Changes At The Helm
Giraldi Gets Honey Of An Honor; Signings at MRB, Prodigy, Annex
Director Bob Giraldi, a commercialmaking veteran, has seen his short film Honey Trap become a Remi Award winner for creative excellence at the 39th annual Worldfest-Houston. In addition to receiving the Remi Award, Giraldi will be honored by having the film screened at the festival itself, which runs from April 21-30. Honey Trap is what director/writer Giraldi described as a “cold, dark story of sex, betrayal and murder.” The short, which stars Debbie Harry, Abbey Fox and Ewan Ross, was produced through 149 Wooster, a New York shop Giraldi formed with Patti Greaney and Carol Case, to develop and produce films. Case and Adam Cohen executive produced Honey Trap, with Greaney, Bryan Littman and Emily Plunkett serving as producers. The short was shot by DP Jonathan Sela using the Grass Valley Viper Filmstream digital cinematography camera…..MRB Productions, Beverly Hills, has added director Michael Wang. He joins a directorial roster that includes Mark Teitelman, Rico Labbe, Jeremy Haft, Brian O’Connell and Gary Califano. Wang’s previous production house affiliations include V12, Santa Monica, Trio Films, Venice, Calif., and now defunct Cognito Films. At the latter, he directed Bud Light’s “Centerfold” for Dieste & Partners, Dallas; the spot was short-listed at the 2001 Cannes International Advertising Festival…..Director Michael Gracey has joined Prodigy, a production company with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. His reel contains a mix of animation and live-action for such ad clients as Mitsubishi, McDonald’s and Cadbury. Gracey’s music video work includes clips for the Wil Young and the band Sugarbabes . He has also directed live shows at London’s Wembley arena. Prodigy is headed by owner/exec producer Jonathan Samway…..Director Miles Goodall of Suburban Films, Cape Town, South Africa, has linked with Annex Films, London, for representation in the U.K. He is repped stateside via The A List, New York. Earlier this year, the Goodall-directed “Village/Old Man” for AIDS Awareness via TBWA, Paris, won a Gold World Medal at the New York Festivals…..
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