November 16, 2012
Former P&G exec to become Avon’s chief marketing officerNEW YORK (AP) — Avon has appointed a former Procter & Gamble executive as head of marketing for the beauty products company.
It is one of several recent leadership changes as the New York company tries to turn around its business.
Avon Products Inc. said Patricia Perez-Ayala will become its senior vice president, chief marketing officer and global brand and category president next month. She will be responsible for global management of Avon’s brand and marketing.
Perez-Ayala previously worked for consumer products giant P&G as its vice president and general manager of its Eastern European business.
Avon is struggling to improve its performance after suffering through declining sales, a bribery investigation and other issues. The company has brought in a new CEO, tried to cut costs and focus on improving sales through international markets.
Univision working to create immigration archive
NEW YORK (AP) — The Spanish-language media company Univision is working with one of its top advertisers to encourage Hispanics to share their stories about establishing new lives in the United States.
Called Generacion America, the Univision network will kick off the effort during Thursday’s telecast of the Latin Grammy Awards.
Univision and its affiliated networks will collect stories from celebrities and average citizens to be part of the Immigrant Archive Project, an independent effort that collects these stories, and show snippets of them on TV. The advertiser Procter & Gamble is helping fund the project.
Univision Networks President Cesar Conde said the timing after Election Day was intentional so it wouldn’t become a political issue.
Adobe unveils new technology to insert video adsNEW YORK (AP) — Adobe Systems Inc. has added new tools to insert advertisements into online video content.
The new tools are part of Project Primetime, Adobe’s service for distributing video on computers, smartphones and other Internet-connected devices. A new ad-insertion tool called MediaWeaver “mirrors broadcast TV” in the way it inserts ads into programming, Adobe said Thursday.
For broadcasters and other content providers, that’s an improvement from the way a lot of online ads work now — concentrated at the start of the programming, or repeated over and over. MediaWeaver can get the latest ads inserted into video, whether it’s live, recorded or played back on demand.
Adobe said the service lets content providers target and track their audience, too, depending on what information they already have on them.
Another offering, called Primetime Media Player, helps content providers offer a “more robust viewing experience on desktops and mobile devices within apps,” the company said in a blog post. To do this, it lets devices load videos faster, offers closed-captioning and works with Adobe’s SiteCatalyst advertising and marketing analytics service to analyze customers’ viewing habits.
ASC Awards Accepting TV EntriesHOLLYWOOD — The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) is accepting submissions for their annual television competition. Directors of photography can enter in three categories: (1) An episode of a regular half-hour series; (2) An episode of a regular hour-long series; and (3) A movie or miniseries made for television. The deadline for entries is noon (PDT) on December 3. Finalists will contend for top honors during the 27th ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards at the Hollywood & Highland Grand Ballroom on February 10, 2013.
To qualify, shows must have premiere broadcast dates in the United States between December 1, 2011 and November 30, 2012. Entry forms can be downloaded from the ASC website.
“The television awards celebrate the visual achievements of cinematographers who create captivating images for serialized stories under tremendous time and budget pressures,” says ASC President Stephen Lighthill. “Our goal is to showcase some of the best work being produced in these demanding categories.”
Last year’s ASC Award recipients in the TV categories were Jonathan Freeman, ASC earned top honors in the one-hour television episodic category for HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” Michael Weaver, ASC was the inaugural recipient of the half-hour television episodic category for Showtime’s “Californication,” and Martin Ruhe won the TV movie/miniseries award for PBS’ “Page Eight.”
Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige to Receive Publicists’ Motion Picture Showman Award
LOS ANGELES–The Publicists of the International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) have named Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, as their Motion Picture Showman of the Year. The award will be presented at the Publicists’ 50th Annual Awards Luncheon to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday, February 22, 2013, two days before the Oscars๏ฟฝ.
Feige most recently produced the critically acclaimed “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which set the all-time, three-day domestic weekend box office record at $207.4 million when it was released in May 2012. The film shattered box office records, becoming Disney Studios’ highest-grossing domestic release of all time.
“Kevin Feige’s understanding and appreciation of publicity and promotion in the role of a movie’s success has led to a string of blockbuster feature films adapted from the pages of Marvel comic books during the past ten years,” said Awards Committee chairman Henri Bollinger.
In his current role as producer and president of Marvel Studios, Feige oversees all creative aspects of the company’s feature film and home entertainment activities. He is currently producing the following projects from Marvel Studios: “Iron Man 3” which is slated for release on May 3, 2013; “Thor: The Dark World” coming to theatres on November 8, 2013; “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” slated for release on April 4, 2014; “Guardians of the Galaxy” scheduled to come to theatres on August 1, 2014; the sequel of “Marvel’s The Avengers” coming to theatres on May 1, 2015; and “Ant-Man” scheduled for release on November 6, 2015.
Feige’s other recent producing credits include “Thor” starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman which opened in theatres on May 6, 2011, “Captain America: The First Avenger” starring Chris Evans and Tommy Lee Jones which was released on July 22, 2011, and “Iron Man 2” which was released in theatres on May 7, 2010. Each of these films took the number one spot on their respective opening weekends.
Since joining Marvel in 2000, Feige has been involved in key capacities for all of the company’s theatrical film productions. He served as executive producer on the second and third “Spider-Man” films, which took in combined worldwide box office receipts of well over a billion-and-a-half dollars. He also co-produced “X2: X-Men United,” and executive produced “X-Men 3: The Last Stand.” Together, the two films, starring Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Ian McKellen, totaled $866 million in ticket sales worldwide.
Also to be handed out at the Publicists Luncheon are the Television Showmen of the Year Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award, the Maxwell Weinberg Motion Picture and Television Publicist Awards, awards voted on by members for domestic and international press, the Bob Yeager Award, given to a member for community work and the Les Mason Award, the top honor for a publicist.
Eisner gets back into movies with Universal deal
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner is getting back in the movie business.
The 70-year-old said Tuesday that the media company he founded, The Tornante Company, will finance films that will be distributed by Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures.
The distribution deal will likely help Tornante raise outside financing.
There is no set number of films in the multi-year deal. Universal has similar arrangements with several production companies, including producer Joel Silver’s Silver Pictures. This year, those arrangements resulted in just one film, “Pitch Perfect,” which came out in September and grossed $62.6 million worldwide.
Eisner built a reputation at Disney, and at Paramount Pictures before that, for backing mid-budget films with recognizable actors and well-written scripts such as “Terms of Endearment” (1983), “Saturday Night Fever” (1977) and “Ruthless People” (1986).
He was CEO of The Walt Disney Co. from 1984 to 2005.
“Michael Eisner has been a powerful creative force behind some of the world’s greatest films and we’re confident that with Tornante, he’ll continue that tradition,” said Universal’s co-chairs, Adam Fogelson and Donna Langley, in a statement.
Another Eisner company, Vuguru, has made shows for audiences online and overseas, including “The Booth at the End,” a drama about a mysterious wish-granting man who sits in a diner. It plays on online video service Hulu.
One Direction is headed to a movie theater near you.
LOS ANGELES–Sony Pictures says it’s making a 3-D film about the boy band One Direction, due out next year on Labor Day weekend.
“Super Size Me” filmmaker Morgan Spurlock will direct the movie.
The film will give fans an all-access, behind-the- scenes look at the group and its five members: Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.
The London-based band was discovered by Simon Cowell on the U.K.’s “The X Factor” in 2010. They have sold over 13 million records worldwide and are known for hits including “What Makes You Beautiful,” ”One Thing” and “Live While We’re Young.”
Bollywood pays homage to film director Yash ChopraNEW DELHI (AP) — Bollywood stars turned out in strength for a final homage to movie director Yash Chopra at the premiere of his last film.
Led by megastar Amitabh Bachchan, top stars attended the premiere Monday night of “Jab Tak hai Jaan,” or “As Long as I am Alive.”
Chopra was known as the “King of Romance” for creating classic love stories that were immensely popular. He died last month, days after finishing the film.
Bachchan, who acted in several of Chopra’s blockbusters, said the entire Hindi movie industry was honoring the film, which was opening in Indian theaters Tuesday.
“I think Yash Chopra would have liked it. Despite his death, the whole industry is celebrating his movie, and I am very anxious to see it,” he said.
Chopra’s wife Pamela said the premiere was their way of celebrating Chopra’s illustrious life rather than mourning his absence.
The film stars Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in a love triangle with two leading ladies, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. The story of the film has not been made public, though promotional clips show Khan as both a musician and an army officer.
Monday’s red-carpet event in India’s entertainment capital, Mumbai, was attended by Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and several Bollywood actresses from Chopra’s earlier movies, including Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi and Preity Zinta.
The opening date coincided with the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, and the timing was not without controversy.
Film producers consider a Diwali premiere to be lucky, but it meant the movie ran into the release of another potential blockbuster, Ajay Devgn’s “Son of Sardar.”
Around 10 days ago, Devgn sent a legal notice to Chopra’s company, Yashraj Films, accusing it of pressuring exhibitors to promote “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” over “Son of Sardar” during the Diwali festival holidays.
Day-Lewis heeded inner ear to find Lincoln’s voiceBy David Germain, Movie Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A towering figure such as Abraham Lincoln, who stood 6 feet 4 and was one of history’s master orators, must have had a booming voice to match, right? Not in Daniel Day-Lewis’ interpretation.
Day-Lewis, who plays the 16th president in Steven Spielberg’s epic film biography “Lincoln,” which goes into wide release this weekend, settled on a higher, softer voice, saying it’s more true to descriptions of how the man actually spoke.
“There are numerous accounts, contemporary accounts, of his speaking voice. They tend to imply that it was fairly high, in a high register, which I believe allowed him to reach greater numbers of people when he was speaking publicly,” Day-Lewis said in an interview. “Because the higher registers tend to reach farther than the lower tones, so that would have been useful to him.”
“Lincoln” is just the fifth film in the last 15 years for Day-Lewis, a two-time Academy Award winner for best actor (“My Left Foot” and “There Will Be Blood”). Much of his pickiness stems from a need to understand characters intimately enough to feel that he’s actually living out their experiences.
The soft, reedy voice of his Lincoln grew out of that preparation.
“I don’t separate vocal work, and I don’t dismember a character into its component parts and then kind of bolt it all together, and off you go,” Day-Lewis said. “I tend to try and allow things to happen slowly, over a long period of time. As I feel I’m growing into a sense of that life, if I’m lucky, I begin to hear a voice.
“And I don’t mean in a supernatural sense. I begin to hear the sound of a voice, and if I like the sound of that, I live with that for a while in my mind’s ear, whatever one might call it, my inner ear, and then I set about trying to reproduce that.”
Lincoln himself likely learned to use his voice to his advantage depending on the situation, Day-Lewis said.
“He was a supreme politician. I’ve no doubt in my mind that when you think of all the influences in his life, from his childhood in Kentucky and Indiana and a good part of his younger life in southern Illinois, that the sounds of all those regions would have come together in him somehow.
“And I feel that he probably learned how to play with his voice in public and use it in certain ways in certain places and in certain other ways in other places. Especially in the manner in which he expressed himself. I think, I’ve no doubt that he was conscious enough of his image.”
NBC’s ‘Today’ show making leadership changeBy David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — NBC is changing the backstage leadership at its struggling “Today” show, which has consistently been behind ABC’s “Good Morning America” in the ratings since replacing Ann Curry as an anchor this summer.
An NBC executive who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the plan is not finalized said Monday that Jim Bell will be replaced as the show’s executive producer. Veteran NBC News executive Alexandra Wallace will oversee management of “Today” and a search is under way for Bell’s successor.
NBC Sports said Bell will become executive producer of NBC’s Olympics coverage, a role he took on this summer for the network’s successful coverage of the London Olympics.
The “Today” show had a 17-year winning streak in the morning ratings, the last six under Bell’s tutelage. But its ABC competitors made inroads this spring and after the decision was made in June to have Savannah Guthrie replace Curry as Matt Lauer’s co-anchor, “Today” has fallen consistently behind in the ratings. The only exception was when NBC was in London for the Olympics, though “Today” recently has been closing the gap with “Good Morning America.”
Bell came forward several weeks ago to say that removing Curry was his decision. At the time, many viewers seemed to believe that Lauer was involved.
Wallace, top deputy to NBC News president Steve Capus and a former “NBC Nightly News” executive producer, only recently was picked to replace the executive producer of Brian Williams’ low-rated newsmagazine, “Rock Center.”
The change at the morning news show was first reported by The New York Times.
“Open Heart” Wins Grand Prize At Arclight Documentary Film Fest
LOS ANGELES–At a reception Saturday evening, ArcLight Cinemas unveiled the winners of its Second Annual Documentary Film Festival, which took place the week of Monday, November 5 at the theater’s famed Hollywood location. The film “Open Heart” took home the grand prize title and award of $10,000, while four other category winners received $500 for extraordinary films ranging from a heartfelt comedy and biography of eccentric characters to films examining the current social and economic state of international affairs.
Directed and produced by Kief Davidson, “Open Heart” is the story of eight Rwandan children who leave their families behind and embark on a life-or-death journey to receive high-risk open-heart surgery in Africa’s only free-of-charge, state-of-the-art cardiac hospital, the Salam Center run by Emergency, an Italian NGO. Davidson adds the ArcLight Cinemas honor to his long list of awards, He received international fame from the award-winning feature-length documentaries, “Kassim the Dream” and “The Devil’s Miner,” and two Emmy nominations for his editing work with National Geographic and earned the International Monitor Award for Best Editing on the journalistic film, “What’s News?”
ArcLight founded its annual film festival in order to offer independent filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their talent among fellow film-enthusiasts. In its second year, more than 350 films from across the country were submitted, vying for the chance to participate in the Film Festival and hoping to receive the winning prize of $10,000. Finalist films were screened throughout the week before the winners were announced during ArcLight’s evening gala on Saturday, November 10. It was there, where all participants could gather to meet and socialize with industry luminaries and Festival judges, as well as celebrate the independent filmmakers.
The below category winners each received a prize of $500:
o “The Entertainers” (winner in Entertainment Category). The heartwarming comedy follows six piano players striving to win the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest. The Entertainers was directed and produced by Michael Zimmer.
o “Shelter Island” (winner in Biographic/Historic Documentaries Category). The story follows the amazing journey of Shelter Island resident and ‘outsider’ artist Harald Olson and his equally eclectic patron, Jimmy Olinkiewicz, a blue-collar gas station owner and father of an Autistic child, as they sell paintings alongside a picket fence to a major showing at a Chelsea art gallery in Manhattan. Shelter Island was directed by Michael Canzoniero.
o “La Source” (winner in Social Issues Category). Director Patrick Shen tells the story about a humble Haitian immigrant and his mission to create a source of fresh water for his village back home. The journey from Princeton to Haiti is detailed, and the continuing-but ultimately uplifting-struggle of a part of Haiti is brought to light.
o “Farming in Crisis?” (winner in Short Documentary Category). One man looks at the challenges faced in Greece caused by the economic downturn and its effects on agriculture, through the eyes of young farmers. Farming in Crisis? was directed by Haris Donias.
‘Love Boat’ producer Henry Colman dies at 89LOS ANGELES (AP) — Television producer and executive Henry Colman — whose credits include “The Love Boat,” ”Hawaii Five-O” and “Green Acres” — has died at age 89.
An announcement Sunday by the Archive of American Television says Colman died Wednesday.
Colman’s career dates to early commercial television, where he started as production coordinator on the musical show “Easy Does It.” In 1951, Colman became assistant to the director for “Kraft Television Theatre” and later worked on such series as “Robert Montgomery Presents” and “Colgate Comedy Hour.”
As a TV executive, Colman oversaw the pilot of “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” and worked on “Green Acres” and “Hawaii Five-O.”
In the 1970s, he helped develop “The Love Boat,” where he worked as line producer. Colman also produced the 1980s series “Hotel.”
Judy’s Garland’s Oz dress fetches $480K in auction
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The now-faded blue gingham dress Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” has sold for $480,000.
Auction house Julien’s Auctions says the pinafore fetched the highest price of any item during a two-day auction of Hollywood memorabilia that attracted bids from around the world. The auction ended Saturday in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Steve McQueen’s racing jacket sold for $50,000, as did a purple skirt worn by Marilyn Monroe while filming “River of No Return” in Canada. Julie Andrews’ “Sound of Music dress” brought $38,400.
Sunglasses worn by Jean Reno in “Leon” went for $8,320, while Johnny Depp’s shades fetched $3,250.
Bidders also snapped up pieces of royal wedding cakes. Prince William and Kate Middleton’s cake sold for $7,500 while Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s cake sold for $1,375.
Condom conundrum: Porn industry ponders latex lawBy John Rogers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The show must go on, is the entertainer’s credo, and it did just that in the nation’s Porn Capital even after Los Angeles County voted to require performers to use condoms when filming sex scenes.
One of the industry’s biggest stars, James Deen, reported for work, condom-free as usual, just hours after voters adopted the new law.
During a break in the action Thursday, however, Deen raised the same questions on the mind of everyone in LA’s billion-dollar-plus porn industry: Can a planned court challenge get the new law tossed out before it is even implemented? Or, perhaps this time next year, will he be making films like “Atomic Vixens” and “Asian Fever Sex Objects” in some place like Las Vegas or Florida?
The law, listed on the ballot as Measure B, was passed by 56 percent of voters Tuesday. It won’t take effect until election results are certified, which likely will be several more days. It could take months longer before county health officials decide how to enforce it and whether they must begin dispatching prophylactic police officers to keep a close eye on actors.
The Department of Public Health issued a terse statement with no timetable for developing an enforcement plan. There was no hint of whether there would be surprise inspections or if public employees would be paid to watch porn flicks to see if actors were complying.
The nation’s adult entertainment industry, which is believed to generate as much as $7 billion a year in revenue, according to the trade publication Adult Video News, vigorously opposed the new law. It argued it is unneeded because of safeguards that include monthly venereal disease checks for all working actors.
They also maintained it would be costly and difficult to enforce and could drive the business out of Los Angeles’ sprawling San Fernando Valley, taking with it as many as 10,000 jobs, including actors, directors, film editors and crafts and makeup people.
The main problem, they say, is that fans don’t want to see actors using condoms.
“The last time we attempted to go all condom, our industry lost sales by over 30 percent,” said Deen. “That’s a huge hit to our economy.”
Deen, who has appeared in more than 1,000 hardcore films over the past nine years and estimates he’s been in about 4,000 sex scenes, said he’s never been infected with any disease and he gets tested every two weeks.
“I love condoms, I think they’re great and the safest thing you can do in engaging in sexual intercourse with a stranger,” he said, adding he uses them in his personal life but not onscreen.
Industry officials, meanwhile, say the last reported case of HIV linked directly to work was in 2004. Since then, they add, about 300,000 films have been made.
Michael Weinstein, the nonprofit AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s founder and president, disputes those figures, saying there have been other, more recent HIV infections, not to mention numerous cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Weinstein, whose group led a petition campaign to place the measure on the ballot, says he plans to take his campaign statewide.
In the meantime, he says implementing and enforcing the new law should be easy.
“This is no different than supervising restaurants or nail salons or barbershops,” Weinstein said. “You fill out forms, you are granted a permit and, periodically, somebody goes out and does spot inspections.”
Easy to implement or not, porn producers say the cost of paying for permits will likely be steep and the drop-off in sales could bankrupt them.
“Certainly this is the biggest threat that I’ve seen to the industry in a very, very long time,” said Steven Hirsch, chief executive of Vivid Entertainment Group, one of the largest purveyors of porn films, including celebrity sex tapes and popular X-rated parodies of “Batman” and “Superman” films. “There have been obscenity prosecutions, but this is something on a whole different level.”
Hirsch, who co-founded Vivid 28 years ago, said he is confident the industry will get the law overturned on the grounds it violates filmmakers’ First Amendment rights of free expression.
If it isn’t overturned, he said his company will simply move production out of Los Angeles County to survive.
Several people who attended an emergency meeting of the industry’s advocacy group, the Free Speech Coalition, last week, said porn producers have already been in touch with officials in Las Vegas and parts of Florida. In some instances, they said, tax incentives have been offered to lure them.
Through a quirk in county law, the industry might even be able to pack up and move just a few miles down the freeway to Pasadena or Long Beach.
Those municipalities, although located in Los Angeles County, have their own health departments, and Pasadena said earlier this week it won’t enforce the new law.
That would be just fine for many actors and directors, who say they don’t really want to leave their home base.
“People forget that porn people are people too,” said Kylie Ireland, a veteran actress and director who has appeared in such films as “Being Porn Again” and “Calipornication.”
“They forget that we have families and we are married and we have kids and we have lives and jobs and hobbies just like everybody else.”
Cinesite ventures into TV production; Secures first TV programming deal with Discovery NetworksLONDON–Cinesite said that it has completed its first venture into TV production by co-producing and selling its very first TV series, “Rod and Rucksack,” to Discovery Networks across its EMEA markets.
The five x 60-minute travel and adventure series charts the journey of seasoned fisherman, Guy Elson, as he takes the trip of a lifetime to some of the world’s most remote and beautiful places in the name of extreme fishing. Elson’s travels take him to Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Mongolia and Panama to find the very best in wildlife, people, culture and fishing. The co-production with gassProductions was filmed in HD at the end of 2011.
Cinesite is currently working on World War Z (Paramount Pictures) and Jack Ryan (Paramount Pictures). They’ve recently completed work on Skyfall (Sony Pictures), John Carter (Disney), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Disney/Bruckheimer), X-Men: First Class (Twentieth Century Fox) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Warner Bros).
