read More, Comment

To artfully illustrate that the 2019 MINI Countryman has enough space for even the biggest adventures, the automaker challenged noted artists to create short films in their signature styles. One such film, “Camping,” came from Brooklyn, NY-based diorama duo Nix + Gerber. It’s an intricate work of art entirely created and filmed inside the trunk of the surprisingly spacious 2019 MINI Countryman. Nix + Gerber crafted a perspective-bending intergalactic camping trip in “Camping.” Nix + Gerber’s... Read More, Comment

ASICS recently launched its new “Welcome to the Dojo” clothing and footwear line exclusively at Foot Locker, Inc. supported by an anime-inspired miniseries from BBDO New York that taps into the brand’s Japanese heritage. The five-episode miniseries "The Sun and the Snake" has been well-received and inspired the creation of a new, long-form version. This anime-inspired film was directed by Dipankar Sengupta of animation studio Shotopop. Read More, Comment

Timberland PRO launched a new commercial identity this week, celebrating skilled trade professionals with the release of a new tagline and ad campaign, “Always Do. Never Done.” Part of the multi-spot package from The Martin Agency showcasing real workers in real-life work situations is “High Rise” which pays homage to construction workers. The “Always Do. Never Done” campaign commercials were directed by Raymond Bark of Humble. Read More, Comment

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