Locksmith Content, a content creation and production studio under the aegis of partners Benjamin Blank and Stephen McDonald, has signed Doug Walker to direct and create commercials and film. Walker joins the company as it embarks on an expansion of its talent roster and the opening of an office in San Francisco.
Previously represented by Mirror Films, Walker is an accomplished editor (with work earning such honors as a Cannes Lion along with several Clios) and continues to be active as a cutter via Beast. He successfully diversified into directing with spots for Nike, U.S. Cellular, Audi, the NCAA and adidas, among other brands.
His documentary short Rhag, about painter and experimental composer Roy Henry Alexander Gover, was chosen for the Special Screenings program at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival and helped earn him inclusion into last year’s SHOOT New Directors Showcase. His most recent documentary Lost & Found, a search for legendary surfers of the past triggered by Walker’s discovery of 30,000 black and white negatives at a swap meet, recently won best story at X-Dance 2012. The film also was shown at San Francisco’s Ocean Film Festival and will screen on April 28 at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
Walker comes aboard a Locksmith directorial roster that includes Blank, Alaistair McKevitt, Bucky Fukumoto, Kai Sehr, and Michael Sugrue.
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More