Director Anouk Besson has come aboard bicoastal Celsius Films. She had most recently been represented by bicoastal Epoch Films….Director Marc Chiat has returned to Green Dot Films, Santa Monica. Chiat had previously maintained his own Red Dog Films, Santa Monica, for commercials….Director Matthijs Van Heijningen has signed with bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ) for U.S. representation. The helmer is best known for "The Sculptor," a Peugeot spot out of Euro RSCG Mezzano Constantini Mignani, Milan, Italy, which scored a Gold Lion, as well as the Journalist’s Award, at the 2003 Cannes International Advertising Festival. Additionally, director Nicolai Fuglsig is now available via MJZ for stateside spotwork….Director Des Mullan of Rocket Productions, Dublin, has signed with Santa Monica-based BeachHouse Films for U.S. representation….New York-based Cine/ DRSA International has signed directors Luca Lucini and Mauro Salesi for U.S. spotwork. Both directors are based in Milan….Director Giaco Angelini and producer Esther Campbell have joined Velocity Films, Rivonia, South Africa, for exclusive representation worldwide….Two London production houses, Stark Films and Spectre, are set to merge, forming a single entity called Large. Bertie Miller, the head of Spectre, and Stephen Gash and Cathy Green, who’ve overseen Stark, will comprise the management team for Large, which maintains a combined roster of directors for Europe that includes Daniel Kleinman, Jeff Stark, Anthony Easton, Jon Greenhalgh, John Lloyd, Colin Gregg, Simon Green, Enda McCallion, Dominic Savage, Sandra Goldbacher and newcomers Simon Cracknell and the duo of Tash and Tanya….Director Gore Verbinski is back at bicoastal Anonymous Content following the release of box office hit Pirates of the Caribbean. He figures to have about a six-month window of spot availability via Anonymous….Editor David Cornman has joined Post Factory, New York. He was previously with The Blue Rock Editing Company, New York….Rhonda Moore has been named executive producer at Mad River Post, Dallas. She relocated from Los Angeles, where she worked as a TV writer/producer….Editor Jason Painter, formerly of Swietlik, Santa Monica, has come aboard Jigsaw, Los Angeles…. Michael Peterson, who had been freelancing in recent months at Venice, Calif.-based visual effects house Sight Effects, has come on staff as a Flame/ Inferno artist….Colin Stackpole, a lead Inferno artist at Quiet Man, New York, has struck out on his own, launching Brandname, a visual effects boutique in New York. He is teamed in the new venture with another Quiet Man alumnus, 2-D designer Patrick Lavin….
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More