Cinematographer Mattias Montero, FSF, production designer Laura Fox and stylist Kimberly Willess have signed with The Gersh Agency for exclusive representation….Dattner Dispoto and Associates (DDA) has signed cinematographer Mikolaj Lebkowski, whose credits include 11 Minutes directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, and editor Brad McLaughlin, who cut director Debra Eisenstadt’s Before The Sun Explodes….DDA has also booked the feature films The Italy Project (director Jeff Baena) for DP Quyen Tran, Beirut for production designer Arad Sawat, and San Bernadino Bound (director Chester Tam) for producer Rick Bosner. On the TV front, DDA has booked Sherlock, Season 4 (BBC/PBS) and Travelers (Netflix) for DP Neville Kidd, The Man in the High Castle, Season 2 (Amazon) for DP Jim Hawkinson, the Shots Fired pilot (Fox) for Tami Reiker, ASC, the Making History pilot (Fox) for DP Xavier Grobet, ASC, Gaffigan, Season 2 (TV Land) for DP Niels Alpert, the Drew pilot (CBS) for DP Stefan Czapsky, ASC, the Transylvania pilot (CW) for DP Bob Gantz, ASC, the Channel Zero series (Syfy) for DP Noah Greenberg, the Chad pilot (Fox) for production designer Tad Dennis, and Fear The Walking Dead, Season 2 (AMC) for editor Tad Dennis….Maria V. Elgar of Hardtribe Creative Representation in Hollywood, has taken on overall repping for Second Sense Creative, an L.A.-based house that writes, produces, and creates audio advertising and promotional spots for radio and digital platforms, as well as native advertising, long form digital podcasts and other branded content. Co-founded by creative directors Eric Poole and Jason Nutile, Second Sense has clients that include FOX Broadcasting Co., Nature Box and Wix.com….Cooke Optics’ ZGC, the American distributor for the multi-award winning manufacturer of precision lenses for film and television, has appointed Rich Eilers as its director of sales….
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Tops Weekend Box Office
In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" sped past the Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an "A" on CinemaScore), "Sonic 3" is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.
It was telling of some wider trends that "Sonic 3" — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney's top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous "Sonic" movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth "Sonic" movie is already in development.
"Mufasa," however, was humbled in its opening weekend, with its $35 million in domestic ticket sales coming in notably shy of expectations . The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel even opened wider than "Sonic 3," launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for "Sonic 3."
Though "Mufasa's" reviews were poor (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.
"Sonic 3" nearly doubled the haul for "Mufasa," which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third "Sonic" will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.
In director Jeff... Read More