Director Todd Phillips (of Hangover, Road Trip and Old School fame) is now repped by Anonymous Content for commercials. Among Phillips’ notable ad endeavors is the 2012 Super Bowl spot titled “Matthew’s Day Off” for Honda’s CR-V and starring Matthew Broderick. “Day Off”–produced by Phillips’ former commercialmaking roost, Moxie Pictures, for agency RPA–paid homage to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the 1986 feature film directed by John Hughes with Broderick in the title role…..Director David Brashear has joined Harpoon Pictures, marking his first signing with a production house. Brashear built his first reel by pitching commercial concepts for brands through crowd sourcing sites such as Tongal and Poptent. His focus has been for brands with strong comedic tones such as Ben & Jerry’s, Snickers, Chips Ahoy, and Pepsi Max. Brashear’s Super Bowl spot for Speed Stick Power, titled “Unattended Laundry,” was conceived through this process….Motion graphics artist Kevin O’Rourke has joined hybrid digital media company Utopic. He was formerly a designer at Red Car, Chicago. Prior to his three-and-a-half year stay there, O’Rourke was a sr. designer at Universal Images/Detroit from 2008 to 2010, and Postique/Detroit, from 2002 to 2007….Whitehouse Post editor Brian May returns stateside to call the New York office his new home after a stint at the company’s Amsterdam outpost. May began working for Whitehouse Post in Los Angeles and is now embarking on his sixth year with the company. His credits include spots for such clients as Microsoft, Walmart, Ping and Nike….
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