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Some Legal Tips for 2020 From Frankfurt Kurnit's Advertising Group
As the year comes to a close, we wanted to share with you our thoughts about some of the key issues to keep in mind for 2020. So, here are some tips... more...


People on the Move
Executive and staff hires and promotions at ad agencies, production and post-related companies, networks and studios. more...


Music Notes
News and developments from the worlds of music production, sound design, audio post, music licensing & publishing and music libraries. more...


Toolbox
Hardware & Software News, including cameras, lighting, post equipment, VFX and post software, production & digital asset management workflow... more...


Street Talk for January 3, 2020
New York and Amsterdam-based creative production studio Ambassadors has cemented its live action offering with the appointment of Sander Heeroma as... more...


Rep Report for January 3, 2020
Costume designer Amy Westcott ( Black Swan, The Wrestler ) has wrapped The Many Saints of Newark , the prequel to The Sopranos , written by David... more...


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Three close-knit collaborators team with actor/producer Mark Ruffalo to tell the story of attorney Rob Bilott’s battle against DuPont
Collaborative waters run deep for director Todd Haynes, cinematographer Ed Lachman, ASC, and editor Affonso Goncalves, ACE. Lachman’s working relationship with Haynes dates back to the 2002 release Far from Heaven . Lachman earned Academy Award nominations both for that film and for Haynes’ 2015 drama, Carol . Lachman also lensed the Haynes features I’m Not There and Wonderstruck , as well as the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce , for which he garnered an Emmy nomination. Mildred Pierce ,...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Lulu Wang, Lorene Scafaria, Melina Matsoukas and Greta Gerwig led Hollywood to a record year for women in the director's chair. In 2019, women directed more of the most popular movies than any year before. Women directed 12 of 2019's top 100-grossing films in 2019, according to a study released Thursday by USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. That percentage of female filmmakers, 10.6%, is greater than researchers have recorded before, suggesting that some measure of change is finally coming to...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Between the Kennedy Center Honors and a CNN documentary about her life debuting on television New Year's Day, Linda Ronstadt is taking a career victory lap. Ronstadt drew attention this month for a comment at a dinner for Kennedy honorees hosted by the State Department and Secretary Mike Pompeo. Ronstadt said she hadn't planned to mention the Trump administration but did so to show support for fellow honoree Sally Field. The actress had remarked about living in an era where the idea of truth...
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PAWTUCKET, RI -- Hasbro, Inc. has finalized its acquisition of Entertainment One Ltd. (eOne) in an all-cash transaction valued at some $3.8 billion, completing an agreement announced back in August. eOne is a global independent studio that specializes in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. The company’s diversified expertise spans across film, television and music production and sales, family programming, merchandising and licensing, and digital...
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Forty million Californians will soon have sweeping digital-privacy rights stronger than any seen before in the U.S., posing a significant challenge to Big Tech and the data economy it helped create. So long as state residents don't mind shouldering much of the burden of exercising those rights, that is. Come Wednesday , roughly one in 10 Americans will gain the power to review their personal information collected by large companies around the world, from purchase histories and location tracking...
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NEW YORK -- Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) joined the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) in unveiling the results of a new study that examines the challenges faced by Black professionals. Being Black in Corporate America: An Intersectional Exploration surveyed 3,736 full-time professionals of all races, and found that today’s diversity and inclusion efforts are largely not working for African-American professionals. Serving as a sponsor of the study was IPG, a company with brands that include Acxiom, Avrett...
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) -- Hollywood kicked off the year's compressed awards season with an emotional night in the desert. The Palm Springs International Film Festival's annual opening gala is often treated by honorees as a businesslike, pro forma stop on the industry's self-congratulation circuit. But Thursday found Laura Dern, Jennifer Lopez and Quentin Tarantino wiping away tears onstage at the city's convention center. Dern, presented with the career achievement award, was surprised with a video of her divorced...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Every movie year offers up a parade of hits and flops. But in 2019, no winner was in the same galaxy as the Walt Disney Co. And the biggest loser might have been anyone less thrilled about the box-office domination of franchise films. When the year closes out Tuesday, the top 10 films in U.S. and Canada theaters will all be intellectual property-backed movies. That, in itself, isn't new. It's the third year in a row that the year's 10 biggest ticket-sellers have all been sequels, remakes and...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- When the family-friendly Hallmark Channel recently pulled, under pressure from a conservative group, a set of ads featuring a kiss between two happy brides at the altar, backlash was swift — to say the least. Within hours, stars like Ellen DeGeneres and William Shatner were tweeting in protest to their many followers, and LGBT advocates were mobilizing a boycott via social media. This was on Saturday; by Sunday evening, Hallmark had reversed its decision, and apologized for what it acknowledged...
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HOUSTON (AP) -- A Houston rapper is recovering after being shot in a drive-by shooting that killed two other people during the filming of a music video. Twenty-year-old rapper Cashout Ace, born Miguel Guajardo, was among nine people shot, the Houston Chronicle reports. Two people were killed and at least seven others were injured. The sheriff's office said the group was ambushed in the parking lot of an industrial warehouse Friday night. The two people who were killed were 20-year-old Gonzalo Gonzales and and...
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His iconic work spans such films as "Blade Runner," "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," "Tron"
PASADENA, Calif. -- Visionary artist and intellect Syd Mead passed away peacefully at his home in Pasadena on Monday, December 30. Roger Servick, his spouse and business partner of 40 years, was by his side and recalls his last words “I’m done here, they’re coming to take me back.” Mead was 86 years old. Mead was best known for his artistic contributions to more than 30 motion pictures including as a concept artist on some of the most visually impressive films in the history of cinema. In addition to working with...
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Notables in the arts and entertainment passed away in 2019. The death of Toni Morrison in August left a chasm in the publishing world, where she was a "literary mother" to countless writers. She helped elevate multiculturalism to the world stage and unearthed the lives of the unknown and unwanted. She became the first black woman to receive the Nobel literature prize for "Beloved" and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. In April, Hollywood lost director John Singleton, whose...
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lee Mendelson, the producer who changed the face of the holidays when he brought "A Charlie Brown Christmas" to television in 1965 and wrote the lyrics to its signature song, "Christmas Time Is Here," died on Christmas day, his son said. Mendelson, who won a dozen Emmys in his long career, died at his home in Hillsborough, California, of congestive heart failure at age 86 after a long struggle with lung cancer, son Jason Mendelson told The Associated Press. Lee Mendelson headed a team that...
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LOS ANGELES -- Casting Society of America (CSA) has announced the film nominees for the 35th Artios Awards, which honor the contribution of casting directors to film, television and theatre. The winners will be revealed on Thursday, January 30, in ceremonies in Los Angeles, New York City and London. Ron Funches will serve as host for the Los Angeles event, with Michelle Buteau hosting the New York ceremony. “The art of casting for film continued to shine this year, as represented in this noteworthy list of...
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LOS ANGELES -- Final Draft, a Cast & Crew company, has unveiled the honorees for the 15th Annual Final Draft Awards. Academy Award® winning screenwriter Quentin Tarantino will be presented with the Hall of Fame Award for his prolific contribution to the art of screenwriting. Tarantino’s latest film, Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood , has grossed over $372 million worldwide and earned numerous accolades including a win for best screenplay from the New York Film Critics Circle and five Golden Globe®...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Few TV documentary series can boast having a more powerful real world impact than "Surviving R. Kelly." Though allegations of sexual abuse against minors followed R&B superstar R. Kelly for years, it was a six-part series aired by Lifetime last January featuring testimonials by alleged survivors that sparked new attention from authorities. A year later, Lifetime is readying a follow-up series, " Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning, " with one major difference: this time, R. Kelly will...
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Star Wars" was still rising in the last weekend of the year, while "Little Women" broke big at the box office. "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" brought in $72 million over the weekend to remain the top-earning film in North America by light-years, according to studio estimates Sunday. In 10 days of release it has brought in $362.8 million for Disney, falling just short of the earnings of its predecessor, 2017's "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" in a comparable span. Helped by the Christmas holiday...
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NEW YORK (AP) -- With a feast of football, ESPN outpaced all of the broadcasters to be the most-watched network on television during holiday week. The showcase was ESPN's college football championship semi-finals, which together averaged 19.3 million viewers and outpaced last year's games by 6%, the Nielsen company said. Credit goes primarily to the Clemson-Ohio State pairing, which matched two undefeated teams in a pulsating game not decided until the final minute. Those games, plus a Monday night NFL contest...
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Golden Globes, known as the "party of the year," is going with a meatless menu for its 77th annual awards show. Guests will be served a 100% plant-based meal just ahead of showtime Sunday. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Thursday that it wants the initiative to raise environmental awareness about food consumption and waste. "If there's a way we can, not change the world, but save the planet, maybe we can get the Golden Globes to send a signal and draw attention to the issue...
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Produced by Nexus Studios in collaboration with agency Johannes Leonardo, this handcrafted animation piece titled “The Last Mile” serves as a farewell tribute to the Volkswagen Beetle, looking back on its 80-year lifespan. Director FX Goby of Nexus takes us through the decades, telling both a personal and cultural history of our relationship with the beloved Bug, which has been a counterculture, pop and political icon. The ;90, which will be shown at Times Square on New Year’s Eve as well as...
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Inspired by the bravery and resilience of the children being treated at St. Jude, the St. Jude Hall of Heroes experience imagines patients as larger than life superheroes. Viewers hear directly from patients and their families, celebrating their stories and spreading awareness of childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The experience is set on floating islands—each island with statues 60 feet tall, each one unique in representing a St. Jude patient and their story. St. Jude...
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It’s not every day that nature decides to support a brand, but on December 26, 2019, the Sun and the Moon teamed for a solar eclipse that occurs once every five generations--and that also painted the Mastercard logo in the sky. The eclipse was visible in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman, across southern India and Sri Lanka, to Indonesia and Malaysia. This once in a lifetime eclipse mirrored the Mastercard logo at two particular points, so Mastercard decided to celebrate by giving its...
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This spot takes us to a magical circus world featuring 1$ Double Stacked Tacos, now back for a limited time at Taco Bell. Robert Stromberg via RSA Films directed this Taco Bell campaign piece--conceived by ad agency Deutsch--in which real circus performers, an aerialist and fire breathers were cast. Stromberg is known for his filmmaking and VFX work. He is a two-time Oscar winner as production designer on Avatar (2009) and Alice in Wonderland (2010).
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The holiday season is a time for family. But for many young kids waiting to be adopted, it’s an especially lonely period. So Hugo&Dean (creatives at 72andSunny New York) wrote, directed and self-funded this personal project--a holiday PSA that, instead of selling materialistic things, sold the greatest gift you can possibly give, family. There are currently more than 400,000 in foster care in the U.S. with more than 100,000 waiting to be adopted. Titled “The Greatest Gift,” this PSA aims to...
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GoCompare brand character Gio Compario returns in the latest ad recreating a car accident based on a real insurance claim. This spot, titled “Deer,” shows Gio driving along a desolate road only to be confronted by a deer, having to swerve, and damaging the car in the process. Jeff Low via Biscuit Filmworks UK directed the TV commercial for Droga5 London. Marsha Riley, VP of brand preference at GoCompare, said: “We work hard to help people get a fair deal on insurance that really meets their...
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Lincoln Financial Group has launched “The (Un)Spoken Plan” campaign featuring a social experiment called “Restaurant Talks” from FCB New York. A restaurant is taken over, outfitted with hidden cameras and the menu changed to get real, unsuspecting families to talk about finances. This campaign film, which was directed by Washington Square Films director and hidden camera expert Andrew Lane, featured various families arriving at a restaurant for dinner. The families were handed a unique menu...
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