LOS ANGELES -- The “USS Callister” episode of Black Mirror (Netflix) garnered a total of seven Emmy nominations this year, including the first for editor Selina MacArthur. “USS Callister,” which is in the running for the Outstanding Television Movie Emmy, is a departure from most Black Mirror episodes, with its share of comedy and deployment of special effects. It introduces us to tech wiz Robert Daly (portrayed by Jesse Plemons) as he lives a double life. One has him bullied at his own company called... Read More, Comment

The Toronto International Film Festival revealed 46 breakout films from 50 international storytellers as part of its 2018 Discovery lineup, marking a record year for the program. Hailing from 37 different countries, these promising new filmmakers present works that explore identity, complex portraits of women, and youth as they struggle to navigate a fragile world. Twenty-nine of the films will make their world premieres at the Festival. The lineup stands out for the impressive number of Asian... Read More, Comment

LONDON (AP) -- "The Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson's new film — a documentary that transforms grainy footage from World War I into color — has a title and a world premiere date at the London Film Festival in October. The festival said Tuesday that "They Shall Not Grow Old" will be screened in London and at cinemas across Britain on Oct. 16, less than a month before the centenary of the war's end. The Academy Award-winning director restored film from the Imperial War Museum using cutting-edge... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Director Peyton Wilson--whose latest work includes the short documentaries The Acid Survivor and The Inmate --has joined Bullitt for commercials and branded entertainment representation in the U.S. She independently helmed the two shorts, which just debuted on the Upworthy online platform as part of the On Meaning series. Presented by Bullitt Entertainment, The Inmate and The Acid Survivor , respectively, take us inside a penitentiary where confinement and movement intersect to provide solace,... Read More, Comment

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Minted Content, the company under the aegis of owner/executive producer Lance O’Connor, continues to grow its roster, the most recent addition being comedy director Declan Lowney. Handled by Minted Content in the U.S., Lowney continues to be repped in the U.K. by Another Picture Company, with his latest work being for Halifax. His credits include humorous ads for Warburtons, Thatchers and Tic Tac. Lowney is additionally known for his TV comedy show work in the U.K., with BAFTA TV Award wins for... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Director Keenan Wetzel has joined Skunk for spot and branded content representation in the U.S. and U.K. Wetzel was previously handled by The Work in the U.S. Skunk marks his first ad roost in the U.K. Wetzel grew up in the Detroit area and it’s in that market where he started his directorial career, turning out work for Toyota, Ford and Firestone. On his most recent shoot for Cadillac, Wetzel impressed a still shooter who introduced him to the Skunk family. Wetzel has two long-time passions--... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ask 12-time Emmy Award winner Carl Reiner how it feels to be nominated again, and he fires back a wisecrack. "I'm impressed with myself," says the droll, 96-year-old creator (or "96 and a half," per his exacting count) of the TV classic "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Is he excited at all about the possibility of nabbing yet another trophy at next month's ceremony? Reiner is nominated as host-narrator of "If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast," a documentary about how perennial high achievers,... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Have you noticed something oddly tranquil about this summer movie season? For the first time in recent memory, there hasn't been one major bomb. Usually by now, there would be blockbuster-sized craters left on the charred summer-movie battlefield, the inevitable toll of Hollywood's most high-stakes season. But this year, summer-movie bomb-watching, long one of the most dependable spectator sports of the season, has gone entirely without the sight of a "Lone Ranger"-sized mushroom cloud. After... Read More, Comment

TORONTO -- The Toronto International Film Festival presents this year’s In Conversation With... lineup: Hilary Swank, Mahershala Ali and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Through insightful, dynamic and intimate discussion, this program will provide an engaging experience for TIFF’s audience with artists who have commanded their distinct roles on screen. All discussions are moderated by a journalist or industry expert, along with clips of career highlights followed by a brief audience Q&A. “Every year TIFF is... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Tool of North America , a creative production partner to brands and agencies, has signed the creative technologist team nøcomputer to its innovation roster. nøcomputer is behind a new wave of advertising projects, bringing to bear such specialties as building interactive installations and experiences, using code to design art, creating branded content and generative identities, as well as prototyping new types of software. nøcomputer is no stranger to Tool, having collaborated with the company... Read More, Comment

CULVER CITY, Calif. -- Director Lena Tsodykovskaya--a.k.a. Lena--has signed with ContagiousLA (CLA) for exclusive spot and branded longform representation in the U.S. Originally from Moscow, Lena (whose last name is pronounced SOH-DEE-COV-SKY-YA) already has amassed a list of international spot directing credits, working with brands like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Adidas, L’Oreal, and agencies BBDO, DDB, McCann Erickson and TBWA, among many others. In the Russian market, her commercial for Rostelekom, entitled “Phone,”... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Two new teams will be joining 180LA. Copywriter Will Sands, previously at Deutsch and AKQA, will partner with art director Robison Mattei. Prior to joining 180, Mattei worked at Saatchi & Saatchi LA, CP+B and JWT Sao Paulo, and Leo Burnett Dubai. Both Sands and Mattei are highly awarded creatives who have lived all over the world, lending their global perspectives to accounts including Taco Bell, Air Jordan, Samsung, and Coach. When asked about their favorite recent projects, Sands cited... Read More, Comment

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- More than 16,500 attendees from 88 countries turned out for this year’s SIGGRAPH conference which wrapped last week (Aug. 12-16) at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The Exhibition portion of the confab played host to nearly 160 diverse companies on the show floor, each showcasing the latest in technologies, products, and services. Due to the remarkable increase in the amount of new technology that has debuted in the global computer graphics marketplace over this past year, nearly one quarter of... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook, Twitter and Google routinely squabble for users, engineers and advertising money. Yet it makes sense for these tech giants to work together on security threats, elections meddling and other common ills. Such cooperation was evident Tuesday when Facebook announced that it had removed 652 suspicious pages, groups and accounts linked to Russia and Iran. This was followed by similar news from Twitter. On Monday, meanwhile, Microsoft reported a new Russian effort to impersonate... Read More, Comment

Facebook has identified and banned hundreds of accounts, groups and pages engaged in misleading political behavior, a far larger discovery than a "sophisticated" effort it reported three weeks ago with great fanfare. The social network said Tuesday that it had removed 652 pages, groups, and accounts linked to Russia and, unexpectedly, Iran, for "coordinated inauthentic behavior" that included the sharing of political material. Facebook has significantly stepped up policing of its platform since... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Emmy nominee Millie Bobby Brown continues to show wisdom beyond her years. The 14-year old "Stranger Things" star, who is no stranger to social media trolls, hopes young people can "rise above the hate" and "not let anyone change you." Before a panel discussion Tuesday, the young star shared her thoughts on dealing with online bullying. She also provided a shred of information on the show's upcoming third season, and the challenges that come with an Emmy nod. "Umm, what to wear, honestly. And... Read More, Comment

Danish director Michael Noer's "Papillon " remake, adapted from both Henri Charriere's autobiography and the 1973 Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman film, is a sumptuous-looking but slow-moving prison drama that at times will have you dreaming about an escape of your own. Charlie Hunnam stars as Papillon, nicknamed for the butterfly tattoo on his chest. He's an expert safecracker in Paris who is framed for murder in 1931 by his underworld boss and sent off to a prison camp in French Guiana where... Read More, Comment

It's almost reassuring that in today's often sanitized, assembly-line mainstream moviemaking that a film can be as crude, as off-brand and as bad as "The Happytime Murders." Almost. Starring Melissa McCarthy in a seedy, half-human, half-puppet Los Angeles, "The Happytime Murders" is an R-rated, adult-themed puppet adventure from Brian Henson, son of Jim. That in itself isn't terrible. The elder Henson himself had adult aspirations for the Muppets. (They were, awkwardly, a part of the first... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Glitz won over guns as the gilded romance "Crazy Rich Asians" debuted at No. 1 in North American theaters this weekend, surpassing industry expectations and beating out action-packed fare like "Mile 22." Warner Bros. estimates that the film earned $25.2 million over the weekend and $34 million since its opening Wednesday. It's a surefire win for the film, which cost $30 million to produce and went into the weekend with months of buzz and a 93 percent "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Breakout... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- It may have been a lousy night for Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards, but the event offered some glimmers of hope for the network. The Nielsen company estimated that 5.23 million watched Monday’s annual tribute to what’s current in popular music across several Viacom-owned networks. While that’s down from the 5.68 million who watched last year, the network appears to have slowed the show’s rapid decline over the past years while showing increases in digital engagement. MTV estimated that... Read More, Comment

This short documentary titled The Acid Survivor was directed by Peyton Wilson, who recently joined Bullitt for commercials and branded entertainment. The short is part of the On Meaning series which Wilson created in collaboration with an all-female production team. On Meaning sheds a compassionate, empathetic light on those largely unseen whose endeavors upon closer examination promote a better understanding of what propels people onward and forward. The Acid Survivor --which just debuted on... Read More, Comment

Conceptualized by Leo Burnett Sri Lanka and executed in partnership with Leo Burnett Toronto, an inspired campaign for JAT Holdings’ Petal Paint is showcased in this case study video. Petal Paint was developed in an effort to reduce waste and create something beautiful from the flower offerings left at Buddhist temples. The initiative collects temple flowers and instead of discarding them, they are dried and the pigments from the petals are transformed into liquid paint--which is then used to... Read More, Comment

Land O’Lakes rewrote and released a classic children’s anthem for a new generation--celebrating the 30 percent of U.S. farmers who are female, just in time for Women’s Equality Day. Soul songstress Maggie Rose and Grammy Award-winning Warner/Chappell songwriter Liz Rose collaborated to reimagine the song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” introducing “She-I-O.” Some of Liz’s many songwriting credits include Taylor Swift’s “Fearless,” Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” Carrie Underwood’s “Cry Pretty” and... Read More, Comment

AARP Foundation, AARP’s charitable affiliate working to end senior poverty, has unveiled a new multiplatform effort to raise awareness of its mission. “Today, 1 in 7 seniors live in poverty,” said AARP Foundation president Lisa Marsh Ryerson. “Senior poverty is a widespread and deeply disturbing problem in the U.S. — but it’s often hidden from sight.” She continued, “These ads are a call to bring senior poverty out of the shadows and into the mainstream American narrative. They’re a rallying... Read More, Comment

In this spot for KIOTI Tractor from Raleigh, NC-based ad agency Baldwin&, the strategic decision to treat customers like dirt paradoxically equates to doing good business. Titled “We’ll Treat You Like Dirt,” the piece focuses on what tractor owners prioritize most--hard, dirty work on their land and the satisfaction that comes from doing the work themselves. The campaign features dirt in every form and on every surface--hands, faces, work boots, shovels and especially tractors—to show... Read More, Comment

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