By Robert Goldrich
SANTA MONICA, Calif. --Director David Nutter, who last week earned an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Directing In A Drama Series category for an installment of HBO’s The Pacific, has joined Santa Monica-based production house harvest for commercials and branded content.
Nutter is no stranger to Emmy recognition. He won an Emmy Award in 2002 for his directing on the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. He additionally earned Emmy nominations for The Sopranos in ’06 and The X-Files in ’95. Nutter was one of the latter series’ prime architects, helming 15 episodes during its initial three seasons and earning a Golden Globe Award in the process.
Harvest gains in Nutter a versatile directorial talent with far reaching creative range as underscored by his two career Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award nominations–in 2008 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement In A Comedy Series on the strength of Entourage (“The Resurrection” episode), and in ’07 for Directorial Achievement In A Dramatic Series for The Sopranos (“Join The Club” episode).
Among Nutter’s TV series credits over the years are episodes of Smallville, Without A Trace, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, ER, The West Wing, Supernatural, Shameless, and The Mentalist. He recently wrapped a pilot titled Chase for NBC, which is slated to premiere as a series in the fall. This continues a remarkable run in which Nutter has directed 16 consecutive pilots and all have gone on to be picked up as series.
Nutter is also experienced in commercials, having helmed the “Scarlet” HDTV LCD advertising/marketing campaign out of TBWA, Tequila and Agency.com for LG Electronics USA and produced by Great Guns, London, which continues to handle him in the U.K. Nutter’s other ad credits include a McDonald’s Australia campaign. He was last repped in the U.S. for spots by Looking Glass Films, Los Angeles.
Bonnie Goldfarb, harvest co-founder/executive producer, said she was drawn to Nutter’s storytelling prowess, his ability “to identify the emotional aspect of a piece and bring it to the forefront,” his strong desire to work in advertising and to collaborate with agencies and clients, and his “calming effect” honed during years of working successfully under tight TV series deadline pressure.
“He is someone who is ideal for commercials spanning comedy, drama and combinations thereof. Plus his experience fits perfectly with the increased push for celebrity endorsement work and of course the longer form content projects that are gaining prominence in advertising,” observed Goldfarb who plans to selectively introduce Nutter and his work to agency heads of production and creative directors with whom harvest has enjoyed working relationships over the years.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More