The last time I saw legendary creative director Hal Riney was in November 2002. He had come down from the Bay Area to Los Angeles to pay tribute to editor Jacques Dury who was being inducted into the Association of Creative Editors’ (AICE) Hall of Fame.
Riney’s admiration of Dury’s artistry came from their collaborations over the years, which included such notable fare as the classic image commercial for Perrier, which brought a figurative sparkle to sparkling water by taking us to Perrier’s roots in France. Then there was the deadpan humor of Henry Weinhard Private Reserve’s “Chuck Wagon,” in which a western cowhand/cook recites the dinner menu specials of the day to a group of bewildered, hungry cowboys. (Both spots were directed by Joe Pytka of PYTKA.)
Sadly Riney died on March 24 of cancer at his home in San Francisco. He was 75. I thought it somehow fitting to seek out Dury to reflect on Riney whose career began at BBDO San Francisco, followed by Riney opening Ogilvy & Mather’s San Francisco office and then the venerable Hal Riney & Partners which is now Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco.
“Having Hal come out for my induction into the AICE Hall of Fame was as great an honor as being inducted,” related Dury. “Hal was a true artist and he made me a better artist. His writing was exquisite. A large part of what got me into the Hall of Fame was the work I did for Hal. He was a major force in creating my brand and image in the industry.”
Acknowledging that some have referenced a gruff manner in describing Riney, Dury said his experience completely differed. “He was brilliant, supportive and never made me feel pressured or intimidated…Having someone looking over your shoulder when you’re editing can be intimidating. But I was glad to have him in the room. We got to the point where we communicated in shorthand. If I heard a grunt at a certain point, I’d know that I needed to rethink something. He never got annoyed if the work wasn’t coming together. He trusted me to make it work. And to have his trust was a great gift.”
Riney was a mentor to many, including Rich Silverstein, Andy Berlin and Jeff Goodby. Similarly Dury Associates and its successor shop Decoupage opened up opportunities for talented artisans who went on to their own successes such as editor/director Larry Bridges, director Marcus Stevens, editors Hal Honigsberg and Tom Schachte. Though his was not on as grand a scale as that of Riney, Dury said he found it gratifying “to be on this parallel track with Hal of helping others to grow.”
Dury could recollect only one time that Riney got angry at him–when Dury refused to work for the Tuesday Team on the 1984 Ronald Reagan re-election campaign.
“I couldn’t bring myself to do that,” related Dury. “I remember thinking that I probably had just done a foolish thing. At the time Hal represented about seventy-five percent of my business. At first I was scared about the possible impact of my decision. But Hal continued working with me. He didn’t like my decision but he knew that’s how I felt. To me, that was a reflection of his integrity as a person.”
“Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic 3” Rule Box Office For 1st Weekend Of 2025
The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.
The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn't far behind.
"Sonic 3" stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. "Mufasa's" running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.
In third place, Focus Features' "Nosferatu" remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable. "Nosferatu," which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).
No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, "Moana 2," claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.
The Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in... Read More