NEW YORK -- SHOOT premiered its 17th annual New Directors Showcase reel at the DGA Theatre in New York City on Thursday (5/30), followed by a panel discussion moderated by SHOOT publisher and editorial director Roberta Griefer featuring four of the up-and-coming fillmmakes as well as insights and expertise from Lisa Mehling, owner and executive producer of Chelsea Pictures, and Kim Jose, co-head of integrated production, Forsman & Bodenfors New York. The 2019 New Directors Showcase consisted of 36 up-... Read More, Comment

Sounding out SHOOT New Directors Showcase alumni to give advice to the next generation of up-and-coming talent has been a mini-tradition of sorts. But this year, a new dimension takes hold as not only are the alumni we sought out now principals in their own production houses but they also have directors on those company rosters who made the cut for the 2019 Showcase. The Docter Twins, Jason and Matt Docter, earned a Showcase slot in 2008. Fast forward to today and Mackenzie Hilton of Thinking... Read More, Comment

Getting your foot in the door, then opening the door and crossing the threshold are figuratively speaking the first steps to embarking on a career. As for how to best accomplish this--or at least make the process a little easier--for the aspiring producer or director, SHOOT sought advice from professionals on the production house and ad agency sides of the business. To help those looking to gain a meaningful foothold in the industry--and in the spirit of SHOOT ’s 17th New Directors Showcase... Read More, Comment

While it remains to be seen if an Emmy nomination or perhaps even multiple nods are in the offing for Pose (FX Network), major TV Academy recognition has already been attained. Last month, the 12th Television Academy Honors were presented, celebrating programs that examine and portray complex issues and challenges facing our society--and in the process, make an extraordinary impact. Pose was one of two drama series (the other being ABC’s A Million Little Things ) to receive a TV Academy Honor... Read More, Comment

CANNES, France (AP) -- South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's social satire "Parasite," about a poor family of hustlers who find jobs with a wealthy family, won the Cannes Film Festival's top award, the Palme d'Or, on Saturday. The win for "Parasite" marks the first Korean film to ever win the Palme. In the festival's closing ceremony, jury president Alejandro Inarritu said the choice had been "unanimous" for the nine-person jury. The genre-mixing film had arguably been celebrated more than others at Cannes this year,... Read More, Comment

LONDON -- Jeffrey Katzenberg will be honored as the Cannes Lions Media Person of the Year 2019. Katzenberg will be presented with the award at an evening awards ceremony on Wednesday, June 19, during the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Katzenberg is the founder and chairman of the board of Quibi, a mobile-first media platform incubated at WndrCo. He is also the co-founder and managing partner of WndrCo, a holding company that invests in, acquires, develops and operates consumer... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Anonymous Content has signed Danish director Rune Milton for commercial representation in North America, as well as film and television literary management. Milton’s narrative-driven work includes campaigns for global brands Nike, Toyota, McDonald’s, Carlsberg, and Ikea. This marks Milton's first time being repped in the U.S. market. He continues to be handled in the U.K. by Rogue Films. Currently based in Copenhagen, Milton began incubating his unique style as an editor for the Danish online... Read More, Comment

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Nonfiction Unlimited has signed award-winning documentary director and journalist David Freid for his first global representation in the commercial, branded entertainment and digital space. Freid has directed more than 50 cinematic, quirky documentary short films in more than 40 countries. He has contributed to National Geographic, NBC, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic , and VICE, among others. Most recently, Freid was the founding director for online content magazine, MEL Films... Read More, Comment

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (AP) -- The Starz drama "Vida" returns for its second season on Sunday with an even deeper exploration of an issue facing many U.S. Latino communities: gentrification. The show follows Emma and Lyn, played Mishel Prada and Melissa Barrera respectively, who have inherited from their late mother an East Los Angeles apartment building and a lesbian bar. Each must come to terms with their lives in the old neighborhood and unresolved issues around love. The first season ended with the sisters at odds on... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Netflix blinked first and now other major Hollywood studios say they may reevaluate filming in Georgia if the state's abortion law goes into effect. The state is known for its lucrative tax incentives for filming. WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment and the Walt Disney Co. followed the streaming service's lead earlier this week with a deluge of statements, breaking a three-week silence from the big players in entertainment on the controversial law that would ban abortions... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The entertainment industry celebrated the very best in motion picture marketing at the 20th Annual Golden Trailer Awards last night (5/29) at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel in downtown, Los Angeles. More than 1,000 studio and network marketing executives, movie fans, celebrities and trailer editors were on hand as AV Squad and Lionsgate won the night’s top honor--“Best of Show”--for their work on the John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum trailer titled “Conversation.” Netflix won the most awards of... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Saville Productions has signed French-Italian filmmaker Lisa Paclet for U.S. commercial and branded entertainment representation. Paclet is a leading voice in experiential filmmaking and is known for directorial artistry that fuses live-action with VFX and animation, often times blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. Her unique "magic realism" approach has been behind campaign ads for such fashion and beauty brands as Chanel, Dior, Cartier, Kenzo, Vogue, A.P.C, Yves Saint-Laurent,... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Bicoastal production company Honor Society has signed photographer and director Anna Wolf for U.S. commercial representation. Wolf has shot for Target and Amazon and directed campaigns for such brands as Levi’s, Microsoft, Keds, LeSportsac, Verizon and Fossil. She has also shot for editorial clients such as Marie Claire, Glamour and The Zoe Report . She is currently wrapping up projects for Keds, Smartwater, Sally Hansen, and a collaboration with Amazon and Bustle. With versatile expertise... Read More, Comment

VENICE, Calif. -- Production company Rodeo Show has signed director Todd Heyman for U.S. commercial representation. With an affinity for storytelling and an eye for balancing cinematic visuals with authentic performances, Heyman has collaborated with brands such as Nike, Coke, AAMCO, The U.S. Army, Motorola and Marathon. His work across branded and film content has earned numerous industry accolades including Cannes Lions, Webbys and multiple film festival audience awards. Prior to joining Rodeo Show, Heyan had... Read More, Comment

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Christian Bale remembers hunkering down in front of a television set with his father to watch Formula One races, back in the glory days of Alain Prost, Jacques Laffite and Nelson Piquet. They even went to Brands Hatch before F1 left the circuit near Kent, England. So the actor who's been behind the wheel of the Batmobile read a script about the infamous 1966 showdown between Ford and Ferrari at Le Mans, the racing aficionado jumped onboard. And when Matt Damon learned that Bale was already... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Octavia Spencer is a movie star. She has been for almost a decade since audiences and Oscar voters fell in love with her as Minnie in "The Help." Since then she's gotten two more supporting actress Oscar nominations, one of which was for a film that became another "surprise" blockbuster ("Hidden Figures"), ramped up her production company, acted consistently in film and television and written children's books. She even executive produced this year's best picture winner, "Green Book." But there... Read More, Comment

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Millie Bobby Brown may use brute force against demon monsters in "Stranger Things," but the teenage actress relies more on intelligence to outsmart the 500-foot-tall behemoths in the new Godzilla film. Brown plays Madison Russell, the quick-witted 14-year-old daughter of two divorced scientists who are each thrust in the middle of an epic earth-shattering battle in "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." "The characters are completely different. One's got superpowers, and one doesn't," said Brown,... Read More, Comment

It's been a bit since moviegoers had the chance to catch up with Godzilla, five years in fact, which in cinematic franchise time feels like at least a few decades. In other words, it's understandable if you go into "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" a little rusty on just what went down in Tokyo and San Francisco back in 2014. But "Godzilla: King of the Monsters " is a sequel in the loosest possible sense that requires minimal recall from the audience, which is likely a good thing for those whose... Read More, Comment

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Janet Guthrie did not receive a warm reception when she arrived at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 43 years ago. The former aerospace engineer had become a race car driver — unheard of during her era — and Guthrie wanted a spot in the Indianapolis 500, the biggest race in the world. Her competitors wanted nothing to do with her and openly complained a woman was not suited for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Guthrie was undeterred. "As far as the men saying I couldn't get it done, I figured they... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Blasts from the past proved irresistible to viewers, who flocked to live versions of a pair of classic sitcoms and a special about a 20th-century TV beauty. ABC's re-creation of episodes of "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" was among last week's most-watched programs with 10.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen figures released Wednesday. Woody Harrelson played Archie Bunker, the role originated by the late Carroll O'Connor on "All in the Family," with Jamie Foxx following in the... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Moviegoers voted with their dollars and chose the familiar over the new this Memorial Day weekend. The Walt Disney Co.'s live-action remake of "Aladdin" crushed the competition at the box office, which included two new original R-rated films that opened as counterprogramming to the family pic: The critically acclaimed teen comedy "Booksmart" and the horror movie "Brightburn." But the strategy didn't quite work. "Aladdin" did better than expected, grossing an estimated $86.1 million to take the... Read More, Comment

The new :90 film, called “Train,” combines elements from Westerns and family films to let viewers know they can get movies and more with AT&T unlimited plans. The film uniquely tells the tale of a Wild West train heist in two distinct parts--mashing together suspenseful live action followed by whimsical stop-motion animation to surprise and delight. It is the fourth installment in AT&T’s cinema series blending movie genres in completely unexpected ways. This cinema spot was directed by... Read More, Comment

In January, Gillette started a conversation globally about what it looks like for men to be their best in the modern world. Today, Gillette Canada is continuing that conversation with the introduction of the short film "First Shave" from Grey Canada. The film, which premiered at the 2019 Inside Out LGBT Film Festival in Toronto on May 25, captures the moment when Toronto-native and trans advocate Samson Brown first used a razor to shave himself, all under the watchful and caring guidance of his... Read More, Comment

AMV BBDO’s new campaign for the Stroke Association raises awareness of the devastating impacts of having a stroke, and the challenges faced by survivors of all ages as they rebuild their lives. In the U.K. a stroke strikes every five minutes, making it the leading cause of disability in the country. It doesn’t just happen to the elderly either. A stroke can affect anyone at any time, and for the lucky ones who survive, recovery can be a long and difficult process. “Rebuilding Lives” is a film... Read More, Comment

This piece titled “Television” from agency Uncommon embodies ITV’s recent future-facing positioning “More than TV”--with the aim to drive reappraisal and provoke viewers to look again at ITV through the prevailing stories it tells which continue to play a role in shaping British culture today. “Television” emphasizes how ITV has always been at the heart of culture, through creating programs which truly move people, grip the nation and start conversation. Coronation Street actress Julie... Read More, Comment

This film for SKODA France takes on a self-derisive tone, playing off the long-held opinion that the automaker’s cars are somehow lacking. Over the past few years the brand has been adding new, sleeker models to its lineup and, with the help of agency Rosapark, has succeeded in changing that perception. But, they haven’t won everyone over just yet, and with the new brand image campaign in France, “Hesitation is No Longer an Option,” they hope to do so with a touch of humor. Directed by Bart... Read More, Comment

Saatchi & Saatchi London has launched “Natural Break” for Robinsons. The campaign shows a young girl encouraging office workers to take a break with a Robinsons Refresh’d drink. She points out a series of “unnatural” features in the office such as the artificial lighting and a very fake tanned man. By contrast, Robinsons is made with naturally sourced spring water and real fruit. The film concludes with workers heading out into the natural world. The tagline: “Time for something more... Read More, Comment

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