Director Gary Shore has signed with production company Knucklehead for U.S. representation. The move gives him continuity on both sides of the Atlantic as he continues to be handled by Knucklehead in the U.K. where he made his first major industry mark, earning inclusion into the 2011 Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase for a “Cup of Tears” film trailer.
Formerly repped in the American ad market by Anonymous Content, Shore comes aboard Knucklehead in the U.S. shortly after it launched an office in Los Angeles under the aegis of executive producer Cathleen Kisich.
Dublin-born Shore has carved out a career as a high-end commercials director for major brands such as Samsung, Gatorade, Adidas, Guinness, EDF and UGG. In 2014, he made his feature debut with Dracula Untold, an epic retelling of the origin story of Dracula. The first movie of Shore’s three-picture deal with Universal was a box office success, grossing over $215 million globally and reaching the number one spot for DVD/Blu-Ray sales in the U.S. upon its release.
Shore’s graphic visual style stems in part from his talent as an illustrator. He approaches projects as both director and craftsman, creating his own matte paintings, storyboards and concept design. In 2014, Shore brought this singular artistry to helm three :60 spots for the best-selling Game of War: Fire Age, featuring supermodel Kate Upton.
Knucklehead was established in 2005 by EPs/managing partners Tim Katz and Matthew Brown. Speaking on behalf of himself and Katz, Brown said, “Gary’s reel shows his brilliance for creating feature film-level visuals within the commercial space. We’re extremely excited he has decided to join us in America, as we’ve already had so much success together in the U.K.”
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