Animation and design studio Laundry has added James Sweigert as managing director. Sweigert, who brings extensive experience in marketing, brand strategy, design, and TV and film production, will spearhead business development at Laundry. The announcement comes on the heels of the studio moving into a new creative space in the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles, and scoring a PromaxBDA Award Gold for its work on the FXX/Truth “How to Make a Cat Video” campaign, as well as launching a new website.
Working closely with Laundry executive creative directors and partners PJ Richardson and Anthony Liu, Sweigert will oversee all creative and production management and operations for the studio, which encompasses animation, design, VFX, and live-action production. He is also tasked with nurturing existing client relationships and cultivating new opportunities with brands, services, and technology partners.
“Laundry has a sophisticated creative infrastructure, which I’m excited about bringing to new heights,” said Sweigert. “We can achieve great things with our clients by tapping deeper into the existing strengths of this company across the board, and implementing systems that allow us to become more of a strategic partner early on. I’m also keen on what the future holds for Laundry with respect to VR/AR, 360 and experiential work, as well as expanding our live-action bandwidth.”
Sweigert arrives at Laundry following a tenure as executive producer of TV and streaming at mOcean. Other previous positions include executive producer/partner at Nathaniel James, head of production at Brand New School, and assistant EP at Fuel/Razorfish. He’s produced notable projects, including the main titles for the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau,” about one of the most prestigious big wave riders, which was featured on ESPN Films: 30 for 30; IDs for the NFL Network’s broadcast of the Super Bowl XLVII between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, which was seen by millions on-air and also appeared on the stadium’s jumbotrons; as well as work for HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and “Sport in America”; a graphics package for the US Open on FOX Sports; and a rebrand for GSN.
Also a filmmaker, Sweigert has just completed producing and directing a documentary titled “N-Men: The Untold Story.” The film takes a look at the Northern California skateboarding scene from 1975 through today, featuring interviews with Tony Hawk, Tony Alva and the N-Men who inspired them. The film is scheduled for release in 2018 with Laundry playing an instrumental role in the postproduction.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Tops Weekend Box Office
In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" sped past the Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an "A" on CinemaScore), "Sonic 3" is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.
It was telling of some wider trends that "Sonic 3" — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney's top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous "Sonic" movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth "Sonic" movie is already in development.
"Mufasa," however, was humbled in its opening weekend, with its $35 million in domestic ticket sales coming in notably shy of expectations . The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel even opened wider than "Sonic 3," launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for "Sonic 3."
Though "Mufasa's" reviews were poor (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.
"Sonic 3" nearly doubled the haul for "Mufasa," which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third "Sonic" will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.
In director Jeff... Read More