The directing team of Amy Hill and Chris Riess, a.k.a. Riess/ Hill, has joined bicoastal GARTNER. Hill and Riess come over from bicoastal Anonymous Content, where they had been since summer 2002….Director Mike Bigelow has joined Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles.…Speaking of Biscuit, that company’s co-founder, director Noam Murro, is once again readily available for commercials, far sooner than expected, because he and DreamWorks agreed to part ways on The Ring 2, which was to have marked Murro’s feature directorial debut. Biscuit co-founder, executive producer Shawn Lacy Tessaro, said that the split was amicable and based on Murro and DreamWorks having different creative visions for the film….Director Elliott Lester has signed with X-Ray Productions, bicoastal and Chicago, for commercials, and Merge @ Crossroads, Los Angeles, for music videos….New York-based mvg, ltd (formerly the Multi Video Group) is adding a new business to its roster of editorial, postproduction, audio and visual effects companies: Paperdoll TV. The new subsidiary will serve advertising agencies by producing test commercials and broadcast promotions using Adobe After Effects and live action production. Executive producer Charlie DiComo will head the new venture; earlier, DiComo founded now defunct 11/11 Productions…. Creative director Jonas Baron Morganstein has launched Buster, a Los Angeles-based design firm specializing in animation for the advertising and broadcast industries. Baron Morganstein was formerly a partner in the directing team of Heavy International….Mark A. Olingy has been named president of Snell & Wilcox Inc., the U.S. operation of Hampshire, England-headquartered Snell & Wilcox Ltd. He comes over from WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., where he was director of engineering & operations. Olingy succeeds Dick Crippa as head of the American operation; Crippa has been promoted to executive chairman of Snell & Wilcox, Inc….
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