As SHOOT went to press, New York-headquartered, publicly held Paradise Music & Entertainment announced that its bicoastal Shelter Films subsidiary has ceased all operations. The Paradise release read that discussions are underway with Shelter Films’ president Steve Shore to resolve outstanding issues in his employment agreement. According to Paradise, contributing to the decision to shut down Shelter was the weakness of the advertising market compounded by the effects of recent events on that market. As reported in this week’s lead story, Paradise’s other commercial production house, Straw Dogs, has also closed, with former Straw Dogs’ president Craig Rodgers filing a demand for arbitration that alleges improprieties on the part of Paradise….Ron Ames and Rob Le-gato have come aboard Santa Monica-based Steam as creative directors. Both are available to direct via Steam. Ames was most recently represented as a spot helmer via now defunct Crash Films. Legato is a noted visual effects supervisor spanning features and TV….Animation director Chris Prynoski has joined Hollywood-based Class-Key Chew-Po Commercials, a division of animation studio Klasky Csupo. He is perhaps best known as the creator and executive producer of the cable TV series MTV Downtown…. Lance Paull and David Corr have been named co-presidents/ executive creative directors of Publicis, New York. Paul last served as creative director/partner at Berlin Cameron & Partners, New York, and Corr was a group creative director at TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York…..John Lovelace has joined New York-headquartered design shop So! Animation as partner/executive producer/director of new business development….Sarah Mahoney has been named executive producer of West Los Angeles-based visual effects house Zero Mass, a newly formed division of edit house TNT Media Services. Mahoney and visual effects supervisor Mark Kolpack head Zero Mass….Greg Stacy has joined Belief, a Santa Monica-based broadcast design and production studio, as its executive producer. He formerly served as senior producer for the weekly TV series Hot Rod Magazine TV, which airs on the Speedvision Network. Belief is headed by president/founder/executive creative director Mike Goedecke. Managing director/partner Steve Kazanjian recently exited Belief to pursue other, more interactive-centric opportunities….
Stars Among Those Who Lost Their Homes In L.A. Area Fires; Jamie Lee Curtis Pledges $1M To Relief Effort
Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Jeff Bridges, and R&B star Jhené Aiko, and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week's Oscar nominations have been delayed. And tens of thousands of Angelenos are displaced and awaiting word Thursday on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city's most famous denizens. Thousands of structures have been destroyed but damage assessments are just beginning. More than 180,000 people are also under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, a number that continues to shift as new fires erupt. Late Wednesday, a fire in the Hollywood Hills was scorching the hills near the famed Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre, which is the home of the Academy Awards. That fire had been largely contained without damage to Hollywood landmarks. Here are how the fires are impacting celebrities and the Los Angeles entertainment industry: Stars whose homes have burned in the fires Celebrities like Crystal and his wife, Janice, were sharing memories of the homes they lost. The Crystals lost the home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that they lived in for 45 years. "Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can't be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this," the Crystals wrote in the statement. After her learning her Pacific Palisades home was lost in the fires, Melissa Rivers says she was... Read More