LOS ANGELES -- Prior to today’s (7/12) announcement of this year’s Emmy nominations, SHOOT connected with varied contenders over a two-month stretch spanning different disciplines and as it turns out a good number of the artisans we covered in parts 1 through 8 of our The Road To Emmy series of feature stories ended up in the 2017-’18 circle of nominees. Among them were: director Barry Levinson who’s nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special on the strength of Paterno... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Game of Thrones" roared back onto the Emmy battlefield, topping Thursday's nominations with 22 bids but with a formidable opponent in last year's winner "The Handmaid's Tale," while a streaming platform made history by earning the most bids for the first time. Netflix's 112 nominations took away the front-runner title that HBO held since 2001, giving cable and broadcast networks more reason to fear their future as the TV industry continues to change. HBO is no piker: It claimed 108 bids. "Game... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- BBDO New York topped this year’s field of primetime commercial Emmy nominees, garnering a pair of nods for: Procter & Gamble’s “The Talk”; and the Monica Lewinsky anti-bullying PSA “In Real Life.” Directed by Malik Vitthal of The Corner Shop, “The Talk” is part of P&G’s continuing My Black Is Beautiful initiative. The piece features different African-American parents having “The Talk” with their kids about racial bias and how it can make life more difficult--and at times even more... Read More, Comment

LONDON -- S4 Capital, the new holding group of former WPP CEO Martin Sorrell, has agreed to acquire digital production company MediaMonks for a reported price of some $350 million. A released statement from Sorrell read in part, “We’re delighted to join forces with MediaMonks. This represents a significant step in building a new age, new era, digital agency platform for clients. MediaMonks’ roots are totally in new media, and data, content and technology. Our next moves will be to build this platform... Read More, Comment

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Stung by a federal judge's dismissal of its objections to AT&T's megamerger with Time Warner, the Trump Justice Department is challenging the decision with a legal appeal. The Justice Department said in a one-sentence document Thursday it is appealing the ruling last month by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, which blessed one of the biggest media deals ever following a landmark antitrust trial. Leon rejected the government's argument that the phone and pay-TV giant's $81 billion takeover... Read More, Comment

LONDON (AP) -- The battle for European pay TV service Sky escalated Wednesday as U.S. rivals Comcast and 21st Century Fox took turns upping the ante in their quest to expand their media empires. The stakes now stand at 26 billion pounds ($34 billion) — the value of Comcast's latest offer. That bid came after Fox raised its bid to 24.5 billion pounds ($32.5 billion) earlier in the day. Comcast's new bid translates to 14.75 pounds per share, or 18 percent more than its original offer. Fox is dangling 14 pounds... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Production company/content creation studio BODEGA, with operations in New York and San Francisco, has extended its footprint to Los Angeles with a new office under the aegis of executive producers Taylor Ferguson and Erin Tauscher. Ferguson and Tauscher have aligned their L.A.-based production house Splendid & Co. with BODEGA; the combined entity now operates under the BODEGA banner. The roster of the expanded BODEGA includes filmmakers Sophia Banks, Lesley Chilcott, Debra Granik and Kevin... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Bicoastal Chelsea has signed director Angie Bird--a Young Director Award winner at Cannes in 2016--for her first ever U.S. representation. Bird earned the Young Director Award honor for “Mean Tweets,” a commercial depicting the genuine struggles of the homeless. The spot showcases her knack for grabbing powerful emotional moments with a true sense of craftsmanship, empathy and tact. She’s directed campaigns for Kellogg’s, Tim Horton’s, the Salvation Army and Gillette among others. Based in... Read More, Comment

CULVER CITY, Calif. -- Bicoastal The Famous Group has signed director Daniel Addelson for commercials and branded content. Already under The Famous Group banner, he just helmed a Whirlpool project. Addelson’s credits span such brands as Coors Light, Walmart, Starbucks, Toyota and Excedrin. For the latter, he helmed a “Migraine Experience” campaign out of DDB Remedy, London, which won three Cannes Bronze Lions in 2016. Centerpiece of the Excedrin campaign is a VR film that lets viewers experience what longtime... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Director Haya Waseem, a young Canadian filmmaker whose documentary work weaves elements of human relationships into a larger cinematic tapestry, has joined the roster of Variable. This marks Waseem’s first representation agreement for advertising and branded content in North America. Born in Pakistan and raised in Switzerland, Waseem emigrated to Canada when she was 16 and attended film school at Sheridan College. She was an editor before moving into writing and directing short films, and has... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Sterling K. Brown and Donald Glover aren't such Emmy outliers this year. More than a third of the 101 acting nominations for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards went to ethnic minorities, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. That's up from a quarter of the field last year, when Brown ("This Is Us") and Glover ("Atlanta") won top acting awards. Both men are nominated again, along with noteworthy first-timers including Latino actors Ricky Martin and Penelope Cruz for "The Assassination of... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Television executives and many viewers love the idea of reviving series and ideas from the past. Emmy voters? Not so much. "Roseanne" quickly became television's top-rated comedy upon its return, until ABC pulled the plug following star Roseanne Barr's racist tweet. The series was not among the eight comedies nominated for an Emmy on Thursday, however. Laurie Metcalf earned a supporting actress nod, but Barr and Conner family patriarch John Goodman were ignored. Similarly, NBC's "Will &... Read More, Comment

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- A Delaware judge on Wednesday approved a revised plan for the sale of the Weinstein Co., the studio forced into bankruptcy by the sexual misconduct scandal that brought down Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. The revised plan calls for Dallas-based private equity firm Lantern Capital to pay $289 million for the Weinstein Co.'s assets, down from an initial sale price of $310 million. Attorneys negotiated the $21 million price reduction after disputes threatened to torpedo the deal. Among those... Read More, Comment

CHICAGO -- SIGGRAPH 2018 has unveiled the full lineup for its Computer Animation Festival Electronic and VR Theaters. The 45th SIGGRAPH conference will take place August 12–16 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival is known for continuously pushing the boundaries of computer-generated storytelling in film, games, visual effects, and more. In line with the 2018 conference theme of “Generations,” this year’s Electronic Theater lineup is poised to epitomize a next-... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- The boys are out of the cave. Now Hollywood wants in. The producers behind Christian films like "God's Not Dead" are already in Thailand with plans to develop a movie about the 18-day saga of the soccer team trapped in a flooded cave. Though the drama of headline-grabbing rescues often doesn't carry over the big screen, Pure Flix Entertainment co-founder Michael Scott believes the story about the 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach is ripe for movie adaptation. "We realized that this would make... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An awkward middle school girl might be the last subject one would expect a 27-year-old male comedian to spotlight in his directorial debut, "Eighth Grade," but Bo Burnham has never exactly followed a script. Burnham made a name for himself as a teenage YouTube star, which turned into a record deal, Comedy Central specials, a television show on MTV and, eventually, a 2016 Netflix stand-up comedy special, "Make Happy." It was success, yes, but he was also growing tired of his own face, of using... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Google's YouTube says it is taking several steps to ensure the veracity of news on its service by cracking down on misinformation and supporting news organizations. The company said Monday it will make "authoritative" news sources more prominent, especially in the wake of breaking news events when misinformation can spread quickly. At such times, YouTube will begin showing users short text previews of news stories in video search results, as well as warnings that the stories can change. The... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Harvey Weinstein, who was previously indicted on charges involving two women, was released on bail on Monday while fighting sex crime accusations that now include a third woman. "We fight these battles one day at a time, and today we won this round," defense attorney Ben Brafman said outside court. Brafman said during the arraignment that he expects more charges. Weinstein pleaded not guilty after he was brought into the courtroom with his hands cuffed behind his back. He was then uncuffed for... Read More, Comment

Macabre is a word often associated with the late cartoonist John Callahan. He's the man who in his widely published cartoons, drawn in his signature squiggly style, poked fun at lesbians, Chinese people, the handicapped, women, Oprah, Alzheimer's patients, chiropractors and even sexual harassment in a cartoon that features a woman showing cleavage in a tight dress telling her similarly outfitted colleague "Remember...it's only sexual harassment if they're not dateable." His website proudly... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- I like to imagine what King Kong, as a popcorn-chomping moviegoer, might make of "Skyscraper," the latest summer actioner staring Dwayne Johnson. Would he, watching a goliath ascend the exterior of a high-rise with helicopters and klieg lights swirling, woundedly mumble, "Hey, that's my gig." But in Rawson Marshall Thurber's thriller, there is Johnson steadily — and without too much trouble, really — swinging up a 100-story-high crane to then leap across a mammoth chasm and land in an open... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Despite its heroes' diminutive size, "Ant-Man and the Wasp" opened with typical Marvel might at the box office, with an estimated $76 million in ticket sales. According to studio estimates Sunday, the "Ant-Man" sequel easily surpassed the $57 million debut of the 2015 original in North America. The 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and the 20th to debut no. 1 at the box office — "Ant-Man and the Wasp" comes on the heels of two mammoth Marvel successes this year: "Black Panther" and "... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Brett Kavanaugh is no Neil Gorsuch — at least as a television draw for their first night on the national political stage. The Nielsen company said that 25.6 million people watched President Donald Trump’s primetime announcement Monday that Kavanaugh is his nominee for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. That compares to 32.4 million who saw Trump’s similar unveiling of Gorsuch, his first nominee, last year. Television viewership is general is lower in the summer than in the winter, when the... Read More, Comment

Agency BETC Paris teamed up with director Tim Bullock in this Canal+ spot produced by Paris shop Insurrection. Titled “Spitfire,” this promo re-discovers Christopher Nolan’s feature masterpiece Dunkirk . This new version is almost true to the original, except the pilots seem to have aged a bit. Despite their advanced age, failing bladders and cataracts, they heroically hang in there and play their part. The results is tragi-comic but the message is clear: “Don’t Wait For Movies To Get Old.” Be... Read More, Comment

Catching “the big one” is the dream of every fisherman. Whether novice or pro, those in search of a prize catch will often to go great lengths. For Dammy, an eager little beaver with a big love of fishing, finding the “right spot” could cost him his life. Created by Toronto-based agency The Hive, Dammy is the mascot of a new campaign from Ontario Power Generation, which casts a slightly different spin on the classic fish tale. In “Stay Clear, Stay Safe”--a fable told in campfire song, directed... Read More, Comment

Island Records and singer/songwriter Sigrid approached Hornet studio directors Moth with the idea of creating a music video that dealt with heartache in an unconventional way. To contrast the sweet and sensitive nature of the song “Focus,” Moth came up with the concept of a bold, frantic, yet tender landscape that would allow them to explore the experience of heartbreak through a series of bodily reactions. In this landscape, memories inhabit organs like the heart, brain, gut, and eyes. Over... Read More, Comment

Many people see German automobiles as the gold standard for luxury performance. And for years we have all seen the advertising trope of powerful, German sedans roaring around a high-performance track. What people don’t think about is an SUV with the performance and technology of a luxury car as well as the features and benefits that families rely on. But Infiniti’s family of SUVs and crossovers defy tradition. To prove it, agency CP+B brought these American models with Japanese heritage to... Read More, Comment

There is an entire population of overlooked Americans who live and breathe soccer every single week--Soccer Moms. And they not only care about soccer, they know a whole lot more than anyone gives them credit for. Cable TV provider/multiple system operator Altice USA teamed with Y&R to launch this social series called Soccer Mom Goals , a digital show centered on World Cup analysis by the foremost soccer fans in America: Soccer Moms. And at a time where almost all soccer coverage is male,... Read More, Comment

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