Two long-time friends and colleagues who kicked around the idea of going into business together over the years have finally done so. Blair Stribley, who recently became sole owner of mainstay production company Backyard, and Tom Duff, president of post house Optimus, Chicago and Santa Monica, have teamed along with the other Optimus partners to launch Mighty Film. The new shop opens with a roster comprised of several directors who come over from Backyard, which continues to maintain its own lineup of filmmakers.
Both Mighty and Backyard will operate out of the same Venice complex, which has been the longstanding home to Backyard. Mighty, Backyard and Optimus are completely autonomous and each operates independently.
Mighty Film currently sports such talent as directors Phil Brown, Jesper Ericstam, Rob Pritts and Rob Sanders. In fact, Sanders has embarked on the first job under the Mighty banner, a campaign for a high-profile client whose identity Stribley is not yet at liberty to disclose publicly. Meanwhile Backyard’s roster continues to include directors Kevin Smith, Chace Strickland and Bo Mirosseni.
Stribley said he is actively looking to grow Mighty and Backyard, adding directors to both companies. He views the two shops as representing a best-of-both worlds scenario. Backyard has built up a strong following and marketplace equity during its 20-plus years in business. Meanwhile Mighty represents a chance to build a shop “with a fresh, clean slate,” moving into new directions and shaping a roster with an infusion of new talent. Stribley noted that in addition to directors, he has been courting hybrid writer/director/producer types so as to diversify Mighty’s reach to encompass not only commercials but also to foster development of longer-form fare, including branded content and other forms of entertainment.
While affirming that his focus is “to build Mighty and have it stand on its own two feet”–separate from Backyard and Optimus–Stribley acknowledged that, if clients want and as projects dictate, there can be a coming together in order to realize certain creative and cost-effective advantages. Mighty clients, for instance, could tap into Optimus’ editing, post, VFX, design and audio talent and resources, making for a complete one-stop shop production business model. But that model will only evolve, said Stribley, in “a natural organic way. We are not forcing it.”
Duff related that “projects and clients will dictate what’s best. We’re just positioning ourselves to be able to offer different options to clients if it helps on a particular job.” He noted that Optimus and Mighty “share a lot of the same culture,” which can be useful when the two companies come together on an assignment. But for the most part, Stribley and Duff think clients will regard Mighty and Backyard as stand-alone, high-end live action production houses–and that agencies and advertisers will access them independently for their respective directors and production wherewithal.
Backyard’s Kris Mathur becomes executive producer of Mighty. Eric Bonniot will executive produce both Backyard and Mighty projects. Cori Cooperider serves as head of production for both companies, which share the same sales force consisting of independent rep firm The Family–Chris Zander, Diane Patrone and Anna Rotholz–on the East Coast; Them Reps, with Jimmy Waldron and Wendy Hanson, in the Midwest; and reps Brad Grubaugh and Mark Andrews on the West Coast.
Optimus continues to maintain sister shop ONE at Optimus, a production division featuring new, up-and-coming directorial talent, including several helmers who have been recognized in recent years in SHOOT‘s annual New Directors Showcase at the DGA Theatre in New York. ONE at Optimus is under the aegis of managing director/executive producer John Noble.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More