Composers John “Scrapper” Sneider and Adam Elk have launched Storefront Music in New York. They are joined by songwriter and pianist Chris Merritt who comes over from the indie music community. Sneider and Elk had been writers at JSM Music since 2001. Storefront has already turned out work for Google, Maglite and Time Warner Cable (“Back To School,” “Ball Machine”)…Previsualization production/post studio The Napoleon Group is set to relocate to New York’s Flatiron district in January, taking over 14,000 newly renovated square feet on two floors in what was once the corporate offices for fashion designer Kate Spade. Along with edit and audio studios, the new facility’s open air workspace will seat over 40 artists and designers. The Napoleon Group, under the aegis of founder Marty Napoleon, is building an in-house green screen stage and motion capture studio to expand the services and resources the company offers…Bicoastal ArsenalFX, headed by owner/managing director Mark Leiss, has promoted sr. VFX compositor Terry Silberman to partner. Silberman is a 20-year-plus industry veteran who has worked on commercial campaigns for national brands including Pepsi, Gatorade, HBO, Nike and Mitsubishi. Most recently, Silberman worked as a Flame Artist on the hit viral campaign for Smartwater, “The Jennifer Aniston Security Tapes,” featuring Aniston mocking recent baby bump rumors with a larger-than-life belly among other exaggerated “security tape” antics….Diana Payer, most recently director of broadcast production for TracyLocke, has been hired as executive producer at Big Fish Films, the Dallas-based shop founded by director/cameraman Robert Latorre…..
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