Director Richard D’Alessio has joined bicoastal/international @radical.media for exclusive representation worldwide—except for Canada where he continues to be handled by Imported Artists Film Company, Toronto. D’Alessio was last repped in the U.S. by now defunct Shooting Gallery Productions….Filmmaker Mikael Salomon has come aboard bicoastal Coppos Films for exclusive representation as a spot director/DP. He was formerly handled for commercials by bicoastal Flying Tiger Films. Salomon’s longform credits as a director include episodes of the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, pilot episodes for CBS’ The Fugitive and The Agency, and such feature films as A Far Off Place and Hard Rain. Salomon first established himself as a noted cinematographer (e.g.—Far And Away, Backdraft, The Abyss)…. Director Duncan Sharp has joined Green Dot Films, Santa Monica. He had been at Life of Riley, Los Angeles….Executive producers David and Patti Coulter have launched BeachHouse Films, Santa Monica… Amy Russo is joining Santa Monica-based editorial house Terminal as a producer….Editorial house FilmCore Santa Monica has promoted postproduction supervisor Christie Price to producer….The industry is mourning the death of Charlie Willis, producer of Actual Reality, Atlanta, who succumbed to cancer….And noted agency creative Don Tennant passed away at age 79. He died last weekend (12/8) at his family’s Los Angeles home. Tennant’s credits included helping to create brand icons like Tony The Tiger, the Pillsbury Doughboy and the Marlboro Man. He is perhaps most closely associated with agency Leo Burnett, breaking into that ad shop in 1950. During his 20-year tenure at Burnett, he served in various creative capacities, culminating in his role as worldwide creative director and chairman of the creative review committee. He resigned from Burnett in 1970, first becoming COO for Chicago agency Clinton E. Frank and then in ’73 moving on to launch his own shop, Don Tennant Advertising, also in Chicago. That agency was sold in ’87, after which Tennant served as a creative advertising consultant. His survivors include three children and six grandchildren. Two of his sons are well known in the industry: director Andy Tennant, a noted feature filmmaker (e.g.—Anna And The King, Fools Rush In) who has diversified into spot directing via Hollywood-based Level 7 (SHOOT, 10/26, p. 1); and Tim Tennant, president of integrated creative services company Aspect, which has several holdings and maintains a joint venture relationship with Level 7….
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More