Saville Productions has inked a deal with visual effects and 3D director Alessandro Pacciani for exclusive spot representation in the U.S market. This marks the first time he has been repped stateside in the ad arena. UTA reps Pacciani internationally for feature projects. He currently has no exclusive commercial production house affiliation internationally. Pacciani is known for seamlessly meshing live action performance and pure photorealistic CGI elements with a cinematic storytelling style. His work has been featured in commercials for international brands such as Audi, Subaru, Nike, Arena, Google, and Universal Music….Production company Mothership, a sister company to Digital Domain, has signed directing duo Alex & Steffen–the Stuttgart, Germany-based Alexander Kiesl and Steffen Hacker–for commercial work in the U.S. Alex & Steffen's visual effects-driven creative work has earned the pair a reputation for high-energy storytelling, rich filmic visuals, wit and humor. Alex & Steffen met while studying at the prestigious Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg's Institute of Animation and Visual Effects. For their final student project, they directed “Racing Beats,” a photo-real CG Xbox spec spot in which two sets of mad pilots play “chicken” as they race furiously around airport runways in huge commercial airliners. The directing duo was promptly snapped up by Toronto's Spy Films (which still represents them in Canada and other countries) and went on to direct and supervise visual effects on more than 30 spots for brands including WWF, Mazda, BOSCH, MTV, Honda and others under various representational banners. Alex & Steffen directed and VFX-supervised a high-profile campaign for Snickers via BBDO Moscow featuring robot fantasy-animals. Alex & Steffen were also featured in the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase at Cannes in 2006. They recently completed a series of nine character-based spots via Saatchi & Saatchi for Vestel. Alex also owns Unexpected, a Stuttgart-based post facility that handles the postproduction for all their spots, shorts and features, where Alex is 3D lead artist and Steffen is lead compositor….
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More