DGA Award-winning director Dennie Gordon, known for her work in storytelling and comedy dialogue, has joined Über Content for U.S. commercial representation. Gordon earned the DGA honor for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical/Variety in 2000 for an episode of Tracey Takes On…, starring comedian Tracey Ullman.
Gordon’s notable sitcom credits include 30 Rock and The Office. More recently, she directed the highly anticipated Netflix comedy Grace and Frankie starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
Her diverse narrative television work spans CBS’ Madam Secretary, SyFy’s 12 Monkeys, USA Network’s Suits and Burn Notice, Sundance’s Rectify, the original Starz drama Power, DIRECTV’s Kingdom starring Joe Jonas, as well AMC’s Hell On Wheels.
Gordon first came to international attention when her script for A Hard Rain was chosen by Showtime’s Discovery Program and went on to win dramatic awards at the British Short Film Festival and the Hampton’s Film Festival. She went on to direct the features Joe Dirt, starring David Spade and Christopher Walken; the Olsen twins’ New York Minute; and What A Girl Wants starring Colin Firth and Amanda Bynes. Gordon also directed Mr. Lucky Star starring Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), a romantic comedy/action-adventure feature which was shot in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and mainland China.
Gordon's recent ad endeavors include Toyota campaigns that have developed the brand's Jan character for Saatchi & Saatchi LA. Prior to joining Über Content, Gordon was handled for commercials and branded content by production house GO. Over the years, she has helmed spots for Macy’s out of JWT NY, Chase for mcgarrybowen, NY, Electronic Arts starring Adam DeVine (Workaholics) as mayor of Sin City for Draftfcb, San Francisco, and Capital One starring Jimmy Fallon for DDB Chicago. On the branded entertainment front, Gordon directed tie-ins to 30 Rock for the Honda Fit automobile starring Jordan Friedlander in character as 30 Rock’s TGS series writer Frank Rossitano. He is willingly “kidnapped” by a couple of lovely lasses who bill themselves as network executives and ask him to plug the Fit during episodes of 30 Rock. This branded fare came out of NBC Universal’s Creative Partnerships and Innovation department.
Gordon said she was drawn to Über Content’s reputation, talent and knack for repeat business. Phyllis Koenig, owner/executive producer of Über Content, assessed that Gordon’s “intuitive instincts for casting and character building are at the top of the performance/dialogue/comedy spectrum.”
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More