September 28, 2012

Kristen Bell hits Target in product-placement filmBy Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Talk about product placement: Target is releasing an episodic series of short films starring Kristen Bell and Nia Long and everything on screen is for sale.

The company unveiled the three episodes of “Falling for You” Thursday at a private event at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles.

Bell plays an advertising exec and Long is her boss in “Falling for You.” Zachary Abel plays Bell’s rival — and potential love interest — in the series, wherein online viewers can click on any item on screen and add it to their shopping cart, from fashion to housewares.

“It’s a very exciting concept,” Bell said. “It felt very fluid. A lot of it is just showing things in their natural habitat. I felt like it was more natural than a product-placement situation (on a film set).”

More than 100 products are featured in the three-episode arc. “Falling for You” will begin airing Oct. 2 and the products featured will be available until Nov. 1.

German film wins top prize at Pyongyang film fest
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — A German film about an English teacher’s struggle to introduce soccer at a strict school in late 19th century Germany has won the grand prize at the Pyongyang International Film Festival.

North Korea’s official news agency reports that “The Big Dream” also won the festival’s award for best actor, while a joint North Korean-European film, “Comrade Kim Goes Flying,” won for best direction.

The biennial film festival closed Thursday after an eight-day run that offered North Koreans and foreigners the chance to see movies from North Korea as well as France, Britain, Iran, India and Russia.

The film festival is the only time North Koreans and foreigners can watch films together at Pyongyang theaters.

A Lively new branding start for six creative shopsNEW YORK–Six NYC-based houses spanning editorial, design, post, VFX, CG, audio, finishing and digital/interactive capabilities have branded under the new parent company name, Lively Group. The six shops–formerly under the Stairway 9 umbrella–are Spontaneous, BlueRock, Blast, Motive, Ballistic and Scarlett.

The Lively shops can team or stay solo in providing creative solutions to clients. Ethel Rubinstein is owner/CEO of Lively. President/CMO is Roe Bressan.

So what started out as a small editorial shop has now evolved into six integrated companies staffed and managed by some of the advertising and entertainment industry’s leading designers, editors, producers, CG artists, digital strategists and technologists.

“Our previous umbrella name, Stairway 9, just didn’t fit us,” said Bressan. “So like Twitter and eBay and other companies in the middle of the media zeitgeist, we took to revitalizing our brand mark. Finding a new moniker that spoke to our brand personality, our highest-level professionalism and ‘bring it on’ attitude became something that the entire staff had a hand in.”

To find the new name, Bressan enlisted Silicon Valley-based branding company Lexicon. Once Lively Group was chosen, the company turned to their digital offering, Motive, to design and execute the entire portfolio of re-branded collateral.

The result is a responsive website (www.livelygroup.tv) that highlights each of the company offerings in a clear and entertaining way. The Lively Group launch heralds the first step in the complete re-design for each of the individual company websites, which will be completed by the year’s end.

Lively Group is officially certified as a Women-Owned Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

VES, Business Software Alliance partner to fight piracyLOS ANGELES–The Visual Effects Society (VES) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) have partnered on a joint initiative to promote a self certification software license compliance program. Working together, the two groups will promote voluntary compliance with intellectual property laws and software licensing in order to fight piracy rampant in the entertainment industry’s VFX community.

“Our goal is to ensure that VFX professionals and facilities use licensed products that will level the playing field from a competitive vantage point. Facilities that are in compliance with copyright law shouldn’t have to compete against other companies which are operating with only one pirated license that is being used illegally by hundreds of artists,” said Eric Roth, executive director of the VES.

The program runs off the License Management Registry 360 (LMR360) portal that was developed by the BSA. The LMR360 is a self-declaration and verification effort that will allow the VFX industry and hundreds of facilities that do visual effects work on movies, TV, animation and video games to maintain and declare their software compliance, while differentiating themselves in the marketplace. As part of the LMR360 pilot program, VES will rollout LMR360 to its members. BSA also administers a software asset management certification program for large enterprises called Certified in Standards-based SAM.

Rei Inamoto assumes new leadership role at AKQANEW YORK–Rei Inamoto has been named to lead AKQA’s New York office. In this new role, he will oversee all departments, including creative, technology, strategy and client services. The new responsibilities are in addition to Inamoto’s ongoing role as chief creative officer, overseeing AKQA’s creative vision and output in the U.S. and Asia.

Inamoto helped launch AKQA in New York in 2004 and he later transferred to the San Francisco office where he oversaw the growth and output of a 100-person creative department that won widespread acclaim. Two years ago, Inamoto returned to New York where he has been instrumental in building new client relationships and making key hires.

Inamoto is a thought leader who often keynotes at events worldwide. He serves as a judge and jury president at many of the top global creative festivals, including Cannes Lions, Eurobest, Spikes and more. He is also a board member for the Art Director’s Club and the Google Creative Council. On November 13, 2012, Rei will be inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Achievement.

Industry Mourns Disney’s Bob Lambert
GLENDALE, Calif.–Bob Lambert–an industry veteran perhaps best known for his long tenure in various capacities at Walt Disney Co., and who’s credited for playing an integral role in advancing computer animation–passed away earlier this month (9/7) at his home in Glendale. He was 55.

Lambert made many contributions toward helping to usher in the digital age. As sr. VP for worldwide technology strategy and development at Disney, he created a strategy and methodology for replacing cel animation with CGI. Lambert was also a founder and chairman of Digital Cinema Initiatives, a seven-studio consortium launched in 2002 to help movie theaters transition to digital exhibition by establishing standards and specs geared toward a uniform and high level of technical quality and reliability.

Lambert had a 25-year tenure at Disney, leaving the company in 2010. He recently served as CEO of the Digital Firm. He also was chairman emeritus of the University of Southern California’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), a 17-company group dealing with consumer media trends. He earlier was chairman and CEO of USC’s ETC. Lambert additionally was a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Technology Committee.

He is survived by his wife Cheryl, brother Paul and nephew Nathaniel.

‘Beasts’ director begins work on next film
By Stacey Plaisance
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — “Beasts of the Southern Wild” director Benh Zeitlin is working on his next film — a Louisiana-made fable about a hidden ecosystem where the aging process is “out of whack” and people can age quickly or very slowly.

Zeitlin’s first film, “Beasts,” took awards at the Cannes and Sundance film festivals this year. Zeitlin says he would like to use the same production team and cast in the new, yet-to-be-titled project.

The news comes as Zeitlin prepares to receive the New Orleans Film Society’s “Celluloid Hero” award, an honor bestowed to industry standouts who have made significant contributions to the art of making films.

Zeitlin will be recognized Thursday at the society’s patron party and gala, the main fundraiser for the New Orleans Film Festival, which is Oct. 11-18. 

Iran official says country will boycott 2013 Oscars
By Nasser Karimi
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s culture minister said Monday that his country will boycott the 2013 Oscars in the wake of the anti-Islam video made in the United States that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad.

An Iranian film won an Oscar in the foreign film category in February. But Mohammed Hosseini said the Islamic Republic would not field an entry for next year’s awards due to the low-budget video he dubbed “an intolerable insult to the Prophet of Islam,” the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported. Hosseini urged other Islamic countries to also boycott.

He confirmed that the committee in charge of selecting Iran’s entry has already picked “Ye Habbeh Ghand,” or “A Cube of Sugar” — a film about a family wedding turning into a funeral when the groom’s relative dies — to compete for best foreign film.

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won the 2012 Oscar for best foreign film for his movie, “A Separation” — the first such prize for Iran.

Tehran officialdom welcomed the Oscar, especially as Farhadi beat an Israeli film and three others in the foreign language category, describing it as a conquest for Iranian culture and a blow for Israel’s perceived outsized influence in America.

But Iranian hard-liners were also upset by the movie’s exposure of the troubles in Iranian society through the story of a collapsing marriage.

Iranian authorities have long had an uneasy relationship with the country’s filmmakers and influential clerics have often denounced the domestic cinema as dominated by Western-tainted liberals and political dissenters.

Earlier on Monday, Javad Shamaghdari, head of the government-controlled cinema agency, said the Oscars should be boycotted until the organizers denounce the anti-Islam film entitled “Innocence of Muslims,” which has prompted outrage among Muslims around the world.

At least 51 people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, have been killed in violence linked to protests over the film, which also has renewed debate over freedom of expression in the U.S. and in Europe.

Also Monday, many Internet users in Tehran and other Iranian cities reported having no access to their Gmail accounts.

The difficulties come a day after Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, a member of the government body responsible for Internet oversight in Iran, said authorities would block access to Google services, including Gmail and the Internet giant’s search engine, in response to the film posted on YouTube, which is owned by Google.

There were no reported problems accessing Google’s search engine in Iran on Monday.

Ad Agency run by high school students lands first paying clientNEW YORK–IAM Advertising, an agency that opened for business this past May and is operated by students at the High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media (IAM), has signed its first paying client, it was announced by the 4A’s, the trade association representing the ad industry and the principal sponsor of IAM High School.

The National Black Programming Consortium/BlackPublicMedia.org has tapped IAM Advertising to help promote its four-hour PBS documentary series, “DC Met: Life Inside School Reform,” scheduled to air in Spring 2013.

The series follows the lives of the principal, teachers and students at an alternative high school in Washington, DC–DC Met–that serves an economically disadvantaged student body, who are “left behind.” The year filming began, 94% of the students qualified as low-income, 1 in 10 were pregnant or parenting, and the reading proficiency rate for the 10th grade was a dismal 19%. With new leadership and engaged school community, how can DC Met, and others like it, turn the tide? Or can it?

“No issue has a greater impact on the future of young people in America today than education,” says series executive producer, Jacquie Jones. “We initiated this project to give needed attention to the lives and perspectives of those young people most impacted by recent legislation and reform in our schools. So, we think there is no one better positioned to extend the reach of the series through its advertising and outreach campaigns than the IAM students, who are very literally the peers of the students in the series.”

She added, “We know the students will bring a wealth of fresh, insightful and compelling perspectives to the project, and we couldn’t be more excited to be beginning this collaboration.”

The filmmakers have asked IAM Advertising, based in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, N.Y., to contribute branding concepts for the series and help come up with bold ideas to spark national media attention around public education and this PBS series. Digitas, an ad agency owned by Publicis Groupe, has agreed to be the partner agency for IAM on this assignment.

Fees paid to IAM Advertising will be distributed to various educational funds administered by the 4A’s.

The marketing campaign will offer prizes of a MacBook Pro or iPad tablet for winning submissions to a 30-day online festival of short documentary stories and an essay contest.

The “DC Met” documentary series was created and produced by the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC), which is also known through its online portal brand as BlackPublicMedia.org. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), in association with PBS, financially supports the project through its multi-year initiative called “American Graduate.” The series will be aired nationally in primetime on PBS.

Apple says more than 5 million iPhone 5s sold
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple says it has sold more than 5 million units of the new iPhone 5 in the three days since its launch.

Apple Inc. said Monday that orders for the phone exceeded the initial supply it had available. The iPhone 5 went on sale Friday in the U.S., Australia and elsewhere.

It will be available in 22 more countries this Friday and in more than 100 countries by the end of the year.

Apple says it has shipped most of the phones that were ordered in advance. But it plans to ship many of them in October.

‘Lone Ranger’ crew member drowns on LA-area setLOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities are investigating the apparent drowning of a crew member who was working on a set for upcoming “The Lone Ranger” film.

Coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter says a 48-year-old man was pronounced dead around 10 a.m. Friday. He was cleaning a pool that was going to be used in the film in Acton, which is in northeast Los Angeles County. Winter says it appears the man suffered a heart attack.

The man’s identity was not released.

Walt Disney Studios is producing the film starring Johnny Depp. It expressed its condolences, saying the studio’s thoughts are with the man’s family, friend and co-workers. The studio is also cooperating with the investigation, which will include an autopsy to determine his cause of death.

Walker joins The Mill as Art Director for the Design Studio
LONDON–Antar Walker has joined The Mill as an art director for its Design Studio. He comes over after having served as a designer at creative brand agency Underdog, and as a digital design creative at creative digital gency Hi-Res.

Walker’s art director credits include projects for BMW and fashion photographers Miles Aldridge and Beijing Ballet. Walker has also worked as a designer for such brands as Hyundai, Chanel, Dolce and Gabanna, and IBM.

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