NEW YORK -- An overwhelming 77 percent of brands could disappear and no one would care. That’s among several sobering findings in Havas Group’s 10th annual Meaningful Brands study. Furthermore, 58 percent of content created by the world’s leading 1,800 brands is poor, irrelevant and fails to deliver what consumers want. Nonetheless, people still crave meaningful content, underscoring that there’s considerable untapped potential for agencies and clients to mine if they do so more thoughtfully, embracing a... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- A documentary about Chelsea Manning, Werner Herzog’s latest and a film about Parkland students in the aftermath of the Florida high school massacre are among the selections that will premiere at the 18th Tribeca Film Festival. Organizers for the annual New York festival on Tuesday announced a lineup of 103 feature films, 40 percent of them directed by women. In the festival’s three competition sections, that figure is 50 percent — a mark that many film festivals (with some notable exceptions)... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- When Steven Spielberg speaks about the business of Hollywood, everyone generally listens and few dissent. But reports that he intends to support rule changes that could block Netflix from Oscars-eligibility have provoked a heated, and unwieldy, debate online this weekend. It has found the legendary filmmaker at odds with some industry heavyweights, who have pointed out that Netflix has been an important supporter of minority filmmakers and stories, especially in awards campaigns, while also... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Now that AT&T's $81 billion takeover of Time Warner is a done deal , the company is reorganizing its TV and movie businesses to emphasize streaming rather than cable TV networks. AT&T is bringing in a new executive as longtime HBO and Turner chiefs leave. It's also consolidating operations for different brands to help generate more video for a new streaming service launching this year. Layoffs are expected in the business now known as WarnerMedia, although the company tried to assuage... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "This Is Us" routinely brings viewers to tears. Next week, it's taking them to the theater. The hit NBC series will air an episode modeled on a one-act play and confined almost entirely to a hospital waiting room and to a single day, a sharp detour from its usual flashback storytelling. In Tuesday's episode (9 p.m. EDT), the extended — and stretched to the breaking point — Pearson family is gathered after Kate Pearson (Chrissy Metz) goes into early labor. The setting is simple. The drama is... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- The Tribeca Film Festival has announced that Tribeca Immersive, which leads as an incubator for innovation and is a global stage where top VR creators choose to debut their latest work, will showcase more than 30 cinematic and cutting-edge virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality experiences by top artists who push the boundaries of storytelling with technology. Tribeca Immersive encompasses two events that run the duration of the Festival, Virtual Arcade, and Tribeca Cinema360. The... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Matt Miller, president and CEO of AICP, and Daniel Bergmann, founder and president of global creative network Stink and the 2019 chairperson of the AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the American Commercial, have announced the composition of the Show’s Curatorial Committee. Under the direction of Bergmann and Miller, the Curatorial Committee is comprised of a diverse array of industry leaders from all disciplines that contribute to creating marketing in the motion image. The Curatorial... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- SKUNK has added director Chris Palmer to its U.S. roster for commercials and branded content. He had formerly been handled by MJZ in the American ad market. Among Palmer’s many accomplishments is a DGA Award nomination in 2010 for three spots: J20 fruit drink’s “Riviera Truckstop” and “A Horse Called Cynthia,” both for BBH London; and Budweiser’s “Lyric” out of DDB London. Matt Factor, founder of SKUNK, said, “I first met Chris in London in the early 2000’s. I don’t remember much from that... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK -- Global digital production company Method Studios has introduced MethodMade, a collective of award-winning directors, artists, technologists and tastemakers designed to turn original ideas into productions for major advertisers and entertainment properties. Using Method Studios’ worldwide talent and deep capabilities across movies, TV/streaming, advertising, design, and interactive as its production engine, MethodMade develops concepts and produces short-form content from start to finish, for... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Alkemy X has added director and cinematographer Jonathan Yi to its roster for advertising projects. Yi is no stranger to his new roost, having freelance helmed via the company a contemporary iteration to Virginia Tourism’s “Virginia Is for Lovers” campaign from The Martin Agency. The LoveShare spots debuted in the wake of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and focused on families and other real people engaged in candid conversations about race, sexual identity and class. SHOOT named... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Washington Square Films has signed director Keith Rivers for U.S. commercial representation. Rivers’ body of work spans such clients as Microsoft, Amazon, Hyundai, Delta Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Mazda, McDonald’s, Chevrolet and Taco Bell. His independent directorial experience led him to launch his own production company, Workhouse Creative, which was acquired by new breed marketing startup Wild Gravity in 2018, allowing Rivers to focus on directing full time. Outside of branded work, he is... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Bigger Picture has added writer/director Oden Few Roberts to its roster for commercials and branded content in the U.S. This marks his first representation as a director in the American ad market. Roberts’ love of language and visuals translates into an innate understanding of how to bring concepts to vivid life for all screens with story and naturalistic performance at the fore. His short film, Be The One , featuring the music of Moby, was featured as part of the Hello, Future: A Music... Read More, Comment

DALLAS -- Lucky 21 has added Richard Krause to its directing roster for advertising and branded content. Krause’s body of work spans commercials, music videos, and brand films. He has worked for such clients as AT&T, Cisco, Duralast, Mercedes, Nvidia, and Orkin. Prior to joining Lucky 21, Krause was with Dallas-based Origami. Lucky 21 EP Brandon Tapp said of Krause, “Richard’s work is elevated, cinematic, and genuinely connects with audiences. Having honed all areas of filmmaking, from concept... Read More, Comment

VENICE, Calif. -- Girl Culture Films--the production company founded by award-winning documentarian Lauren Greenfield, along with her partner Frank Evers--has made its first major hire with Melinda Nugent coming aboard as executive producer. Nugent will run all commercial and branded content productions, as well as development and production of projects for film and television. Greenfield, the director behind the viral ad campaign #LikeAGirl founded Girl Culture Films to address the lack of diversity behind the... Read More, Comment

GENEVA (AP) -- In a win for athletes over Olympic restrictions, a German anti-trust agency has ruled that "abusive" limits on games-time promotional activities should be relaxed. The Olympic Charter's rules are "too far-reaching and thus constitute abusive conduct," the Federal Cartel Office said in an initial judgment on Wednesday. The judgment gives athletes in Germany — home nation of the International Olympic Committee's president, Thomas Bach — more rights to earn money when interest peaks in most of... Read More, Comment

If there is one thing that's true of most of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's that they have life and spirit to spare. It's a kind of an intoxicating joy that dares even the most comic book-apathetic to get onboard and delight in the spectacle, and it usually comes down to the characters. You might not care about whatever Earth-threatening foe is at large this time, but you care about Captain America, Black Panther and Black Widow and enjoy spending a few hours with them. I... Read More, Comment

Job opportunities seldom diverge as greatly as they do for the former special forces operatives of J.C. Chandor's "Triple Frontier." There is selling condos or taking contract work in an African warzone. There's stocking shelves at Walmart or taking down a South African drug lord. And you thought your LinkedIn profile had inconsistencies. Yet those are exactly the kinds of choices facing a quartet of ex-military veterans who are rounded up, "Blues Brothers"-style, by Santiago "Pope" Garcia (... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Everyone is vanishing around Julianne Moore's title character in Sebastian Lelio's "Gloria Bell." The disappearances don't come with blood-curdling shrieks or thundering score cues, but with the humdrum ebb of middle age. People just move away or recede from view. Gloria is a divorced, fifty-something Los Angeles insurance agent by day and dances disco at a nightclub by evening. Her son, Peter (Michael Cera), is caring for a newborn while his wife is away somewhere in the desert "finding... Read More, Comment

"There's no such thing as the West anymore." That's actually not a line from "The Kid," Vincent D'Onofrio's new coming-of-age Western starring Ethan Hawke, Dane DeHaan and Chris Pratt. It's from Sam Shepard's play "True West," currently on Broadway — and also starring Hawke. In fact, can we talk about Hawke for a minute? The veteran actor is having quite the run these days, on screen and stage. Many feel he was unconscionably robbed of an Oscar nod for "First Reformed," and he's delivering a... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Bee, Peacock and Monster’s vocal stylings and fashion sense gave Fox’s “The Masked Singer” a strong finish to its debut season. The reality show, based on a South Korean format, stuffs celebrities into outlandish, uncomfortable looking costumes and then requires them to sing their hearts out. Embraced by viewers since its debut, “The Mask” was the second most-watched show last week, topped only by CBS’ long-running drama “NCIS,” according to Nielsen figures released Tuesday. The audience’s... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" topped the North American box office for a second week, but close on its tail was Tyler Perry's final installment of the "Madea" franchise. Driven by a largely female audience, "A Madea Family Funeral" had a better-than-expected debut. The third installment in the "How To Train Your Dragon" series grossed an estimated $30 million this weekend according to Universal Pictures on Sunday, bringing its domestic total just shy of $100 million. Worldwide,... Read More, Comment

Mercedes-Benz’ latest global brand film celebrates the confidence and vision of Bertha Benz--Carl Benz’ business partner and wife--who was instrumental in launching Mercedes-Benz. Released in honor of International Women’s Day (March 8), the film tells the story of the world’s first long distance drive in a car from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany in 1888. Early one morning, Bertha took her two sons out for the 12 hour, 106 km / 65 mile trip. She understood the potential of her husband’s... Read More, Comment

This short titled Boys Don’t Cry has launched to coincide with Anti-Bullying Day in Canada. The public service piece is from Toronto-based Bensimon Byrne and its sister shop Narrative for White Ribbon, a movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity. The three-minute film was directed by Hubert Davis, whose documentary short Hardwood earned him Oscar and News & Documentary Emmy Award... Read More, Comment

The Perlorian Brothers of MJZ directed this spot in which a doctor is more a snake-oil salesman, prescribing an elixir bearing his name to a patient in need. A voiceover asks us how we’d like our financial advisor to work the same way, selling a proprietary product that while it’s debatable it will help us, there’s no question it will help him--and his wallet. This campaign for Creative Planning uses humor to tackle the lack of transparency in the wealth management industry. Logan Hefflefinger... Read More, Comment

In this video for his new single, “Preach,” John Legend confronts a myriad of social issues affecting marginalized communities. “The idea behind the song is that sometimes we can get so frustrated by the news and what’s going on and there’s this scatter going on in ourselves,” Legend stated. “Do we become apathetic? Do we become engaged? Do we just talk about it, or do we do something?” The Dominique DeLeon-directed video opens with the singer lying awake in bed beside wife Chrissy Teigen... Read More, Comment

Director Reed Morano, an Emmy and DGA Award winner for The Handmaid’s Tale , helmed this short film starring Ryan Reynolds and Elodi Yung for global fashion brand Armani. Produced by Pulse Films, the ambitious short unveils a new chapter in the Armani Code story, bringing to life the essence of modern sensuality: authenticity, effortless style and the right dose of irony. Read More, Comment

Lexus Europe and The&Partnership have launched “Sunrise to Sunrise,” the new pan-European campaign for the new Lexus UX self-charging Hybrid SUV. Shot over five days in Lisbon, Portugal, this :60 commercial--directed by Georgi Banks-Davies of Skunk Films--captures the adventures of photographer Elsa Bleda as she explores the city. Her photographs are renowned for being both elusive and familiar while capturing a mood of dystopia through visibly desolate areas. “The new Lexus UX was designed... Read More, Comment

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