Director Steve Beck has come aboard bicoastal/international Believe Media. Most recently with bicoastal Reactor Films, Beck is best known for his effects-driven directorial work. Earlier this year, Beck helmed the feature film Ghost Ship, slated for theatrical release Oct. 25….Director Blair Hayes is set to join Area 51 Films, Santa Monica….Park Pictures, New York, has inked director Lara Shapiro for spots….Dan Bryant has been named COO/ executive producer of Backyard Productions, the Venice, Calif.-headquartered production house with an office in Chicago. His primary responsibilities are to grow and manage Backyard Productions and its existing divisions, including Transistor Studios and Backyard Entertainment, plus another new division to be announced shortly. He will be working in partnership with Backyard founders Blair Stribley and Roy Skillicorn….Studio V-12, Santa Monica, best known as a design/production company, has launched a commercial division, V12 Commercials. The new venture recently hired Bill Hewes to serve as executive producer and added director Linzi Knight, formerly repped by Reactor Films….. D’Arcy Masius Benton and Bowles will be absorbed by several agencies, including Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett USA, as part of a reorganization by Paris-headquartered Publicis, parent company to the ad shops….Mixer Jason Seidman has come aboard Photomag, New York….Joe Sweet, the copywriter who played a key role in the creation of "The Hire" series of Web-based short films for BMW, died Oct. 4 while attending a media trade show in Cannes. He was 43. Sweet’s contributions leading to the genesis of "The Hire" came while he was a group creative director at Fallon Minneapolis. He left that ad shop earlier this year, devoting himself to the making of his own movie. Sweet’s wife, Germaine, has set up a memorial fund. Contributions can be sent to the Joe Sweet Film Fund, 3820 Vincent Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. 55410…. Florida-based Flame artist/designer Bob Geuder died suddenly on October 4 while vacationing on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire. Geuder was slated to become creative director at MT-Miami—the postproduction division of BVI LLC, Coconut Grove, Fla., acquired through its merger with Manhattan Transfer-Miami (SHOOT 4/17, p. 1). Most recently, Geuder had worked as a Flame artist/designer with Coconut Grove-based Deep Blue Sea—a visual effects house under the aegis of BVI LLC….
“A Complete Unknown,” “The Brutalist,” “Gladiator II,” “Wicked” Among ADG Excellence in Production Design Award Nominees
The Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) has unveiled the nominees for its 29th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards. The ceremony, hosted by actress and comedian Rachael Harris, will take place on Feb. 15, at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown.
Among the motion picture nominees are the production designers on A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist, Gladiator II, Nosferatu and Saturday Night in the Period Feature Film category; and Alien: Romulus, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Dune: Part Two, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Wicked in the Fantasy Feature Film category.
Television nominations span the likes of Bridgerton, Fallout, House of the Dragon, The Lord of the Rings: Pachinko, Rings of Power, Ripley and Shogun.
The ADG Awards celebrate excellence in production design across theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos, and animated feature films. The 2025 Cinematic Imagery Award will be presented to Academy Award®-nominated director and filmmaker Jason Reitman, whose body of work includes Juno, Up in the Air and Saturday Night.
“This year’s nominees showcase the incredible artistry and vision that define our craft and our industry. We’re thrilled to bring the Guild together to celebrate the achievements of these incredible production designers and their art departments,” shared award show producers Michael Allen Glover, ADG, and Megan Elizabeth Bell, ADG, in a joint statement.
In addition, the ADG will honor Lisa Frazza, Barbara Mesney, Dan Sweetman, and J. Dennis Washington with Lifetime Achievement Awards. Legendary production designer Carl Jules Weyl will be inducted into the ADG Hall of Fame as part of the... Read More