The Comfort Zones, a London-headquartered talent representation/ad agency consultancy firm (SHOOT, 1/26, p. 1), will rep Los Angeles-headquartered Top Dog in most international markets (except for the U.S., Canada and the U.K.). A division of bicoastal RSA USA and London-based RSA Films (SHOOT, 1/19, p. 1), Top Dog specializes in garnering spot assignments for select feature filmmakers. The Top Dog roster includes Oliver Stone, Anjelica Huston, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Diane Keaton, Tim Roth, John McTiernan, Renny Harlin, Stephen Hopkins, Mira Nair, Stephan Elliott, Kevin Allen and Casey Affleck….Park Pictures, New York, has signed New York-based independent reps Michael Arkin and Jennifer Warren to handle the East Coast. Chris Brenneman of Stacy & Annie & Chris, Chicago, reps the company in the Midwest….Independent firm Ellen Knable & Associates (eka) has taken on West Coast and Midwest representation for Santa Monica-based motion graphics design company Belief. Knable has also been named head of U.S. sales for Montreal-based production house Fabrique d’Images….Director Tom Donald of Tom Donald Films, San Francisco, is now being represented in Canada by Navigator Films, Toronto….Susan Berg has been appointed as the in-house sales representative for Blink.fx and Image Editorial, New York. Berg spent the past three and a half years as a senior sales executive at Manhattan Transfer, New York…. Underwater DP specialist Pete Romano has joined The Mirisch Agency, Los Angeles, for exclusive representation…. DP Tom Houghton lensed By Courier, which was nominated for an Academy Award in the live-action short film category. Houghton is repped for spots by The Directors Network, Studio City, Calif…. Production designer Walter P. Martishius has finished work on Dinotopia, directed by Marco Brambilla, and is available exclusively through Lyons•Sheldon•Prosnit, Los Angeles….
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