Director John Frankenheimer died this past weekend (7/6) in Los Angeles due to complications from a stroke following recent spinal surgery. He was 72. Renowned for his feature (e.g.—The Manchurian Candidate, The Birdman of Alcatraz) and TV work, Frankenheimer also made his mark in the advertising industry, helming select spots and most notably Ambush, one of last year’s groundbreaking Web-based shorts produced by bicoastal Anonymous Content for BMW of North America and Fallon, Minneapolis…..Cancer has claimed the life of director Sid Avery, 83, who passed away in Los Angeles on July 1. Avery was the principal in The Avery Film Group (and its predecessor shop, Avery Tirce), a Southern California commercial production boutique which closed some years ago after enjoying a long run dating back to the late 1960s. He made a successful transition to spot director after having first established himself as a noted photojournalist and celebrity photographer, whose work appeared in such publications as the Saturday Evening Post, Life and Look….Director Dave Meyers, best known for his music video work (Brandy, Pink, Ja Rule, Celine Dion, Creed, Papa Roach, Nikka Costa), has joined bicoastal/international @radical.media for commercials. He continues to be repped for music clips by Santa Monica-based F.M. Rocks….Fresh from its inclusion in the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase in Cannes (SHOOT, 6/21, p. 1), directing collective Happy has officially come aboard production house Smuggler, a satellite of bicoastal Villains…. Word is that directors Christina Hodnet and Alan Munro have joined ka-chew!, the live-action spot division of Hollywood animation studio Klasky Csupo…. Director Philippe Dussol has signed with bicoastal Treat…Director Sean Mullens of bicoastal Brand is no longer represented in Europe by Stink, London. He is seeking new European representation. Brand is a satellite of bicoastal Headquarters….Executive producer Roger Zorovich has joined Los Angeles-based Spine, a production/post house that is active in spots, music videos, print and graphic design. Zorovich had most recently been exec producer of commercials at Santa Monica-based F.M. Rocks. In his newly created position at Spine, he heads up live action production and editorial, while Spine exec producer Brigitte Culhane now narrows her focus to the company’s Web, design and print endeavors. Spine was launched about two years ago by editor Noah Herzog, photographer Matthew Welch and graphic designer Paul McMenamin, who also team as a directing collective ….Editors Tim Sherry and Pable Piriz Asuaga have joined Santa Monica-based Mint Editorial. Sherry had been working through New York shops P.I.G. (now defunct) and Pure, while Asuaga, a native of Uruguay, had been freelancing in South America…. Director Mikael Salomon has returned from Ireland, having wrapped Benedict Arnold, which is slated to debut on A&E in January ’03. He is again available for commercials via bicoastal Coppos Films….
“Mickey 17” Tops Weekend Box Office, But Profitability Is A Long Way Off
"Parasite" filmmaker Bong Joon Ho's original science fiction film "Mickey 17" opened in first place on the North American box office charts. According to studio estimates Sunday, the Robert Pattinson-led film earned $19.1 million in its first weekend in theaters, which was enough to dethrone "Captain America: Brave New World" after a three-week reign.
Overseas, "Mickey 17" has already made $34.2 million, bringing its worldwide total to $53.3 million. But profitability for the film is a long way off: It cost a reported $118 million to produce, which does not account for millions spent on marketing and promotion.
A week following the Oscars, where "Anora" filmmaker Sean Baker made an impassioned speech about the importance of the theatrical experience – for filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screens, for distributors to focus on theatrical releases and for audiences to keep going – "Mickey 17" is perhaps the perfect representation of this moment in the business, or at least an interesting case study. It's an original film from an Oscar-winning director led by a big star that was afforded a blockbuster budget and given a robust theatrical release by Warner Bros., one of the few major studios remaining. But despite all of that, and reviews that were mostly positive (79% on RottenTomatoes), audiences did not treat it as an event movie, and it may ultimately struggle to break even.
Originally set for release in March 2024, Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to the Oscar-winning "Parasite" faced several delays, which he has attributed to extenuating circumstances around the Hollywood strikes. Based on the novel "Mickey7" by Edward Ashton, Pattinson plays an expendable employee who dies on missions and is re-printed time and time again. Steven... Read More