Steve Ross has joined director Kinka Usher’s Santa Monica shop, House of Usher, as its executive producer. He succeeds Taylor Ferguson who departed to become a founding partner of Trio Films, Venice, Calif. (SHOOT, 10/4, p. 1)….Element Productions, Boston, has opened a New York office, and signed director Kohl Norville, a former art director at Lowe New York. Director/DP Leif Husted-Jensen will also be working out of the new office….Director Charles Abehsera has linked with bicoastal/international Blueyed Pictures for spot representation in the U.S., the U.K. and Japan. Abehsera continues to maintain his own Los Angeles-based shop, Backhome Pictures….The industry is mourning the passing of cinematographer James O’Dea, known for his spotwork with such directors as James Gartner, Larry August and Chace Strickland. O’Dea died last week (11/25) after a lengthy struggle with cancer. O’Dea is survived by his wife, Susan, and sons, Tommy, a camera assistant, and Sean, a cinematographer who is repped by Dattner Dispoto and Associates, the same Los Angeles shop that handled James O’Dea for many years….
London Critics Name “The Brutalist” The Film of the Year
The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s immigrant saga, won the Film of the Year prize at the 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards.
While The Brutalist garnered just one award, it was the marquee honor. Meanwhile Nickel Boys, Conclave and A Real Pain all receivd multiple awards, and Zoe Saldaña was honored twice.
Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller Conclave took two awards for British/Irish Film of the Year and Actor of the Year for Ralph Fiennes, while RaMell Ross’s radical Colson Whitehead adaptation Nickel Boys was recognized with Director of the Year and the Technical Achievement Award for Jomo Fray’s first-person cinematography. Jesse Eisenberg’s dark comedy A Real Pain was the night’s other multiple prizewinner, landing Screenwriter of the Year for the actor-filmmaker, and Supporting Actor of the Year for co-star Kieran Culkin.
Payal Kapadia’s Mumbai-set drama All We Imagine as Light was named Foreign Language Film of the Year, while the Palestinian-Israeli collective behind No Other Land took Documentary of the Year.
Alongside Conclave, British productions awarded by the Circle in the top categories included Mike Leigh’s intimate character study Hard Truths, which took Actress of the Year for Marianne Jean-Baptiste, while Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl was named Animated Feature of the Year. In the British/Irish-specific categories, Saoirse Ronan won British/Irish Performer of the Year for her performances in The Outrun and Blitz, 14-year-old Nykiya Adams won Young British/Irish Performer of the Year for her screen debut in Andrea Arnold’s Bird, and Rich Peppiatt won the... Read More