Executive producer Bryan Farhy and director Wayne Holloway have exited bicoastal Basecamp Entertainment….Curious Pictures, New York, has signed design and directorial collective panOptic for spots….Sydney, Australia-based director Paul Middleditch has joined bicoastal Public Works for exclusive commercial representation in North America….Director Brad Steward and executive producer Amber Ventris have teamed to launch Crova, a production house with offices in Santa Monica, and Portland, Ore. The new venture opens with a directorial roster that also consists of Matt Goodman and Jasan Radford…. Matthew Pomerans, formerly an executive producer at bicoastal/international Satellite, has joined Santa Monica-based Area 51 Films as an executive producer. Meanwhile, Mark Thomas continues as executive producer at Area 51, and now adds the title of managing director….Editor Bob Mori, formerly of Cosmo Street, Santa Monica, has joined Superior Assembly Editing Company, Santa Monica….Marc Schwartz has joined Fluid Post, New York, as managing director. Formerly, he was general manager at Spontaneous Combustion, New York.…Composer Mike Pandolfo has joined JSM, New York. He was formerly with Amber Music, New York and London….Editors Gavin Tatro and Angelo Valencia, and visual effects artist/graphics designer/compositor Eric Pham have come aboard 501 Post, Austin, Texas….Kelly Hickel, chairman of Paradise Music & Entertainment, has taken on the additional role of president at the publicly traded bicoastal company. Stepping down as Paradise CEO is David Pritchard, former CEO/president of North Hollywood-based animation studio Film Roman. Hickel—who is also chairman of iballMedia, a San Diego firm servicing consumers with traditional and online delivery of music and music-driven events—came aboard Paradise in February when the company reached a memo of understanding to merge with iballMedia. That merger will probably be finalized later this month. Paradise is the parent company to bicoastal spot production companies Straw Dogs and Shelter Films, as well as Nashville, Tenn.-headquartered music video/concert film/commercial house Picture Vision….
DGA Feature Nominees: Audiard, Baker, Berger, Corbet and Mangold
The field of feature nominees for the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards spanning two categories is set. Nominated for the DGA honor for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 are: Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Sean Baker for Anora, Edward Berger for Conclave, Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, and James Mangold for A Complete Unknown.
The DGA also revealed the nominees for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film. The first-time narrative feature directors are: Payal Kapadia for All We Imagine as Light, Megan Park for My Old Ass, RaMell Ross for Nickel Boys, Halfdan Ullman Tondel for Armand, and Sean Wang for Diddy.
“2024 has been a truly extraordinary year for storytelling--and today’s nominees have created audacious and unique films that expand the possibilities of cinematic excellence,” said DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter. “I am thrilled to congratulate all our nominated directors for their brilliant work, which is visionary, inspirational and speaks to the depth of the human experience. To be chosen by one’s peers is the true marker of outstanding directorial achievement and what makes these nominations so very special.”
The winners will be announced at the 77th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 8.
Here’s a fuller rundown of the nominees in both DGA Award categories:
THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 (in alphabetical order):
JACQUES AUDIARD
Emilia Pérez
(Netflix)
SEAN... Read More