Aric Ackerman has joined production company Motion Theory (MTh) as chief operating officer. He will manage finances and help drive business development and joint ventures across film and advertising sectors for MTh. Ackerman will also serve on the board and manage finances at sister company Mirada, a studio co-founded in December 2010 by Guillermo del Toro, MTh partners Mathew Cullen and Javier Jimenez as well as Guillermo Navarro. Most recently Ackerman co-founded and was CEO of Resolve Market Research until its sale to another industry player. He previously spent eight years as COO of @radical.media….Director Kathleen Lorden has signed with TWC for exclusive U.S. representation. While earning a masters degree at Art Center College of Design, Lorden was the recipient of a Clio, a Young Director Award at Cannes, multiple ADDYs, and a 2012 AICP Show honor. The latter was earned in the Student Commercial category on the strength of Kia Soul’s “Funeral, which she also entered at Cannes, where she met Mark Thomas, managing director at TWC, laying the groundwork for her now joining the production house…. Culver City, Calif./Vancouver, B.C.-based visual effects house Zoic Studios has added executive producer Cally Morton to its commercial division. Morton comes to Zoic from Psyop….Editor Logan Hefflefinger, whose work spans commercials (Nike, Best Buy, Netflix), features (pre-vis editor on The Amazing Spider-Man) and music videos (for such artists as Will.I.Am, Eminem) has relocated from Los Angeles to join Dallas’ Lucky Post. Hefflefinger began his career at The Whitehouse in Los Angeles, assuming the editor role at Final Cut. Over the years, he has collaborated with such directors as Chris Milk, Paul Hunter, Marc Webb, Jared Hess, Andreas Nilsson and Michael Downing as well as agencies Weiden & Kennedy, CP+B, 72andSunny, TBWAChiatDay, Saatchi and AKQA….
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More