Park Pictures, the commercial production house founded by director Lance Acord and executive producer Jackie Kelman Bisbee, has formed a narrative feature company, Park Pictures Features, with film producers Galt Niederhoffer and Sam Bisbee. Park Pictures Features’ first project is the family comedy Robot & Frank, marking the theatrical feature directorial debut of Park Pictures’ Jake Schreier. The film’s cast includes Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Jeremy Strong and Liev Schreiber. Written by Christopher Ford, the feature is being produced by Niederhoffer, Bisbee, Kelman Bisbee and Acord and has begun shooting in New York with Matt Lloyd serving as DP.
Set in the future, Robot & Frank follows aging curmudgeon, Frank (Langella), a confused loner with a love for books. His one friend is the librarian Jennifer (Sarandon) that he regularly visits. Other than his library outings, and weekly visits from his son, Frank lives a quiet, lonely life, until his grown-up kids (Marsden, Tyler) install a caretaker robot to look after their dad and an unlikely friendship begins.
Next on the Park Pictures Features’ slate are the theatrical film directing debut of Acord and a new project from director Ringan Ledwidge. The company will also produce the adaptations of Sam Lipsyte’s best-selling novel, “The Ask,” to be directed by Steven Shainberg, and the late David Foster Wallace’s short story, “Little Expressionless Animals.”
Niederhoffer thus far has produced 21 features, eight of which have been shown in competition at the Sundance Film Festival–with seven winning awards, including Grace Is Gone which garnered the Sundance Audience Award in 2007.
Sam Bisbee’s film debut as a producer–The New Tenants directed by Park Pictures’ Joachim Back–won the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short last year. Bisbee executive produced and co-wrote the screenplay and songs for the slasher musical Don’t Go In the Woods, directed by Vincent D’onofrio (who starred in The New Tenants). Bisbee additionally has screenwriting and singer/songwriter/composer credentials.
Park Pictures plans for two movies in its first year. The company will draw on its directing talent (which includes Acord, Schreier, Niederhoffer, Ellen Kuras, Joachim Back, Gary Freedman, Steven Shainberg, 300ml and Alison Maclean) as well as local NYC directors to make films with strong visual, narrative, and commercial appeal.
Acord, partner in Park Pictures and Park Picture Features, related that the former is “a company comprised of filmmakers, so as we grow and evolve it only makes sense to develop and produce their feature projects. Being a commercial production company, we have a unique opportunity to utilize our resources within the industry to economically and efficiently make long form films. Having Galt on board has been great. Her knowledge and expertise is such an amazing asset. I have been excited to see Robot and Frank go into production. Jake and C.D. Ford have been working on this for quite some time now and I must admit it has been a bit surreal to sit on set and see the film actually take shape. Jake is a very talented guy. His confidence on set and insights into working with actors far exceeds that of a ‘first time director,’ I think his years of experience as a commercial and music video director have served him well.”
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