LOS ANGELES Jill Burgeson knows all too well the creative legacy of TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles. She first came to the agency early on in her career as a junior account person and then a planner, back during the day when Lee Clow was in the building. Burgeson said that Clow–the advertising legend whose body of groundbreaking work Read More 

TORONTO (AP) Anyone will tell you it’s the audiences that make the Toronto International Film Festival. They aren’t purely industry folks, like they are in Cannes or Venice, but more boisterous, enthusiastic moviegoers with their own rituals, like growling like buccaneers at the piracy warning that plays before each screening. That real-moviegoer energy has always made TIFF Read More 

TORONTO (AP) “Why are you making me cry?” It’s an ironic question for Chloé Zhao, of all people, to be asking the morning after premiering “Hamnet” at the Toronto International Film Festival. On the festival circuit this fall, no film has spawned more of an outpouring of emotion than “Hamnet,” a speculative drama about William Shakespeare, his Read More 

TORONTO (AP) Sydney Sweeney came to the Toronto International Film Festival wanting to talk about her new film “Christy,” not her American Eagle ad campaign. After a rapturous response to the movie, she’s getting her wish. The 27-year-old, Emmy-nominated actor landed immediate Oscar buzz for her performance in David Michôd’s biopic of the boxer Christy Salters Martin. Read More 

TORONTO (AP) Nia DaCosta was thunderstruck when she first read Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” in drama school. But when she saw a production of it, something was missing. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s not as crazy as I thought it would feel,'” DaCosta says. “I thought: I guess I knew what I wanted to pull out of it Read More 

TORONTO (AP) For the third time, the knives were out at the Toronto International Film Festival. Rian Johnson on Saturday night premiered the third movie in his whodunit series, “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.” Like the previous two movies, “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion,” Johnson brought a cavalcade of stars to Toronto’s Princess of Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) They were careful with the explicit imagery — as usual. But did it make any difference? Traditional news organizations were cautious in their midafternoon coverage of Charlie Kirk’s assassination Wednesday not to depict the moment he was shot, instead showing video of him tossing a hat to his audience moments before, and panicked onlookers scattering Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) Sunday’s 77th Primetime Emmy Awards arrive with clear favorites but few sure things. Will the acclaim for “Adolescence” carry it to limited series dominance, or will “The Penguin” complete a run that began with big nomination numbers and continued with a big performance at the Creative Arts Emmys? Will top overall nominee “Severance” reign like Read More 

LOS ANGELES On Saturday (9/6) the Television Academy presented the first of its two 2025 Creative Arts Emmy® Awards ceremonies this weekend, honoring outstanding artistic and technical achievement in television at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles. Topping the first night’s tally–spanning artists and craftspeople in genres including animation, drama, comedy and anthology Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) Kendrick Lamar and Barack Obama each won their second career Emmys on Sunday night (9/7), while the 50th season of “Saturday Night Live” was the biggest winner with 11 on the second night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Lamar and Tony Russell won for the music direction of his Super Bowl halftime show. He Read More 

LOS ANGELES Uber One For Students’ “Brian Cox Goes To College” won the primetime commercial Emmy on Sunday evening (9/7) during the second of two Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies held this weekend in the Peacock Theater at LA Live. The humorous piece was directed by David Shane of O Positive for agency Special US. “Brian Cox Read More 

LOS ANGELES RSA Films has signed award-winning director Jack Cole for commercials and branded entertainment in the U.S. Best known for his comedic storytelling, Cole is a versatile filmmaker whose work reflects standout casting and performance, and striking visuals and art direction. He recently directed back-to-back campaigns for Red Baron, campaigns for AG1, Velo and Minnesota Lottery, Read More 

CULVER CITY, Calif. Fresh off his surreal, symbol-rich music video for Patta x Nike, the multi-hyphenate creative Baloji has joined the growing roster of directors at PRETTYBIRD for representation in the U.S. and U.K. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and raised in Belgium, Baloji is an artist in motion who brings an inspired vision and Read More 

LOS ANGELES & LONDON Superprime Films has officially launched Superprime London, marking a new chapter in the L.A.-headquartered company’s continued international expansion. Superprime London will be led by executive producer Francesca Roberts who joins from Anomaly London where she produced award-winning commercial work for Revolut, Skybet and Puma to name a few. With deep ties to the U.K. advertising Read More 

LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK Award-winning filmmaker Alicia MacDonald has signed with SMUGGLER for global representation in commercials. MacDonald is known for her sharp visual style, distinctive humor and fearless approach to character-driven narratives. She first gained international attention with her short films Otherwise Engaged and Domestic Policy which showcased her knack for balancing satirical wit and emotional depth. Since Read More 

SAN FRANCISCO Sarah Thompson has been named CEO of Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P). Thompson–the first to hold the CEO title at GS&P–brings deep experience building iconic creative agencies, leading global teams, and helping brands grow at the intersection of creativity, technology, and culture. Thompson was a key architect of Droga5, widely considered one of the most Read More 

NEW YORK John Mescall has been appointed global chief creative partner at Dentsu Creative. This strategic hire underscores the agency’s commitment to creative excellence and its ambition to shape a global creative vision. Based in New York, Mescall will partner with Yasu Sasaki, dentsu’s global chief creative officer, to align and elevate creative standards across markets. Together Read More 

VENICE, Italy (AP) “Father Mother Sister Brother,” Jim Jarmusch’s quietly humorous relationship triptych, won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival Saturday. The film about the relationships between adult children, and with their parents, stars Adam Driver, Vicky Krieps and Cate Blanchett. It was an upset win over some of the festival’s bigger hits, including “The Voice Read More 

LOS ANGELES The American Film Institute (AFI) announced that the world premiere of Focus Features’ Song Sung Blue, written and directed by Craig Brewer, will close the 39th edition of AFI Fest on Sunday, October 26. Based on a true story, the film follows two down-on-their-luck musicians, played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, who form a Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) Not many franchises have fueled society’s timeless fascination with the boundless possibilities of a utopian future like “Star Trek.” Next year the sprawling franchise will add more shows, Lego sets and even a Rose Parade Float in a yearlong celebration of its 60th anniversary. The hefty lineup of “fan-centric” celebrations was announced by the franchise Read More 

LONDON Veteran producer Richard Packer–best known for his lengthy, successful tenure at production house Outsider–has moved on to officially launch London-based Packer Productions. The new commercial production company opens with a heavyweight U.K. roster of comedy directors: Harold Einstein, Mike Maguire, Biceps, and Sara Haag. All are known for their distinct comedic voices, strong short-form storytelling, Read More 

LOS ANGELES Stept Studios has added director Warner Shaw to its roster for his first commercial representation. Shaw brings a distinctive storytelling and visual voice as well as deep postproduction fluency to his new roost. A former college football quarterback from Hawaii, Shaw has demonstrated both discipline and imagination in his directing for brands including Apple, Netflix, Read More 

LOS ANGELES Riverside Entertainment has added director Emily Anderson to its creative roster. This marks her first exclusive signing with a production house, having directed independently previously. Before going freelance, Anderson was Ogilvy NY’s first female in-house director, She spent eight years writing, producing, and directing documentaries and commercials, collaborating with brands that sent her all over Read More 

NEW YORK The Garage has added director Sam McGlynn to its talent roster for commercials, branded content and experiential work. This marks his first formal U.S. representation. McGlynn has collaborated with leading global franchises, directing cinematics for Call of Duty Vanguard, serving as a creative director for Meta, and managing the Unreal Engine team that built virtual Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) Change comes slowly to the Downton Abbey universe and its Crawley family. Just watch Robert Crawley go flat-hunting in London. Wait, what? FLAT-HUNTING? The Earl of Grantham? Well, yes, and it’s the most amusing scene in “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” (a self-announcing title if there ever was one). Just look at proud and starched Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) In an early scene from “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” the blisteringly obtuse Nigel Tufnel asks his wife a question after he and his bandmates have reunited after many years: “I don’t know whether this was a good idea or not.” Fans may ask that very same question after an albeit mercifully short sequel Read More 

NEW YORK (AP) Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga set the tone at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night with career-defining moments of their own. Grande scored two honors — video of the year and best pop video — and had the audience buzzing when she thanked her “therapists and gay people” during her acceptance speech. Gaga, Read More 

LOS ANGELES (AP) It’s the year for horror and “The Conjuring: Last Rites” was no exception. Its opening weekend tipped the genre over $1 billion in earnings for this year’s domestic box office. The horror sequel raked in $83 million domestically in 3,802 theaters, making it the third-highest domestic opening for a horror movie, behind “It” and “It: Read More 

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