Believe Media, Los Angeles, has entered into a partnership with Action Films, a leading production company in Russia. Per the deal, Believe will be promoted under its own banner in Russia. Believe Media founder/managing director Luke Thornton said, “This alliance with Action Films gives us the ability to enter a market that is still relatively undefined and full of creative possibilities. Furthermore, to do it under the Believe banner underscores the global nature of our brand.” Action Films has turned out more than 1,000 projects and its work has earned such honors as a Cannes Gold Lion and recognition at the London International Awards….Director Brian Scott Weber, whose credits include Busch Gardens, Chevrolet, and ZeroMeth, has signed with Lemonaide Media, the bicoastal house headed by founder/exec producer Jeanne Mattiussi, for exclusive spot representation. He was most recently at Rhythm+Hues. Weber joins a Lemonaide roster that includes director/photographer Dean Karr, directors/cinematographers Morten Sandtroen and Jefferson Miller, and director Ed Miller….Hollywood, Calif.-based agency goodness Mfg. has added sr. art director Rob Bajohr and art director Neal Desai. Bajohr's experience includes sr. art director posts at both Digitas and MRM Worldwide NY. In the social space he helped create Digitas' “Small Business Saturday” experience for American Express OPEN. The campaign used social media incentives, local news media and bloggers to drive consumers to small retailers resulting in a 28% increase in holiday spending. Desai comes to goodness Mfg. via TDA Advertising & Design, Boulder, Colo., where he was an art director…..Jessica Stanchak has joined Beast's New York facility as producer. She comes to the editorial house (which also has offices in Santa Monica, Austin, Detroit, Chicago and San Francisco) after a stint as a producer at edit boutique jumP. Prior to jumP, she served as an assistant producer at Ogilvy & Mather, NY….Cutting Room, New York, has promoted Melissa Lubin to executive producer with former EP Susan Willis moving into the managing partner position. Lubin has come up the ranks at Cutting room, joining in 2005 as a receptionist and ascending to assistant post producer, sr. producer, then head of production and now EP….Digital agency Domani Studios has hired Jonathan Lander as creative director. He will work out of offices in NYC and Chicago. Prior to joining Domani, Lander served as creative director at U.K. interactive agency Code Computerlove….
Review: Director Michael Morris’ “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy”
It is a truth universally acknowledged, as Bridget Jones herself might write in her diary, that at the end of any Bridget Jones movie, our heroine has triumphed over all doubts and obstacles and is finally happy.
With a man. Well, so far, with one particular man: Mark Darcy, the stuffy-yet-dashing man of her dreams.
This, dear viewer, is not a spoiler for the new fourth movie, "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy." In fact, if you've seen the trailer, you'll know that Bridget (Renée Zellweger, still pretty delightful), who finally married Mark at the end of the third film, is now a widow.
We're not supposed to divulge exactly what happens next. But remember, folks, this is a classic romantic comedy franchise. Rom-coms can be sad and deep, but they still need to be romantic.
What makes "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy" especially enjoyable, then — and the best since the 2001 original — is not that Bridget finds a way yet again to triumph over doubts and obstacles. It's that she still makes us care so darned much.
How does she do it after all these years? All I know is, I was rooting harder for her at the end of this film than I was with the others, even the original where she's kissing Mark in the snowy street in underwear and sneakers.
There are various possible explanations. One is Zellweger herself, who has brought her character gracefully into her 50s, retaining Bridget's goofiness and deep-set optimism while reflecting hard-won life experience.
And there are subtle changes to the equation. The relationships in this latest film are more interesting — old ones and new.
Bridget's relationship with herself is more interesting, too — and healthier. Sure, she can swig a full bottle of Chardonnay on a bad... Read More