The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has moved its NewFronts event, originally scheduled for April 27-May 6, to now run during the week of June 22. The decision had already been made, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, to make NewFronts a virtual experience with participants live-streaming their pitches to the advertiser and agency community for sponsorship of programming fare.
IAB reasons that moving the NewFronts will give publishers time to be creative, fine tune their messages and do their best work. This is in line with the IAB goal for NewFronts which is to help publishers showcase their work in the best way possible, and to be a connector for the industry.
“The NewFronts have always been about realizing our collective potential, not looking through the lens of the past. In that spirit, we’re having extensive conversations with both buyers and presenters about how to leverage this year’s unique challenges to create something that’s not just ‘OK, all things considered’ but really and truly better,” said David Cohen, president, IAB. “Our goal is to create a dynamic marketplace that connects buyers and sellers in a way that allows ample time for development, a robust platform for delivery, and safety for all.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
The one rule to follow is that... Read More