Roster of reconfigured AICP Awards Committee also set
Chris Franklin, owner/editor at Big Sky Edit, will serve as the chairperson of the 2020 AICP Post Awards. Franklin’s appointment marks the first time the association’s annual competition for excellence in the postproduction arts will adopt a chairperson structure for its judging panels and curatorial committee.
Also announced was the full roster of members who’ll comprise the Awards Committee for the full suite of AICP Awards, including the AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial and the AICP Next Awards. The Committee is tasked with promoting entries and marketing the events. Additionally, the Committee helps select judges and facilitate the process for the AICP Show and AICP Post Awards. For the AICP Next Awards, the category jury presidents select their judges.
Entries to the AICP Post Awards are now being accepted; entry information can be found here. Deadline for entries is Friday, February 14. The winners will be presented at a gala awards show and celebration set for Wednesday, May 6, at CNVS in New York.
Franklin serves as co-chair of the AICP Awards Committee along with Ali Brown, partner/executive producer at PRETTYBIRD and chairperson of the 2020 AICP Show. He’ll also lead the selection of companies providing editorial, graphics and music for the AICP Post Awards, will participate in the selection of this year’s inductee into the AICP Post Hall of Fame and will lead the deliberations of the AICP Post Awards Curatorial Committee.
Franklin is among the most honored editors in the history of the AICP Post Awards and its predecessor competition, the AICE Awards. Since founding Big Sky Edit in New York in 1992, commercials he’s edited for such brands as American Express, Nationwide, Disney, Nespresso, Ragu and many others have been honored by some of the industry’s most prestigious competitions, including the AICP Show.
With a well-deserved reputation for giving back to the industry, Franklin is a familiar presence. He’s currently VP of the AICP East Board, was a longtime member of the AICE International Board, has served on the AICP Post Awards Committee and has led AICP’s Camp Kuleshov competition for juniors and assistants for many years.
“I’m honored to have been asked to serve as this year’s AICP Post Awards chairperson,” said Franklin. “As the Post Awards becomes more integrated with the AICP Show and the Next Awards, establishing the role of a competition chair is an important step. I’m looking forward to working with Ali Brown as we ensure we’ve got top people judging across all disciplines and that we continue to uphold the high standards for craft and creative excellence of AICP.”
Matt Miller, president and CEO of AICP, said the decision to adopt a chairperson structure for the AICP Post Awards, much like the decision to open the AICP Show to international entries, is part of the ongoing effort to create a consistent format across all of the association’s awards. It also serves to elevate the entire awards process regarding the Post Awards and adds deeper perspective to the endeavor.
“The AICP Awards are unique in that we tap accomplished leaders from within our ranks to serve as our Show Chairs, and ask them to assume active roles in shaping the vision, scope and direction of our competitions,” Miller noted. “They’re tasked with enlisting literally hundreds of the most highly-respected individuals from a cross-section of disciplines to take on the responsibilities of structuring the parameters of our show, judging its entries and curating our lists of finalists and winners. As the Post Awards have grown, we’ve felt it was important to have that single voice guiding the judging process and sharing the jury’s decision-making with the post community, our members and other stakeholders.”
“Chris Franklin is the obvious first choice to fill this role,” Miller continued. “He’s a passionate advocate of the role postproduction plays in the creation of brand messages, and he’s someone people in our industry look to for his judgement, insight and a willingness to lead.”
The full roster of the 2020 AICP Awards Committee includes Daniel “Dickey” Abedon, Uncle Lefty; Marlene Bartos, Yessian; John Benson, ARTS & SCIENCES; Dan Blaney, BBDO; Erika Bokamper, Safeword Creative; Roe Bressan, Navigating; Tom Duff, Optimus; Carol Dunn, Human; Jim Evans, Untitled; Matt Factor, SKUNK; Becca Falborn, Sound Lounge; Gay Guthrey, SAMUEL GUTHREY; Suzanne Hargrove, PRETTYBIRD; Mary Kate Hatfield, mkh representation; Barrie Isaacson, Barrie Isaacson Management; Jonathan Jakubowicz, Ziegler Jakubowicz; Becky Jungmann, Mischief; Julian Katz, Facebook; Elizabeth Krajewski, Cutters; Charlie McBrearty, Shortlist; Ashley McKim, Company 3; Mara Milicevic, Emerald Pictures; Molly Mitchell, Big Sky Edit; Steven Monkarsh, In House Reps; Cally Morton, Anonymous; Ramon Nuñez, THE COMMUNITY; Diane Patrone, The Family; Halle Petro, Sonic Union; Gloria Pitagorsky, Heard City; Kamila Prokop, DIVISION7; Dexter Randazzo, The Dept. Of Sales; Jill Reehl, GET REEHL GET DAVIS; Irma Rodriguez, In House Reps; Sarah Roebuck, Final Cut; Denise Blate Roederer, Rhoda; Michelle Ross, Superprime; Adina Sales, Psyop/Blacklist; Rowley Samuel, SAMUEL GUTHREY; Jennifer Siegel, Framestore; Sila Soyer, ARCADE; Elexis Stern, MPC; Dee Taggert, Carousel; and Zamile Vilakazi.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More