Grace Silverstein of indie rep firm Reel Grace, Santa Monica, has taken on West Coast and Texas representation for Trio Films, Los Angeles….The newly formed Argyle Films, Los Angeles (see Street Talk, above), has set its sales force consisting of independent reps Toni Saarinen and Jen Spencer on the West Coast, Richard Newman and Sue Rosen in the Midwest, and Arthur Portnoy, Roxanne Artesona and Jeff Bowman on the East Coast. Portnoy handles Argyle director Randy Roberts, while Artesona and Bowman rep helmer John Mastromonaco….J. Anderson and his associate Elaina Schyb of J. Anderson+Companies, Chicago, have been named to handle the Midwest for Two Trick Pony, a Hollywood-based production house headed by executive producer Jonathan Miller. Indie rep Yvette Lubinsky continues to cover the West Coast for Two Trick Pony, which is currently seeking new representation on the East Coast, a territory that Miller is handling on an interim basis….Comma Music, Chicago, has added to its sales force, hiring Jessica Skillicorn to cover the Midwest. Skillicorn will work in tandem with Comma’s national sales rep Marya Fletcher….Music/sound design house Yessian–with bases of operation in Farmington Hills and Royal Oak, Mich., as well as in New York and Los Angeles–has hired Joanna Miller as in-house sales rep handling the Midwest and Southeast. Miller formerly served as an account rep for Royal Oak-based video and audio postproduction boutiques Function and Ozone….Michael Coronado of independent rep firm Red Iron has taken on West Coast sales for Amazon Films, Houston….DP Eric Gautier AFC, whose credits include Walter Salles’ Motorcycle Diaries, is now repped for commercials, music videos and features by the Lyons Sheldon Prosnit Agency, Los Angeles….DP Hernan Michael Otano has signed with bicoastal Paradigm for exclusive representation. Also coming aboard Paradigm for U.S. representation is cinematographer David Franco….DP Mark Plummer, who recently wrapped Pulse with director Jim Sonzero, is now available for commercials via ICM, Beverly Hills….. Production designer/art director Ramsey Avery has come aboard Montana Artists, Los Angeles, for exclusive representation in all areas….
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