Rainer Gombos has joined visual effects house Zoic, with studios in Culver City, Calif., and Vancouver, B.C., as a creative director and VFX supervisor. He won the Visual Effects Emmy last year for his work as VFX supervisor on the season two finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones. The German visual effects veteran, most recently at Pixomondo, boasts a diverse background in features including Fast Five, Sucker Punch, 2012, Beautiful Creatures and Sin City, commercial work for Snickers, Saturn and Total, as well as myriad music videos and video games….Chicago-based production company BoomThrift, founded by exec producer Leigh Jones, has added director John Thompson. As a writer and director, Thompson has been a finalist and winner of several competitions including Coca-Cola’s Refreshing Filmmaker’s Competition and The Heineken Music Video Competition. His professional film projects include music videos, branded entertainment, Web content and commercials for Playboy, Google, Zagat, and Motorola. His short film Songbird screened at The Sundance Film Festival and on The Sundance Channel. And Thompson’s short film Breathe was a finalist for a Student Academy Award….
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