Norry Niven, co-founder of Marina del Rey, Calif.-based film and commercial production company Three (One) O, has completed his first feature, Chasing Shakespeare, which recounts the beginning, end and rebirth of a love affair between William (played by Danny Glover) and Venus (Tantoo Cardinal) in rural Arkansas. Directed and lensed by Niven, the film is slated to hit the festival circuit, including the FirstGlance Hollywood Film Fest and the Dallas International Film Festival. Chasing Shakespeare was edited by Peter Tarter with VFX supervised by Dale Carman at Reel FX….LOOK Effects has begun operations in Stuttgart, Germany, thus now offering VFX supervision and production in four locations, in three countries and on two continents. LOOK’s first project in Germany will be Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel which is scheduled for release in 2014. LOOK producer Jenny Foster and digital supervisor Gabriel Sanchez are in Stuttgart to manage LOOK’s German venture and work on The Grand Budapest Hotel. LOOK also maintains studios in L.A., NY, and Vancouver, B.C….MUH๏ฟฝTAY๏ฟฝZIK | HOF๏ฟฝFER, an ad agency based in San Francisco, has added art director Stevan Chavez who most recently worked in the same capacity at Wexley School for Girls, most notably on Rainier Beer’s “Restore the R” campaign. The move to a new roost reunites Chavez with writer Mike Gallucci. Chavez studied art direction at Atlanta’s The Creative Circus, where he met and partnered with Gallucci. While still in school, both artists were drawn to the work being done at MUH๏ฟฝTAY๏ฟฝZIK | HOF๏ฟฝFER, but only Gallucci—who also holds a Master’s degree in theology from Harvard—would join the company after graduating, with Chavez heading to his first ad job at Wexley….Mike Albert has joined Modus Operandi as its Detroit-based EP. His experience includes being head of production at Campbell Ewald Retail, and EP at Bozell on the Chrysler Plymouth and Jeep dealer accounts….
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 โ one that could include paying millions of dollars โ 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 โ Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado โ 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 โ on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More