There has been much speculation in the U.K. over who will buy London-based commercial/feature effects and post house The Moving Picture Company (MPC), but the wait may soon be over. MPC will reportedly announce the buyer within the next three weeks.…Germany-based post and effects house Das Werk had a fire at its Cologne facility last month; no one was injured. According to a company spokesperson, the technology was destroyed, but thanks to backup, no current or archived work was lost. Das Werk also maintains facilities in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Hamburg.… New York-based Quiet Man is launching a new design unit called Grasshopper. Quiet Man Inferno artist Mindy Dubin is creative director of the division, which will operate in expanded space in the same Midtown building….Director Scotty Bergstein, formerly of Area 51 Films, Santa Monica, has landed at Highway 61, New York….Area 51 has signed Hamburg-based director Marc Schoelermann for exclusive U.S. representation….Editors Bruce Ashkinos, Peter Mostert, Jim Rubino and Robin Burchill have teamed to launch an edit shop: Chemistry, New York. Sue Wladar will serve as executive producer for the new venture…. Noted colorist Chris Devlin has joined The Post Group, Hollywood, as senior commercial telecine artist….Wayne Hanson has been named San Francisco-based creative director at Attik, a global creative agency. He comes over from Lowe People, Stockholm, where he was an art director….
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