Keslow Camera, billed as being the largest privately held motion picture camera equipment rental house in North America, announced that it is acquiring Clairmont Camera and its Vancouver and Toronto operations. The move will more than quadruple Keslow Camera’s anamorphic and vintage lens inventory, and add a substantial range of custom camera equipment to the company’s extensive portfolio. Simultaneously, Clairmont founder Denny Clairmont, one of the industry’s most respected talents in front and behind the camera, announced his retirement. The acquisition is expected to be complete on or before August 4.
Company founder and CEO Robert Keslow said, “This acquisition perfectly aligns with Keslow Camera’s mission–to never stop growing, never stop learning, and never stop improving. The expansion into the two busiest Canadian markets delivers on our clients’ ongoing requests for us to service them in more areas of the world.”
Keslow Camera will retain the talented support staff and experienced team of Clairmont’s Vancouver and Toronto facilities, who have been offering professional digital and film cameras, lenses and accessories to the filmmaking community in the region since the 1980s. All operations within California will eventually be consolidated to Keslow Camera’s headquarters in Culver City.
Clairmont noted that this deal also carries his endorsement. “Clairmont Camera is my life’s work and I never stopped searching for innovative ways to serve our clients. I have long respected Robert Keslow and the team at Keslow Camera for their integrity, quality of management, best-in-class customer service, and successful performance. I am confident they are the right company to honor my heritage and founding vision going forward,” said Clairmont.
Denny Clairmont, along with his brother, Terry, established one of the world’s most prestigious movie equipment and camera rental companies in 1976. In 2011, Clairmont received the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), awarded by the Academy Board of Governors upon the recommendation of the Scientific and Technical Awards Committee. The Medal honors outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy. Clairmont and Ken Robings won a Technical Achievement Award from the Society of Camera Operators (SOC) for the lens perspective system, and Clairmont has won two Emmys from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his role in the development of special lens systems. These innovative solutions will immediately be available to Keslow Camera customers.
“We are honored to have earned Denny Clairmont’s trust, and recognize the work and innovation that he and his great team have brought to the industry over the past 70 years,” added Keslow’s COO Dennis McDonald. “To be able to offer our personalized level of service in more locations, with a wider range of technology to serve the needs of the creative community, we’re poised to elevate the Keslow experience for current and new customers.”
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More