At press time (3/21), the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) had stopped accepting applications for new H-1B visas this current fiscal year. That’s because the INS reached the annual allotment of 115,000 such visas. The allocation was supposed to last a full year, from October 1999 through this September. Two years ago, the allocation was raised from 65,000 to 115,000 H-1Bs to help U.S. high-technology firms—including visual effects and CG houses—cope with a shortage of qualified American workers. Talk has begun on Capitol Hill regarding drafting new legislation that would further increase the number of available high-tech visas….Bicoastal Cylo, with an office in London, has signed director Mark Valentine….Curious Pictures, bicoastal, inked a deal to represent Stockholm-based animation studio Filmtecknarna F. Animation (directors Jonas Odell and Jonas Dahlbeck) in North America….Colin Brown has been named CEO of Cinesite, worldwide, and COO of its European subsidiary, Cinesite (Europe) Limited, based in London. He has headed Cinesite (Europe) since it was founded in ’94. Additionally, Ruth Scovil, who was formerly in corporate strategic planning at DreamWorks, has become president and COO of the U.S. subsidiary, Cinesite Inc., based in Hollywood. Cinesite is the digital motion imaging division of the Eastman Kodak Company….Robin Shenfield has been appointed CEO of London-headquartered The Mill Group, which encompasses post/effects facility The Mill, effects shop Mill Film and Mill Motion Control. Shenfield was one of the original founders of The Mill….
Alec Baldwin Urges Judge To Stand By Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Case In “Rust” Shooting
Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Friday to stand by her decision to skuttle his trial and dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin halfway through a trial in July based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be revived once any appeals of the decision are exhausted.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently asked the judge to reconsider, arguing that there were insufficient facts and that Baldwin's due process rights had not been violated.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer โ but not the trigger โ and the revolver fired.
The case-ending evidence was ammunition that was brought into the sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers alleged that they "buried" it and filed a successful motion to dismiss the case.
In her decision to dismiss the Baldwin case, Marlowe Sommer described "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct" by law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as false testimony about physical evidence by a witness during the trial.
Defense counsel says that prosecutors tried to establish a link... Read More