By Theresa Piti
SHORT CUTS
So! Animation, New York, produced a :30 for Babybel and Alcone Marketing, Darien, Conn., showcasing the cheese’s new animated mascots. "2 Fresh World Tour" Co-directed by So! Partners Lauri Salladay and Rob Cazin, the ad shows the mascots-two individually wrapped Babybel cheese discs with arms, legs and facial features-singing a hip-hop tune and performing in concert. The commercial also features a skycam fly-in on the stage over an animated audience, jumbotron screens behind the stage which broadcast live-action footage of parents and their children enjoying Babybel, and the characters’ reflections along the stage’s surface as they sing and move across it. Softimage XSI was used to create the 3-D characters, environment and light show.
Bruce Ashley of New York-headquartered 89 Editorial cut a series of PSAs for Population Services International (PSI)/Artists Against AIDS. Directed by Earle Sebastian, the spots features such recording artists as Justin Timberlake (*NSYNC), Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys, Shaggy, Nelly, Eve, Shabba Ranks and Jermaine Dupri promoting abstinence, HIV testing and condom use. The PSAs will be used to influence the behavior of young people vulnerable to the AIDS virus in PSI AIDS prevention programs in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the United States.
Blur Studio, Venice, Calif., produced a 3-D computer-animated simulator ride film based on the DC Comics character, Batman. The Batman Simulator Ride Film will debut at Six Flags’ new theme park in Madrid, Spain, "Warner Bros. Movie World." It will also appear in the Warner Bros. "Movie World" Australia theme park. Credits for Blur include creative director Tim Miller; visual effects supervisor Aaron Powell; lead animator Richard Bluff; visual effects producer Sherry Wallace; animators Neil Blevins, Jeremy Cook, Brandon Davis, Tom Dillon, Jon Jordan, Asier Lavina, Noel McGinn, Kirby Miller, Tim Wallace, Jeff Weisend and Bill Zahn; motion capturer John Bunt; and concept artist Chuck Wojtkiewicz.
MUSIC NOTES
Chicago-based Rhythm Cafe has been keeping busy with numerous projects. Recently signed composer/producer Frayne Lewis worked on a package of soulful commercials for Verizon Wireless via Burrell Communications, Chicago. Lewis, along with Brando Triantafillou, also produced music for an adidas campaign introducing the SLII shoe. "Privileged" features an Indian-inspired hip-hop track, while "It’s Coming" showcases a skate-punk track with vocals. Those spots were also created by Burrell. Steve Zoloto composed a haunting brass chorale for a VFW public service announcement entitled "Every War Has An End." The spots, created by The Royal Order, are airing on network television and in theatres. Zoloto also wrote a ’70s cop-show inspired instrumental track for Sunkist’s "Battle of the Supermodels/Rev." The :30, via FCB Chicago, features supermodels duking it out over a bottle of the beverage. And Lewis and Triantafillou again teamed up to compose an unplugged rhythm and blues track for Tide Clean Breeze’s "Spring," for Burrell.
Roger Wojahn and Scott Wojahn of Santa Monica-based Wojahn Bros Music composed the music for 7-Up’s "Calendar," a :30 out of Young & Rubicam, New York. Directed by Joe Public of bicoastal Headquarters, the ad shows the 7-Up spokesman taking photos of the beverage’s out-of-shape truck drivers for a promotional calendar. Dara Norris produced for Wojahn Bros Music.
Alec Baldwin Urges Judge To Stand By Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Case In “Rust” Shooting
Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Friday to stand by her decision to skuttle his trial and dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin halfway through a trial in July based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be revived once any appeals of the decision are exhausted.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently asked the judge to reconsider, arguing that there were insufficient facts and that Baldwin's due process rights had not been violated.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
The case-ending evidence was ammunition that was brought into the sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers alleged that they "buried" it and filed a successful motion to dismiss the case.
In her decision to dismiss the Baldwin case, Marlowe Sommer described "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct" by law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as false testimony about physical evidence by a witness during the trial.
Defense counsel says that prosecutors tried to establish a link... Read More