Bicoastal/international RSA Films has signed feature filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow for worldwide spot representation. Her latest film, The Hurt Locker, is in theaters now after earning a SIGNIS Grand Prize when it debuted at the Venice Film Festival last year. The Hurt Locker, which has garnered critical acclaim, tells the story of military bomb specialists stationed in Iraq.
While accomplished in features with a filmography that includes action pic Point Break, sci-fi thriller Strange Days, cold war drama K-19: The Widowmaker and the cult vampire movie Near Dark, Bigelow is hardly a stranger to commercials and branded content, having helmed projects for such clients as Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Hummer, Mazda, Rexona and Pirelli.
For the latter a couple of years ago, Bigelow directed Mission Zero, a short film conceived by Leo Burnett in Milan, and produced by Bigelow’s former commercials roost, Santa Monica-based Independent Media. A wild ride action/adventure shown on Pirelli’s website, Mission Zero starred Uma Thurman and was shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (who himself is now repped as a commercials director via Independent Media).
Prior to Independent Media, Bigelow had spotmaking affiliations with such houses as Crossroads and @radical.media.
For her feature filmmaking, Bigelow has received assorted honors on the festival circuit, including from the Seattle International and San Sebastian fests, the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film, and AFI Dallas. Strange Days earned her a Saturn Award for best direction from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. She recently earned the Columbia University Andrew Sarris Award for alumni achievement. And earlier this year the ShoWest Triumph Award for Outstanding Direction was bestowed upon Bigelow based on her career body of work.
Jules Daly, president of RSA Films, described Bigelow as being “one of the most innovative filmmakers today, and we look forward to partnering with her to expand upon her extensive body of work.”
Director Tony Scott said that he and RSA partner, director Ridley Scott, “have been fans of Kathryn for a long time and we simply could not be more ecstatic to welcome someone of her caliber aboard.”
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