Nigel Simpkiss, whose credentials include being lead director on BBC’s Emmy Award®-winning motor vehicle series Top Gear, has signed with BRW Group for commercial representation, meaning he will be handled in the U.S. by BRW USA, and the rest of the world (except North America) by London-based Independent. Simpkiss joins BRW from Streetlight Films which repped him in the U.S. and U.K.
The director’s body of work spans music videos, documentaries and commercials, with such notable credits as the documentary Richard Hammond Meet Evel Knievel, and spots for the likes of Aston Martin, Nokia, Land Rover, Subaru, Polaris and Jaguar.
Born just outside the industrial hub of Birmingham, England, Simpkiss briefly studied social work at the University of Bristol before stumbling upon the Fine Arts Department and discovering his passion for photography. His love for all things cinema brought him to London, where he eventually landed his big break at Channel 4, working as a runner at editorial house Component Editing. He quickly climbed the ranks to become editor, working on many well-regarded documentaries produced by Channel 4. With the resurgence of music videos, Simpkiss soon found himself doing a great deal of freelance editing on such top music videos as Primal Scream’s “Loaded,” eventually segueing into directing music video segments himself. After spending a few years freelance directing music videos and music documentaries, he began filming cars, serving as a director for numerous high-profile car shows.
Hearing through the grapevine that BBC’s Top Gear–which had been dropped by the U.K. network–was being revived and in need of a fresh new take, Simpkiss employed his extensive skills in both automotive and documentary filmmaking, as well as his desire to make the show more cinematic, to land a job as a series director. Through his Top Gear acclaim, where he continues to direct today, Simpkiss was chosen to helm commercials for many of the U.K.’s top automakers.
Though highly experienced in automotive directing, his passion lies in his documentary film roots. Simpkiss said, “I would like to move in the direction of making more documentary-style commercials where people express their passion about what they do.”
Simpkiss recently directed the BAFTA-nominated South America Special documentary, where he led the production through a Bolivian rainforest under the debilitating effects of high altitude and the terrifying sheer drops of the infamous Death Road.
Simpkiss currently resides north of London.
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