The Martin Agency won the agency’s first-ever Emmy Award, for the “Clouds Over Cuba” project on behalf of the JFK Presidential Library and Museum. The 34th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards ceremony was held in Manhattan on October 1 by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
The Emmy was awarded to Martin and its partner on the “Cuba” project, Tool of North America, in the category of New Approaches: Documentaries. Other finalists in the category included CNN, The New York Times and UNC Chapel Hill.
“To be on the same stage as some of the most courageous and talented journalists in the world is absolutely humbling,” said Joe Alexander, chief creative officer at The Martin Agency. “JFK really believed in the power of innovation. So, this project continues our mission to extend and preserve JFK’s legacy through technology, especially the convergence of digital, mobile and film. The lessons we learned on ‘Clouds Over Cuba’ will pay dividends for our clients and our agency for years to come.”
The JFK Presidential Library & Museum has brought history to life in new ways, inspiring a new generation of followers through a handful of interactive exhibits. From inviting people around the world to join in redelivering Kennedy’s inaugural speech, to recreating the landing on the moon 40 years later in real-time and developing a site powered by Twitter that allowed the world to pay tribute to American icon Neil Armstrong, The Martin Agency and The JFK Library have a history of producing award-winning exhibits together for the past 19 years. The latest project, Clouds Over Cuba, allows the world to rediscover the Cuban Missile Crisis through an interactive documentary as well as four “What If” scenarios, depicting how modern day would be different if Kennedy had taken America to war with Russia.
This Emmy Award joins a library of distinguished achievements for “Clouds Over Cuba” in 2013, including recognition from D&AD, The One Show, The CLIO Awards, Art Directors Club, Webby Awards and 11 Lions from the Cannes Film Festival.
Bill Condon, Jennifer Lopez Unveil “Kiss of the Spider Woman” At Sundance
A lavish, MGM-style musical is not typical Sundance Film Festival fare. But Sunday night Bill Condon brought such a creation—well, part of one—to Park City, Utah, with his adaptation of "Kiss of the Spider Woman," starring Jennifer Lopez.
Audiences broke out in spontaneous applause during the screening for Lopez's song and dance numbers. She plays an old Hollywood screen siren in a movie-within-the movie. The packed Eccles Theater also gave Lopez, wearing a glittery spiderweb themed frock, a standing ovation after the show.
"I've been waiting for this moment my whole life," Lopez said.
The story, which revolves around the conversations between two cellmates in an Argentine prison, was first a novel by Manuel Puig in 1976 and has been adapted for stage and screen over the years. A 1985 film adaptation starred William Hurt and Raul Julia. Hurt won an Oscar for his performance. On Broadway, it won multiple Tony Awards.
Condon wrote and directed this new version, which is seeking a distributor. Diego Luna plays an imprisoned revolutionary Valentin Arregui, whose new cellmate Luis Molina (Tonatiuh) loves movies, celebrity and glamour and enthusiastically recounts the story of a favorite movie musical, called "Kiss of the Spider Woman" to Valentin, giving them and the audience a break from their bleak reality.
While the film has memorable moments of escapist spectacle, it also delves into serious topics of gender identity. Molina tells Valentin that they don't feel like a man or a woman—which Valentin finds odd at first but grows to understand.
Before the screening, Condon said that one of the things the movie is about is "the attempt to bridge the incredible differences that separate us so often." He quoted President... Read More