There’s a significant addition to the family of post/effects facilities under the umbrella of publicly traded, Englewood, Colo.-based cable and communications conglomerate Liberty Media Corp. Liberty Media subsidiary Four Media Company (4MC), a Burbank-based public company, announced at press time that it had bought the lion’s share of post studios held by the London-headquartered Virgin Media Group. Per the deal, valued at approximately $40 million, 4MC has acquired 525 Studios, Santa Monica, a pair of London facilitiesaRushes and West One Televisionaand Mexico City’s Virgin Television de MexicoA.Word is that director Craig Gillespie is coming aboard Los Angeles-headquartered Morton Jankel ZanderA.Director Brian Belefant, most recently with bi coastal WildLife Management, has joined bicoastal Bedford FallsA.Director Paul Holahan, formerly of bicoastal Picture Park, has signed with Los Angeles-headquartered Scream, the shop headed by executive producer Charles SaliceA.Director Gavin O’Connor, producer/director/writer of the feature Tumbleweeds, has entered the spot directing arena via bicoastal production house Zooma ZoomaA.San Francisco-based animation studio Wild Brain has added directors Charlie Canfield and Robert ValleyA.Director Brian Mack has joined Big Fish Films, Dal- lasA.Feature filmmaker Jon Amiel (Entrapment, The Man Who Knew Too Little, Copycat and Sommersby) has wrapped his first U.S. commercial via bicoastal Flying Tiger Films, for Pontiac and D’Arcy, Troy, Mich.A.Austin, Texas-based commercial music production house Tequila Mockingbird is opening a Southern California operation. Tequila Mockingbird West will be headed by Los Angeles-based sound designer/composer Kathryn KorniloffA.Editor Brian Durkin, formerly of New York-based Go Robot!, has joined FilmCore/Santa MonicaA.
