Production company Believe Media has added director Phil Lind to its UK roster. Lind’s commercial work has steadily gained recognition, much of which involves directing a range of famous talent in addition to actors. For instance Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef, was at the helm of Sainsbury’s Summer campaign for AMV. Another project with Oliver for “Jamie’s Return to School Dinners” received unexpected media attention when paparazzi got wind of the shoot, which required Jamie to be in full body fat suit prosthetics, leading to the set in Battersea to be overwhelmed by a swarm of photographers. Lind also had the opportunity to direct the entire cast of Shane Meadows’ celebrated mini-series “This is England ‘86” for a viral promo film showing them throwing a house party. Lind’s longer-form work includes a 5-piece online series featuring Bear Grylls for Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man Academy, as well as a short film featuring documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield, who parodied himself to extol the public service remit of Channel 4. Most recently, Lind shot an Enel campaign for Saatchi & Saatchi Rome, as well as a spot for James Holiday Villa’s for McCann, currently airing in the UK. Lind made his first industry mark on the agency side, serving as creative head of 4Creative and then executive creative director of ITV Creative….Agency kbs+ Toronto has appointed Matt Hassell as its chief creative officer. He will head up creative for Target Canada and Bank of Montreal at kbs+. Previously, Matt was CCO of OgilvyOne where he led work for Unilever and helped the agency secure clients Tim Hortons and InterContinental…..Santa Monica-based production company Detour Films, headed by founder/executive producer Josh Canova, has signed director Jordan Kelley for exclusive commercial representation in the U.S. His credits include debuting the Dr. Martens x Pendleton Autumn/Winter capsule collection with a campaign highlighting the craftsmanship and quality of the two heritage brands partnering to create a colorful and vibrant collection. And for a personal short-form piece “The Craftsman,” Jordan turned the lens on himself taking a pause from the modern fast-paced life to pursue learning the hands-on discipline of leatherwork. Kelley got his filmmaking start in action sports….
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Tops Weekend Box Office
In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" sped past the Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an "A" on CinemaScore), "Sonic 3" is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.
It was telling of some wider trends that "Sonic 3" — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney's top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous "Sonic" movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth "Sonic" movie is already in development.
"Mufasa," however, was humbled in its opening weekend, with its $35 million in domestic ticket sales coming in notably shy of expectations . The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel even opened wider than "Sonic 3," launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for "Sonic 3."
Though "Mufasa's" reviews were poor (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.
"Sonic 3" nearly doubled the haul for "Mufasa," which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third "Sonic" will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.
In director Jeff... Read More