Rep Report
Hollywood-based rep firm Saarinen, with Toni Saarinen and Jennifer Spencer, has become saarinenspencer. Plans call for Jennifer Spencer to open an office for saarinenspencer in Austin, Texas, this summer….Turnpike Films, Santa Monica, has signed Delores Hively and Dawn Schiffman of Buzz Management, New York, to handle representation on the East Coast for director Justin Reardon….Meghan Lang has joined creative editorial/effects/design house Version2, New York, as in-house sales rep. She will be responsible for the company’s sales and branding efforts….Production house The Ebeling Group, Playa del Rey, Calif., has signed independent rep Stephanie Stephens to cover the West Coast and Texas….DP John Perez has signed with Innovative Artists, Santa Monica, for exclusive representation in commercials, music videos and features….Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More