Commercial production veteran Jeff Scruton, known best for his 17-year tenure at MJZ, has joined Motion Theory as president and executive producer. He comes aboard the company as it moves into a new 7,000 square foot facility in L.A. and has rebranded itself as MTh.
Scruton had served as sr. executive producer at MJZ, starting when that shop’s roster consisted of but four directors. Over the years, he helped shape the production house by supporting its filmmaking talent and overseeing hundreds of high profile productions that have garnered recognition from the Cannes Lions, the DGA Awards, the AICP Show and D&AD, among other competitions.
Scruton said he was drawn to MTh by “the multifaceted approach [co-founders] Javier Jimenez and Mathew Cullen have taken to support their clients and directors,” the company’s success in becoming “an active creative partner with its clients,” helping to “incubate early ideas into new advertising territories,” and the studio’s roster of talent.
MTh’s directorial lineup includes Cullen, Grady Hall, Mark Kudsi, Jesus de Francisco, Chris Riehl, Synn Labs, Christopher Leone and the recently signed Guillermo del Toro and Mårlind & Stein.
Jimenez referred to Scruton as “an industry icon” and “our first choice for helping to evolve the company and roster…Everyone in the company stands to benefit greatly from his experience, leadership and incredible reach into the advertising world.”
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