Final Cut has added editor James Rose to its roster. Rose, who will be based out of Final Cut’s London office, joins the company with over a decade of experience in commercial, music video and documentary editing. Rose had been at Cut + Run since 2007. His recent creative highlights include Adidas’ “#TaketheStage” for last year’s Olympics, and Ikea’s “Bright Shiny Colours” with his long-term collaborator, director David Wilson of Blinkink….Director Hayley Morris has joined th1ng Group’s Film Club Productions division for international commercial representation. Known for her deployment of stop motion and hand drawn animation, she will be based at Film Club in NY. Hayley’s commercials, music videos and short films have been featured in film festivals worldwide. She earned inclusion into SHOOT‘s 2011 New Directors Showcase. Her commercial work includes work for the Ad Council (McCann Erickson), Detroit Zoo (Doner), Paragard (Strikeforce), Haynes and Boone (Slingshot), Girl Guides of Canada (john st., Toronto), and HumanaOne (RAPP). Jon V. Peters, CEO/founder of Athena Studios in Emeryville, Calif., has been named to the board of directors for the Visual Effects Society’s Northern California chapter….
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More