Director/cinematographer Michael Schrom, best known for his tabletop/food and packaged goods ad work, has taken his production house Schrom bicoastal with the opening of a studio in Los Angeles. His filmography spans more than 1,600 commercials for clients such as Nikon, Neutrogena, Folgers, Miller, Kraft, General Mills, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Heineken. His company compatriot is executive producer Carl Sturges…..Slim has added director Melissa Silverman to its roster. Clients include Starz/Directv, McDonalds, Revlon and Tuborg Beer, while an Emmy nomination for Nickelodeon adds to awards from D&AD, PromaxBDA and TELLY Awards. Silverman began her career at On Air Promotions at MTV where she conceptualized, wrote and directed campaigns with celebrities including Madonna, Conan O’Brien, Donald Trump and The Foo Fighters….Los Angeles-based Therapy has signed multi-disciplinary editor Lenny Mesina who had been working via Motion Theory/Mirada. He has edited music videos for recording artist giants such as Green Day, Adele, Common and Blink 182, cut content and installation projects such as IBM “THINK”–which was on view at Lincoln Center and took home awards at the 2012 One Show and AICP Show–and spots like Fiat “Get Ready” (which won a 2012 Yellow Pencil for Editing and a D&AD Award) as well as major campaigns for Nike, Target and HP. Mesina also recently teamed up with photographer Craig Stecyk for a video installation in MOCA’s “Art in the Streets” show. In the film realm, Mesina crafted the Grammy½-nominated documentary, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, the celebrated feature documentary Beautiful Losers and is currently completing a documentary on champion boxer and politician Manny Pacquiao, directed by Academy Award½-winning director Leon Gast. Mesina’s move to Therapy is a homecoming of sorts as the editor got his start with EP Joe DiSanto and several Therapy staff members at editorial house Brass Knuckles….
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More