The directorial team Berman+Pulcini—a.k.a. Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who helmed American Splendor, the movie that won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Film Critics Award at the Cannes International Film Festival—has signed with bicoastal Moxie Pictures for exclusive representation in commercials….Director Larry Shanet, a.k.a. Kranky, has come aboard X-Ray Films, a division of Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago….John Benson and Ward Evans, a.k.a. the directorial duo John & Ward, have signed with Play, Toronto, for exclusive spot representation in Canada. John & Ward continue to freelance via Valiant Films, San Francisco, and are currently exploring prospective U.S. production house roosts….Javier and Jorge Aguilera, a.k.a. the directing team Big Brother, have joined F.M. Rocks Commercials, Santa Monica, for exclusive representation in the U.S….Colin McGreal, who joined Charlex, New York, as creative director in 2001, is now formally diversifying into directing via the company. The move comes as his helming career gains momentum with the short live-action film Apsara, which has been screened at numerous festivals. McGreal also wrote the film….Rob Godbold of Large, London, will handle U.K. representation for the directorial roster of bicoastal Epoch Films….Director Domenic Mastrippolito has come aboard BeachHouse Films, Santa Monica….Director Luis Ruiz has joined Green Dot Films, Santa Monica….Director Adam Byrd has joined Moo Studios, a Burbank, Calif.-based house specializing in animation and spot production. He had been working at the company since ’02 on a freelance basis….FilmCore has promoted Jon Ettinger, executive producer of its San Francisco office, and Doug Walker, senior editor in San Francisco, to the newly created posts of senior VP of business development and senior VP of talent relations, respectively. In their new roles, Ettinger and Walker will spearhead an expansion aimed at growing the editorial talent pool at FilmCore’s operations in Santa Monica and San Francisco, and at opening additional FilmCore shops in New York and other major ad markets…. Designer Melissa von Bjal has come aboard SOMERsault, Chicago, joining her husband, designer Robert von Bjal. Most recently, Melissa von Bjal was serving as a motion graphics designer at Bazooka, the design division of Chicago-based Swell…. Toronto-headquartered Leitch Technology Corp. has appointed Tim Thorsteinson as president/CEO. Thorsteinson previously led the Broadcast product line of Thomson Broadcast and Media Solutions. He is perhaps best known as the former CEO/COO of Grass Valley Group. Jean Marc Hoffer has been promoted to succeed Thorsteinson at Thomson. Hoffer had been VP of operations/switcher, routers and modular products….
“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