LOS ANGELES -- The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted to present a Special Award--an Oscar® statuette--to director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s virtual reality installation, “CARNE y ARENA (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible),” in recognition of a visionary and powerful experience in storytelling. “The Governors of the Academy are proud to present a special Oscar to ‘CARNE y ARENA,’ in which Alejandro Iñárritu and his cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki have opened... Read More, Comment
BERLIN -- BBDO New York won agency of the year honors while Smuggler earned the production company of the year mantle, and Henry-Alex Rubin was named the year’s best director at the recently wrapped CICLOPE Festival 2017 in Berlin. All three wins were tied in large part to Sandy Hook Promise’s “Evan,” one of three pieces to earn a CICLOPE Grand Prix--directed by Rubin of Smuggler for BBDO NY. The short film is the story of Evan, a teen counting down the days to summer break, who demonstrates his boredom... Read More, Comment
LOS ANGELES -- One hundred seventy features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 90th Academy Awards®. The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are: “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” “Aida’s Secrets” “Al Di Qua” “All the Rage” “All These Sleepless Nights” “AlphaGo” “The American Media and the Second Assassination of President John F. Kennedy” “And the Winner Isn’t” “Angels Within” “Architects of Denial” “Arthur Miller: Writer” “Atomic Homefront” “The B-... Read More, Comment
LOS ANGELES -- Filmmaker and hybrid creative talent Jason Zada has joined FANCY Content for commercial representation in the U.S. An award-winning filmmaker whose first feature, the thriller The Forest , debuted last year, Zada is known for his long associations with such prior production company homes as Prettybird and Tool of North America . Most recently he was at Los York. Zada has earned multiple awards over the course of his directing career, including Cannes Lions, a D&AD Pencil, an Emmy and... Read More, Comment
LOS ANGELES -- Stink Films has signed director Will Mayer for global representation. He joins a company directorial roster which includes Eliot Rausch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Nacho Gayan, and Lauren Caris Cohan. Mayer’s background in documentary filmmaking imbues his work with a sense of authenticity and human connection. He shared, “What I aim for above everything is emotion and honesty.” A recent collaboration with Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., for Samsung tells the story of Russell Westbrook and the... Read More, Comment
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Jerk Store, the directing team consisting of Ben Weinberg and Pat Andrews, has joined the roster of Santa Monica-headquartered Tool. The duo had not been handled previously in the U.S. but continues to be repped in Canada by Steam Films. Jerk Store’s first project for Tool is a spot for Mattress Firm with agency Havas that launched earlier this month. Weinberg and Andrews spent a combined 30 plus years as advertising creatives, honing their craft before making the switch to directing and... Read More, Comment
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Bullitt has added Sasie Sealy and Jonathan Zames to its directorial roster. Both are conversant in long and short form projects, and work at the intersection of advertising and entertainment. This marks Sealy’s first official U.S. representation. Zames had previously been with Big Block. Sealy first made her mark in the commercial world of fashion and beauty with clients such as Maybelline, Tory Burch, Suave, and Sally Hansen, and her work has been featured in Glamour, Refinery29, and Teen... Read More, Comment
VENICE, Calif. -- Production company Slim has secured sports and action director Manes Duerr for commercials and branded content in the U.S. This marks Duerr’s first production company roost in the U.S. He has already wrapped his first project under the Slim banner, a four-spot Fitbit campaign out of Townhouse New York. Duerr is a lover of American sports and is a committed Packers fan. He also played basketball as a small forward for many years. Originally from Vienna, Duerr started his career as an editor... Read More, Comment
LOS ANGELES -- Branded entertainment production company Gloria Content--which maintains bases of operation in Los Angeles and Mexico City--has signed Brazilian-American director Gandja Monteiro for commercials and branded content in the U.S. She joins a directorial roster which includes company co-founder Diego Luna, Jonas Cuaron, Rodrigo Valdez and Rogelio Sikander. Gloria was launched by Luna along with executive producers Pablo Cruz and Eric Bonniot in 2015. A world traveler with a wide breadth of cultural... Read More, Comment
NEW YORK (AP) -- George Clooney's "Suburbicon" notched one of the most dismal wide-release debuts in recent years on a sluggish pre-Halloween weekend where the horror sequel "Jigsaw" topped all releases despite an underperforming debut. The eighth "Saw" film landed at No. 1 with $16.3 million in North American ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. That came in below industry expectations and suggested the revived "Saw" franchise isn't connecting with audiences the way other recent horror entries... Read More, Comment
We’re taken to a business headquartered in a suburban home where a worker is rewarded for doing a stellar job with the proverbial perk of a “corner office.” The only problem is that the corner office in a residence isn’t quite the power space it is in a highrise. Titled “Corner Office,” this spot for FedEx Ground was directed by Randy Krallman of Smuggler for BBDO New York. It’s one of three spots in a package which features fictional micro-businesses and how FedEx Ground helps them. Read More, Comment
Brent Harris of South Africa’s Egg Films directed “For The Love Of Sport,” Sky Sports’ epic new football ad, produced by Jon Ronbeck with Mapi Brambilla and Paolo Zaninello from Akita Film in Italy for agency Grey United in Milan. When Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi goes down injured, the ad captures the way an entire country joins together to get him back in play. Look out for cameos from the likes of Juventus’ Daniele Rugani, AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli, Fiorentina’s Federico Chiesa and Italian... Read More, Comment
Last month, Foot Locker and Timberland(R) teamed up with hip-hop legend Nas to launch the 2017 Timberland Legends Collection limited-release series of boots. To promote the collection, agency Pereira & O’Dell NY turned to bicoastal production house Gentleman Scholar to turn out a campaign consisting of colorful animation ads which document pivotal moments in the rapper’s personal journey to artistic expression and success. Directed by Gentleman Scholar's Chace Hartman, William Campbell and... Read More, Comment
Publicis Conseil has created the first global campaign for AXA, showcasing the new brand propositioning: “Empower people to live a better life.” The campaign is inspired by the true story of an AXA client who was trapped and severely injured during the Nepal earthquake in 2015, while on a humanitarian mission. The AXA team on the ground found her, repatriated her and gave her all the medical and psychological help she needed to make a full recovery. Her story is told in the spot “Kathmandu--... Read More, Comment
To promote BMW’s certified pre-owned vehicles and the new unlimited mileage warranty, BMW and creative agency KBS have created a humorous campaign directed by Master of None ’s Eric Wareheim via production house PRETTYBIRD. The premise is that the warranty helps customers feel so good about their decision to buy a used BMW they will “never want to stop driving.” That even applies to this spot titled “Wedding” in which a father brings the bride down the aisle in a pre-owned BMW. The car itself... Read More, Comment
The odds look pretty slim for fending off an alien invasion with UFOs menacingly hovering about, causing individuals to disappear. Two scientists see the handwriting on the wall, figuring they have better odds if they exit the crisis at hand and instead play the New York Lottery’s Take 5 game which gives players a one in nine chance of winning. Tom Kuntz of MJZ directed this comedy spot conceived by McCann New York, for which a fleet of spaceships was created by Eight VFX. Read More, Comment
TOTO USA, the Americas division of the global plumbing manufacturer TOTO Global Group, has teamed up with advertising agency barrettSF to create a new video for its WASHLET, a high-tech bidet seat. Aimed to change America’s approach to bathroom hygiene, its message is simple: you should use water for personal cleansing. “99% of Americans don’t use bidet seats,” commented barrettSF creative director Aryan Aminzadeh, “But once you do, you realize you’ve been performing a daily activity the wrong... Read More, Comment