BeachHouse Films, the Santa Monica shop headed by executive producers Patti and David Coulter, has signed director Tony Garcia for U.S. representation in spots and webisodes. At press time, Garcia was about to embark on a client-direct webisode package for EA Games produced via Triton Films, Vancouver, B.C., which reps Garcia primarily for music video work in Canada.
Most recently on the roster at This Is TV, New York, Garcia broke into the business after graduating with a master’s degree in film from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. His first production house roost was the Latino American division of now defunct Palomar Pictures, which he joined in 2001. He landed at Palomar largely on the strength of a high-profile spec comedy reel, which featured performance/dialogue ads for Consumer Reports, Staples and Nike. The spec commercials for Staples and Consumer Reports garnered two of the three honors in the student category of the ’01 AICP Show. The Staples piece, “Gotcha,” also copped a Bronze Clio in the student category. His Nike spec spot, “Beatboxer,” garnered a Gold Student Clio in ’01.
Following Palomar’s closure, Garcia went onto Motel Films, Hollywood, before coming aboard This Is TV in ’05. He has been active in the U.S. mainstream and Hispanic markets, as well as with assorted jobs in Latin America. His U.S. Hispanic endeavors include Best Buy for la comunidad, Miami, and Texaco for Y&R, Miami. The Texaco spot, “Turn Signal,” also aired in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and went on to win a Bronze FIAP Award in Buenos Aires in ’02. Garcia’s filmography also includes commercials that have played in both mainstream U.S. and Hispanic markets via American agencies for such clients as Budweiser and Time Warner Cable. He additionally helmed a general market ad for The New York Times. And for ad agencies in Mexico, Garcia has turned out spots for Alpura, Clemente Jacques and Enerplex, among others.
Most recently Garcia has branched out into webisodes. He directed three webisodes for gambling giant Bodog.com, out of agency Riptown, Vancouver, and produced by Triton. The campaign came to Garcia as a result of his directing music videos for artists under the Bodog Music Label.
This is BeachHouse’s second recent signing, having earlier added Nir Bashan who just won a Silver Clio for his spec Honda webisode “Brand New” and was recently selected for SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase.
Supreme Court Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Meta
The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.
The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.
Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.
Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.
Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.
The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More