New York-based production, post and interactive company Humble has secured Salon (Lisa Houck) for representation on the West Coast and in Texas….Short-form CG shop Shade has signed indie reps Deirdre Rymer of Blush LA to handle the West Coast, Julie Vargo & Associates for the Midwest, and Think Bank‘s Henry Hagerty to cover the East Coast…..Independent rep firm OPTiONS has taken on the West Coast and Texas for Robot Film featuring director Chris Robinson….Hollywood-based Maneater Productions has tabbed Yvette Lubinsky of Yvette Represents, L.A., to cover the West and Texas for commercial, music video, viral and interactive business…..London animation studio Not To Scale has garnered representation in Canada via JP Reps….Production designer Richard Berg has returned to Orlando Management for exclusive representation in commercials and music video. Currently an Emmy nominee for his work on the first season of ABC’s Modern Family, Berg has national spot credits for such clients as Clairol, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Reebok, Sony PlayStation, Olay and Acura, and music videos featuring, among other artists, Pussycat Dolls, Janet Jackson, Jewel, Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton….
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More