The industry is mourning veteran agency producer Peter Ellers who died on Feb. 2 after a long battle with cancer. He was 50. Among his many clients were Amstel Light, AT&T, Taco Bell and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Look for more on his career in next week’s edition of SHOOT…..Ron David Walter has been named executive creative director at Conductor, a Los Angeles-based entertainment and brand marketing company. He had earlier served as partner/creative director of San Francisco-based Banjo where he exec produced The North Face Expeditions, a TV series hosted by Sting that ran on NBC; Unilever’s Degree Road to Iron Man, an hour-long special that ran on NBC and Bravo; and a series of six theatrical and online teaser trailers for the James Bond video game, “From Russia With Love,” from Electronic Arts….Nexus Productions, London, and its directorial team Smith & Foulkes can feel confident about their chances of winning the spot honor at the upcoming British Animation Awards. All three short-listed nominees for best commercial direction were helmed by Smith & Foulkes: Honda’s “Grrr,” Volkswagen Touareg’s “Racing Line,” and the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty To Children’s “Speech Bubble.” The awards ceremony is slated for March 9 in London….
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