Director David Denneen has joined Los Angeles-based Form for exclusive spot representation in the U.S. Form is headed by executive producer Craig Rodgers. Denneen-who continues to maintain his longstanding Sydney-based production house, Filmgraphics-was formerly handled in the U.S. by bicoastal Anonymous Content…. Noted filmmaker and documentarian Michael Apted has signed with bicoastal Gartner for commercials in the U.S….The Brothers Strause have come aboard bicoastal HSI Productions’ directorial roster…..Dan Wieden, chief creative officer/CEO of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., has been named president of the film and the press & outdoor juries for the 2003 Cannes International Advertising Festival….Director Doug Pray, best known for his work on documentaries and music videos, has signed with Oil Factory Films, Hollywood….Director Paul Papanek has come aboard Los Angeles-based Arsenal…. Tapehouse Editorial, New York, has added colorist Sam Daley….Sydney, Australia-based production/production services company Prodigy has added director Nicholas Reynolds for spotwork. Reynolds won a Gold Lion at the most recent Cannes International Advertising Festival for Ikea’s "Dog," via Lowe & Partners, Singapore. Prodigy also maintains offices in Melbourne, Australia, and Singapore….Director Jordan Brady’s film, Waking Up In Reno starring Billy Bob Thornton, Charlize Theron, Natasha Richardson and Patrick Swayze, opened nationwide this week (10/25). Brady helms commercials via Santa Monica-based Bravo Zulu….A fund has been established for the children of the late Michael Tardio, the brother of director Neil Tardio, Jr. (A Band Apart, Los Angeles), and son of veteran helmer Neil Tardio. Michael Tardio, 35, was murdered last month in Los Angeles. The crime is under investigation. To benefit Michael Tardio’s two kids, donations can be sent to the Michael Tardio Family Fund, c/o Smith Barney, attention: Kevin Malloy, at 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 21st floor, New York, N.Y. 10105….
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