The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) have appointed Douglas J. Wood of the law firm Reed Smith, New York, as the lead negotiator for the advertising industry’s talent negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). He succeeds attorney Ira Shepard of Schmeltzer, Aptaker & Shepard, Washington, D.C. The current SAG/AFTRA contract expires in October 2006. Wood continues to serve as the ANA’s general counsel…..Director James Gartner of bicoastal GARTNER is preparing to resume his commercialmaking career after wrapping the feature Glory Road for Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer….Director Bryan Barber has completed production on his feature debut, My Life in Idlewild—the first longform outing for OutKast—and is again available for spots via Boondoggle, Santa Monica, and music videos through its sister shop FM Rocks, Santa Monica….Editors Jason Painter, formerly of Jigsaw, Santa Monica, and Fred Fouquet, who had been at Inside/Out, Santa Monica, have joined Mad River Post. Painter and Fouquet will be based at Mad River’s Santa Monica facility, but are available through all the Mad River shops; the company also maintains bases of operation in New York, Detroit, Dallas and San Francisco….Gray Hirshfield has been promoted to head of production at Quiet Man, New York….Z Animation, Los Angeles, has added 10 directors to its roster: John Ryan, Robert Pope, Howie Hoffman, David Chomowicz, Gabriel Polonsky and David Russo, as well as two design/directing teams—live action helmers/puppeteers Tom Megalis and Jenn Bastien, and 3-D animators/ designers Rob Cazin and Lauri Salladay….Composer David Logan has come aboard New York-headquartered Q Department….Marina del Rey, Calif.-based motion capture studio House of Moves, a division of Vicon Motion Systems, has added Scott Gagain as executive producer. He was previously VP of sales and marketing at motion capture vendor Motion Analysis Studios, Los Angeles….Oak Park, Mich.-based GTN posted in HD a five-minute advertainment-style film for J. Walter Thompson, Detroit, and client Ford Motor Company, which recently aired on NBC. Red Car (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, San Antonio and Buenos Aires) editor Bob Carr cut the project, which was directed by Michael Apted through Santa Monica-based Independent Media….Tewksbury, Mass.-based Avid Technology announced that it plans to ship at the end of the month its Adrenaline HD version 2.0 and Xpress Pro HD software….Toronto-headquartered Alias has started shipping Alias Motionbuilder 3D character performance and animation software, previously a product of Kaydara, which was acquired by Alias last summer…. Marina del Rey-based Iowa released WiredrivePRO, a new version of its online client review and approval tool….
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