Norry Niven, co-founder of Marina del Rey, Calif.-based film and commercial production company Three (One) O, has completed his first feature, Chasing Shakespeare, which recounts the beginning, end and rebirth of a love affair between William (played by Danny Glover) and Venus (Tantoo Cardinal) in rural Arkansas. Directed and lensed by Niven, the film is slated to hit the festival circuit, including the FirstGlance Hollywood Film Fest and the Dallas International Film Festival. Chasing Shakespeare was edited by Peter Tarter with VFX supervised by Dale Carman at Reel FX….LOOK Effects has begun operations in Stuttgart, Germany, thus now offering VFX supervision and production in four locations, in three countries and on two continents. LOOK’s first project in Germany will be Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel which is scheduled for release in 2014. LOOK producer Jenny Foster and digital supervisor Gabriel Sanchez are in Stuttgart to manage LOOK’s German venture and work on The Grand Budapest Hotel. LOOK also maintains studios in L.A., NY, and Vancouver, B.C….MUH�TAY�ZIK | HOF�FER, an ad agency based in San Francisco, has added art director Stevan Chavez who most recently worked in the same capacity at Wexley School for Girls, most notably on Rainier Beer’s “Restore the R” campaign. The move to a new roost reunites Chavez with writer Mike Gallucci. Chavez studied art direction at Atlanta’s The Creative Circus, where he met and partnered with Gallucci. While still in school, both artists were drawn to the work being done at MUH�TAY�ZIK | HOF�FER, but only Gallucci—who also holds a Master’s degree in theology from Harvard—would join the company after graduating, with Chavez heading to his first ad job at Wexley….Mike Albert has joined Modus Operandi as its Detroit-based EP. His experience includes being head of production at Campbell Ewald Retail, and EP at Bozell on the Chrysler Plymouth and Jeep dealer accounts….
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