Top ten entries include three installments of The Road To Oscar Series of features, a pair of stories on BofA's mishandling of the COVID relief Paycheck Protection Program, and announcement of DGA nominees for Best Commercial Director of the Year
By A SHOOT Staff Report
The top ten SHOOT stories that generated the most engagement (clicks to view) in 2020 included: three installments of The Road To Oscar Series spanning a DP, editor, two production designers, and assorted directors; two articles chronicling Bank of America’s mishandling of the Paycheck Protection Program designed to provide COVID relief to small businesses; a rundown of the DGA Award nominees for Best Commercial Director of the Year; and developments at such shops as Industrial Light & Magic and Tool of North America.
Topping the click tally for SHOOT in 2020 were the two stories involving Bank of America. The most viewed story reported on BofA operating the program more equitably after customer pushback. The second most watched story reported on BofA’s restrictive initial mishandling of the program which prompted that pushback.
Third in our SHOOT countdown was an installment of our The Road To Oscar Series, this one delving into the work of cinematographer Ed Lachman, ASC and editor Affonso Goncalves on director Todd Hayne’s Dark Waters.
The fourth most click-worthy story of 2020 was a look at RadicalMedia’s deft handling of production and post during the pandemic, translating into a slate of content ranging from commercials and branded content to TV, documentary and feature film fare.
Finishing fifth in the year’s rundown of most viewed stories was coverage of historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s diversification into TV producing with the docuseries Washington.
Coming in as the sixth most clicked story was another The Road To Oscar Series installment, this one focused on production designers Mark Bridges and Ra Vincent who discuss their work, respectively, on Joker and Jojo Rabbit.
Next in our rundown was coverage of the DGA Award nominees for best commercial director of 2019: Ridley Scott, Fredrik Bond, Spike Jonze, Mark Molloy, and Dougal Wilson.
Ending up eighth in our click count for 2020 was news that Tool of North America and Belgian creative technology studio nøcomputer entered into a partnership to form Tool Belgium, a technology-focused European operation.
Next up was Industrial Light & Magic’s move to expand its virtual production and StageCraft LED volume services worldwide. In tandem with this growth was the development of an ILM global trainee program geared for underrepresented VFX talent, the goal being to increase diversity in the industry.
And rounding out our top ten countdown was a third installment of The Road To Oscar Series, this one on the discrepancy between the Best Director Oscar and DGA Award nominees lineups. The awards season norm has seen the nearly annual emergence of at least one difference between the Best Director Oscar and DGA Award nominees lineups. In only five of the 72 years of the DGA Awards have the Guild nominations exactly mirrored their Academy Award counterparts. This time around directors Todd Phillips and Taika Waititi were in line with that history. Phillips earned his first career Best Director Oscar nod for Joker but was not among DGA Award nominees. Waititi, who didn’t make the Oscar cut, earned a DGA Award nomination for Jojo Rabbit. Four of the five directors vying for the DGA Award and the Outstanding Achievement in Directing Oscar were in sync this year: Bong Joon Ho for Parasite; Sam Mendes for 1917; Martin Scorsese for The Irishman; and Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.
Here’s a countdown of SHOOT’s most engaging stories of 2020 (click headline to view):
3. DP Ed Lachman, Editor Affonso Goncalves Navigate Director Todd Haynes’ “Dark Waters”
4. RadicalMedia’s Frank Scherma Discusses Production During The Pandemic, Adapting, Prioritizing
5. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin Turns TV Producer With Docuseries “Washington”
6. Designers With Oscar Pedigree Delve Into “Joker,” “Jojo Rabbit”
7. DGA Award Spot Nominees: Ridley Scott, Fredrik Bond, Spike Jonze, Mark Molloy, Dougal Wilson
8. Tool of North America, Creative Tech Studio nøcomputer Launch Tool Belgium
10. The Nearly Annual DGA Award, Best Director Oscar Discrepancy Continues
11. Series Creator Winsberg Cites Dad’s Illness As Inspiring “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”
12. Framestore taps Christian Nielsen to lead CG in L.A.
14. Framestore, Director Nisha Ganatra, AMV BBDO Top Quarterly VFX/Animation Chart With “#wombstories”
15. Making History With “The Irishman,” “Joker,” “Ford v Ferrari”
17. AICP Releases COVID-19 Workplace Guidelines For Production & Post Companies
18. “Cosmos” Continues Carl Sagan’s Legacy At A Pivotal Moment In History
19. “1917,” “Patrick Melrose,” “Honeyland” Among Nominees For IMAGO Cinematography Awards
20. Noel Cottrell Named VMLY&R Kansas City’s Chief Creative Officer
21. Edie Falco Talks “Tommy,” CBS Series In Which She Portrays L.A. Police Chief
22. McCann Tops The One Show Shortlist, Followed By BBDO, Ogilvy
23. Monday Morning Quarterbacking: Super Bowl Ad Feedback
24. Rosario Dawson Discusses USA Network Series “Briarpatch,” Industry Inclusion
25. Animated Short Oscar Nominee Cherry Reflects On Kobe’s Influence
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More