Director Richard D’Alessio has joined bicoastal/international @radical.media for exclusive representation worldwide—except for Canada where he continues to be handled by Imported Artists Film Company, Toronto. D’Alessio was last repped in the U.S. by now defunct Shooting Gallery Productions….Filmmaker Mikael Salomon has come aboard bicoastal Coppos Films for exclusive representation as a spot director/DP. He was formerly handled for commercials by bicoastal Flying Tiger Films. Salomon’s longform credits as a director include episodes of the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, pilot episodes for CBS’ The Fugitive and The Agency, and such feature films as A Far Off Place and Hard Rain. Salomon first established himself as a noted cinematographer (e.g.—Far And Away, Backdraft, The Abyss)…. Director Duncan Sharp has joined Green Dot Films, Santa Monica. He had been at Life of Riley, Los Angeles….Executive producers David and Patti Coulter have launched BeachHouse Films, Santa Monica… Amy Russo is joining Santa Monica-based editorial house Terminal as a producer….Editorial house FilmCore Santa Monica has promoted postproduction supervisor Christie Price to producer….The industry is mourning the death of Charlie Willis, producer of Actual Reality, Atlanta, who succumbed to cancer….And noted agency creative Don Tennant passed away at age 79. He died last weekend (12/8) at his family’s Los Angeles home. Tennant’s credits included helping to create brand icons like Tony The Tiger, the Pillsbury Doughboy and the Marlboro Man. He is perhaps most closely associated with agency Leo Burnett, breaking into that ad shop in 1950. During his 20-year tenure at Burnett, he served in various creative capacities, culminating in his role as worldwide creative director and chairman of the creative review committee. He resigned from Burnett in 1970, first becoming COO for Chicago agency Clinton E. Frank and then in ’73 moving on to launch his own shop, Don Tennant Advertising, also in Chicago. That agency was sold in ’87, after which Tennant served as a creative advertising consultant. His survivors include three children and six grandchildren. Two of his sons are well known in the industry: director Andy Tennant, a noted feature filmmaker (e.g.—Anna And The King, Fools Rush In) who has diversified into spot directing via Hollywood-based Level 7 (SHOOT, 10/26, p. 1); and Tim Tennant, president of integrated creative services company Aspect, which has several holdings and maintains a joint venture relationship with Level 7….
Supreme Court Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Meta
The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.
The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.
Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.
Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.
Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.
The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More