HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- American Cinema Editors’ (ACE) 19th annual Invisible Art/Visible Artists panel of Oscar-nominated feature film editors stayed true to its tradition of making invisible artistry tangible, this time going so far as to shed light on a scene that was absolutely not seen by any movie-goers--a musical number in Vice which wound up on the cutting room floor. Vice editor Hank Corwin, ACE, founder of commercial edit house Lost Planet, told the ACE gathering of the song-and-dance sequence set in a... Read More, Comment

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- If there is a high point to Netflix's status as the "cool kids" taking over television, it may be remembered as an emotional Chuck Lorre accepting a best comedy Golden Globe last month for "The Kominsky Method," his show on the streaming service. Lorre is one of the most successful comedy producers in TV history, with an estimated net worth of more than $600 million after producing shows including "The Big Bang Theory," ''Two and a Half Men" and "Mom" for CBS. Yet he'd never won an Emmy or... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An arbitrator has ordered 21st Century Fox to pay $179 million in a dispute over profits with the stars of the long-running TV show "Bones," saying Fox executives engaged in "intentional fraud and malice." The decision was reached earlier this month and revealed in a court petition from the plaintiffs Wednesday demanding that Fox pay, a decision Fox said it would contest. Arbitrator Peter Licthman, a retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge, rebuked top Fox executives by name for self-dealing... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The segregation-era road-trip drama "Green Book" was crowned best picture at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday, handing Hollywood's top award to a film seen as a feel-good throwback by some and ridiculed as an outdated inversion of "Driving Miss Daisy" by others. In a year where Hollywood could have made history by bestowing best-picture on Netflix ("Roma") or Marvel ("Black Panther") for the first time, the motion picture academy instead threw its fullest support behind a traditional... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Black Panther" went back-to-back into the Oscar history books on Sunday evening. Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler became the first African-Americans to win in their respective categories. Carter was first up as she took home an Academy Award for costume design, then Beachler followed her with a win in production design at the 91st annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. "I dreamed and prayed for this night," said Carter, who was the lead costume designer behind the Afro-... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- While preliminary numbers indicate that the Nielsen ratings for last night’s (2/24) Oscar telecast are slightly up from the prior year, the cost of a :30 timeslot on ABC to sponsor Hollywood’s biggest night was about the same as in 2018, coming in at an average of $2.2 million. Whether or not advertisers got their money’s worth remains to be seen but a couple of trends were evident in this year’s crop of ads, most notably tapping into auteur filmmakers on different fronts, among the notable... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An Academy Awards that sparkled with more women and African-American winners than ever before came to a screeching halt with the night's final honor. Some would even call it a "Crash." In a twist ending that shocked many of the Dolby Theatre attendees and those watching at home, Peter Farrelly's hotly debated buddy road-trip dramedy "Green Book" triumphed at the 91st Oscars, complicating the story line on a night that had, until that moment, belonged to cultural milestones like Ryan Coogler's "... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Everyone's favorite neighborhood web-slinger is now an Oscar winner: "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" won for the best animated feature Academy Award on Sunday evening. It is the first Marvel superhero film to win an Oscar. The ground-breaking and mind-bending film about multiple spider-heroes from multiple universes gives Sony Pictures its first Oscar for animated feature, a category that has been dominated by Disney for its 18-year existence. "It was a film to all humans that we have the... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Craft, the global production and adaptation agency that's a division of McCann Worldgroup, has hired Adam Hirsch to serve as head of content for North America. Hirsch has held creative leadership roles at entertainment companies, advertising agencies and television networks such as NBC and MTV International. He joins Craft from his role as chief content officer at Wicked Cow Studios, New York. In that role, Hirsch oversaw the launch of Yahoo’s first shoppable content initiative, a celebrity-... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Ida Rezvani has been named president of mcgarrybowen New York, a shop that’s experienced major growth over the past year with the addition of American Express and Subway to its client roster. She will take the reins of the NY office later this spring, marking her return to the agency, having previously worked at mcgarrybowen London and, ultimately, making her way to mcgarrybowen’s headquarters in New York. Rezvani is an experienced marketing leader known for building iconic global brands in... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Jaime Robinson, co-founder and chief creative officer of JOAN Creative, has been named as the 2019 AICP Next Awards judging chair, and will serve as master of ceremonies at the AICP Next Awards presentation this June during AICP Week in New York. The call for entries for the 2019 AICP Next Awards is now open. Entrants can utilize a single entry portal to enter the Next Awards as well as The AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the American Commercial. For details on rules, eligibility and fees... Read More, Comment

PARIS (AP) -- Award-winning director Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu will preside over the jury at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival in May. Festival president Pierre Lescure, announcing the choice on Wednesday, praised Inarritu — the first Mexican to be given the honor — as a "daring filmmaker ... full of surprises" and an "artist of his time." Inarritu said in the statement that "this is a true delight and a responsibility that we will assume with passion and devotion." The Cannes festival, he said, is the heart... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Back in 1997, then-up-and-coming actor Michael Imperioli was mulling two work offers: a cable TV show pilot and a small role in a Woody Allen film. The script for the TV show didn't initially seem so special to him. "I was not blown away by the pilot," he admitted. On the other hand, he had long admired Allen and was being offered a spot in his movie "Celebrity." Imperioli couldn't do both and was leaning toward doing the film. "That would have been the dumbest mistake of my life," he says now... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Production house and entertainment partner m ss ng p eces has added Garrett Bradley to its live-action directorial roster for commercials and branded content. This marks her first roost for representation in the ad arena. In 2017, Bradley’s short documentary Alone for The New York Times ’ OpDocs was shortlisted for an Academy Award, and won numerous honors including the Sundance Jury Prize. This year Bradley’s most recent film America premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, kicking off a... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Executive Producer Chris Zander and director Andrew Wonder have teamed to launch Tomorrow, a production company with offices in Playa Vista, Calif., and Brooklyn, NY, Zander, former managing director of Backyard Productions. and Wonder, who was previously on the roster of Station Film, will in their new venture produce work spanning commercials, films, music videos and branded content. Tomorrow opens with a directorial roster that includes Wonder, Stuart Douglas, Erica Eng, Jesper Ericstam, and... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Deutsch has named Ryan Lehr as executive creative director for its Los Angeles office. Lehr was tapped by Deutsch in 2012 to write and develop creative campaigns for key brands under the Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) umbrella. Since then, he has risen through the ranks and developed award-winning work for Dr Pepper, 7UP and Taco Bell. In his new role, he will continue to report to Brett Craig, chief creative officer at Deutsch LA. “Ryan hasn’t just created ads, he’s invented multiple intellectual... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Production house JOJX has added director Oliver Würffell to its roster for exclusive commercial and music video representation in the U.S. JOJX and Würffell’s first project together, the new “Rise” campaign for Cadillac, premiered during the 2019 Oscars telecast on ABC this past Sunday (2/24). The anthem spot “Rise Above” explores one’s rise to success, fame or the next chapter in one’s life respectively, celebrating a spirit of perseverance. Würffell is best known for his dynamic car films for... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Alkemy X has signed Emmy Award-winning director/creative director Anthony Furlong as his exclusive representative for advertising, branded content and related projects in the U.S. market. Furlong brings to his new roost expertise in live action direction, design and animation, which he’s applied to work for such brands as Apple, Ikea, Samsung, Panasonic, Nokia, Ford and IBM. Furlong had most recently been freelancing prior to joining Alkemy X. He was previously on the roster of production house... Read More, Comment

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) -- Two years after his “Moonlight” triumphed on the eve of the Oscars, Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of the James Baldwin novel “If Beale Street Could Talk” on Saturday topped the 34th Film Independent Spirit Awards, winning best film, best director and best supporting female for Regina King. The Spirit Awards, always a casual, oceanside preamble to Sunday’s Academy Awards, featured a few things the Oscars don’t have: a host (actress Aubrey Plaza) and female filmmaker nominees, including Tamara... Read More, Comment

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Tuesday cleared AT&T's takeover of Time Warner, rejecting the Trump administration's claims that the $81 billion deal will harm consumers and reduce competition in the TV industry. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington came in the high-stakes competition case, approving one of the biggest media marriages ever. It was already completed last spring, soon after a federal trial judge approved it. AT&T, a wireless carrier and TV and home internet... Read More, Comment

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- The campaigns for Crazy Rich Asians (Warner Bros. Pictures) and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS Television Studios) took top feature film and TV honors, respectively, at the 56th annual International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) Publicists Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, The awards luncheon drew more than 900 industry leaders, including guild members, Hollywood public relations and marketing executives, producers, studio and network executives, celebrities and press... Read More, Comment

The 1969 mission to the moon has been seen in many phases before but never with the shining, crystal-clear fullness of Todd Douglas Miller's extraordinary "Apollo 11," a documentary culled from archival footage and audio recordings that in heart-stopping, minute-by-minute detail, recaptures the propulsive force of man's most glorious feat, giving new resonance to those beautiful, headlong Mission Control words: "We Are Go." Timed to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, "Apollo 11... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Filmmaker Stanley Donen, a giant of the Hollywood musical who through such classics as "Singin' in the Rain" and "Funny Face" helped give us some of the most joyous sounds and images in movie history, has died. He was 94. Donen, who often teamed with Gene Kelly but also worked with Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire, died Thursday in New York from heart failure, his sons Joshua and Mark Donen confirmed Saturday. The 1940s and '50s were the prime era for Hollywood musicals and no... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Producer Dick Wolf’s factory of “Chicago” dramas is becoming increasingly important for NBC. Both “Chicago PD” and “Chicago Fire” scored their highest ratings in nearly two years last week with crossover episodes where they shared casts, the Nielsen company said. “Chicago Med” actually had the biggest audience of the triumvirate with 9.1 million viewers, although the other two were close behind. All three shows were among the 11 most-watched programs on primetime television last week. After the... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" breathed some fire into a slumping box office with a franchise-best $55.5 million debut over Oscar weekend. Writer-director Dean DeBlois' third and supposedly final installment in the "How to Train Your Dragon" series notched the best opening of the year in U.S. and Canadian theaters. Going into the weekend, overall ticket sales for 2019 were down 18 percent, according to Comscore, throwing cold water on the record box office of 2018. But as... Read More, Comment

Distracted driving is currently responsible for 9 deaths and over 1,000 injuries each day in the U.S. To address this problem and hopefully prevent more injuries and deaths, Travelers Insurance and TBWA\Chiat\Day NY rolled out its “Unfinished Stories” animated film series last November that imagines the unrealized futures of real victims whose lives were tragically cut short by distracted driving. Working closely with the victims’ families to imagine what might have been for their loved ones, “... Read More, Comment

Café Grand’ Mère celebrates Grandmothers’ Day (March 3) in France with this “Thank You Grandma” campaign from CLM BBDO, Paris. Directed by documentary filmmaker and anthropologist Sylvain Desmille (Curious Film), this centerpiece film, largely composed of archival images, celebrates all the pioneers who helped transform women’s place in society into what it is today. Extensive research uncovered lesser-known women: Françoise Mabille, the first French woman to become a volunteer firefighter;... Read More, Comment

Narrated by tennis star Serena Williams, this Nike spot--directed by Kim Gehrig via production house Somesuch for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.--shows what aspiring and professional female athletes have to combat beyond their competitors on the court or on the other side of the net. Titled “Dream Crazier,” the piece has Williams sharing, “If we show emotion, we’re called dramatic. If we want to play against men, we’re nuts.” Women who dare to excel and compete are furthermore labeled with... Read More, Comment

Marriott International launched a global marketing campaign introducing Marriott Bonvoy, the new loyalty platform taking the place of Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) during a dedicated 60-second commercial pod. Celebrating the travel program with the tagline “Rewards Reimagined”, the campaign includes a series of whimsical television spots directed by Independent Media’s Oscar-nominated filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet ( Amélie ) in conjunction with... Read More, Comment

In this film titled “The Party,” tennis superstar Roger Federer turns a stuffy party on its head and shows how the joyful simplicity of pasta wins over stuffy sophistication every time. With the help of his old teacher chef Davide Oldani and ski star Mikaela Shiffrin, Federer shows that the real party is always in the kitchen--as all the soirée’s guests agree. Read More, Comment

In this spot titled “Puerta” (“Door”), Buenos Aires agency Dhélet VMLY&R encourages people to talk about domestic violence, promoting use of the Argentinian National Ministry of Health and Social Development telephone hotline where women can seek help. Sponsored by Movistar Argentina, “Puerta” shows us a woman seemingly desperate to get into her home to escape an imminent threat. She fumbles with her house key but we soon learn that the woman is not trying to get into her home but rather... Read More, Comment

This PSA addresses the effects of secondhand smoke on children whose mom is a smoker. We see a young man rushed to the hospital with as asthma attack as flashbacks show him growing up over the years, with his mom smoking around him. Magellan Rubin directed the Wyoming Department of Health spot, “Dear Mom,” which came out of agency Warehouse 21. EP Ben Jones of production house Image Brew teamed with filmmaker Rubin and Warehouse 21 creative director Jordan Dean to craft the moving PSA which... Read More, Comment

The Elements Music + Sound team went to Abbey Road Studios’ hallowed Studio 2--where The Beatles recorded some of their most loved music with George Martin--for a cinematic car film promoting the Corolla for Toyota Motor Europe out of agency The&Partnership At Studio 2, Elements set up an 18-piece swing band to re-record arguably one of the most hip swing songs of the 1930s, Louis Prima’s “Sing Sing Sing,” as reimagined and scored by Guy Farley. The global "Move Ahead" spot--in which a... Read More, Comment

---