President and CEO
The Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) | www.aicp.com
Founded: 1972
Members: 590
Please provide a brief description of your membership and what industry/industries your Organization serves.
General members are independent commercial production and post production companies that create advertising in the motion image. Associate members provide services – i.e. equipment, legal services, accounting services, etc.
Please provide a brief description of the mission of your Organization.
AICP represents, exclusively, the interests of independent companies that specialize in the production and post production of commercials in various media for advertisers and agencies. The association – whose member companies account for 85 percent of all commercials aired nationally on all media platforms – serves as a strong collective voice for this $5 billion-plus industry. AICP assists its members by: disseminating information; representing production and post production companies within the advertising community in business circles, in labor negotiations and dealing with employment issues; and before governmental officials; developing industry standards and tools; providing professional development; and marketing production and post production via events and awards shows.
What guidance are you providing your members about the restarting of production and/or postproduction? What precautions/best practices do you recommend? (You are welcome to provide a direct link to a page on your site that addresses this question with regard to set guidelines/policies, etc.)
The AICP Workplace Guidelines & Considerations can be found here – https://www.aicp.com/business-resources/business-affairs-information/aicp-guidlines/covid-19-workplace-guidelines/
The AICP Gold Standard for Personnel Screening can be found here – https://www.aicp.com/business-resources/business-affairs-information/aicp-guidlines/covid-19-workplace-guidelines/aicp-gold-standard-for-personnel-screening
Prior to the pandemic, industry execs and artisans were in the business of balancing art and commerce–as well as safety. But now safety, health and welfare concerns take on a whole new dimension due to the virus crisis. What advice/counsel and/or vision do you have to offer to the overall entertainment and/or advertising industries on the future of production and/or postproduction?
Depending on the specifics of the work location, the composition of employees, and the overall conditions dictated by the rules of civil authorities, practical adjustments will have to be made using individual judgment. It is safe to assume that the way we approach work will be forever changed. With leadership and planning, this can come from a place of innovation, and not concession.
All facets of our business must ensure a new level of safety for all involved, by all involved. We must be mindful and realistic about factors such as time and cost that will be affected by required diligence.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More