Director/DP Will Van der Vlugt has launched Caramel Pictures, Miami, as his U.S. production roost. The company will also handle helmers Keith English and Eddy Abon stateside. Van der Vlugt maintains his Will Van der Vlugt Film Productions, Amsterdam, for European work….Director Tim Greenberg has joined Park Pictures, New York….Editor Charlie Cusumano, formerly of ChicKönKey, New York, has joined Red Car, New York. Additionally, editor Keith James, who had been at charlieuniformtango, Dallas, has come aboard Red Car, Dallas….Eastman Kodak Company, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., hosted a "Salute to Music Video Cinematography" luncheon last week in Los Angeles, during which it honored MTV Music Video Award nominees for cinematography: Jeff Cronenweth, ASC ("The Voice Within" and "It’s My Life"), Shawn Kim ("Maps"), James Hawkinson ("Naughty Girl") and Joaquin Baca-Asay ("99 Problems"). Baca-Asay won the award Sunday night. Also, Kodak honored the Music Video Producers Association (MVPA) for its commitment to the art of music videos. MVPA president Pam Tarr accepted the award on behalf of the organization….Seventeenfortyone, the design and production division of Hollywood-based entertainment advertising agency Trailer Park, announced a partnership with TV and feature postproduction house Modern VideoFilm, also Hollywood, whereby Modern will provide postproduction services for Seventeenfortyone’s commercial and shortform work….Designer Ian Lynam and art director Nico Ammann have joined 86theonions, a Venice, Calif.-based brand communications collective….Director Gordon Clark has joined Velocity Afrika, Cape Town and Johannesburg….
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