The industry is mourning the loss of Chuck Sloan, a respected production house executive who teamed with director/cameraman Eric Saarinen to launch Plum Productions, a shop which had a successful 26-year run. Sloan, 71, died of an apparent heart attack suffered while he was vacationing in Virgin Gorda. He was a mentor to many in the commercialmaking community. In next week's issue, SHOOT will cover his career and share reflections from his colleagues and friends…..PromaxBDA, a global association for marketing, promotion and design professionals working in the entertainment industry, has named writer, producer, actor and author Spike Lee the recipient of the PromaxBDA Lifetime Achievement Award for creativity. He will be presented the award at the 2011 annual conference taking place June 28-30 in New York City. Los Angeles production company Pony Show Entertainment, through which Lee directed recent MSNBC branding campaigns and other commercial work, began their association with the director in 2007, featuring a rebranding Gatorade campaign starring 35 of the world's foremost athletes. Lee's recent spots produced by Pony Show for T-Mobile star Charles Barkley and Dwayne Wade….Minneapolis-based Splice Here® has added editor Matt Silver and producer Steve Fait. Silver's career includes tenures at bicoastal Bug Edit and New York-based Go Robot! He has cut national campaigns for such clients as Dunkin' Donuts, Snickers, Carl's Jr., IBM, American Express, Chevy and Fidelity. Fait joins Splice from visual effects studio ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic)…..
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