Colleen Bell has been appointed director of the California Film Commission by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Bell has worked as a consultant since 2017. She was the U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 2014 to 2017. She held several positions at Bell-Phillip Television Productions, including producer from 2012 to 2014, director of special projects from 2006 to 2012 and associate producer and script supervisor from 1991 to 2003. She is a member of the board of advisors for the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, the Council of American Ambassadors and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and of the board of directors for the Pacific Council on International Policy. Bell succeeds long-time California Film Commission director Amy Lemisch. The position now held by Bell carries an annual salary of some $170,000…..
Kerry Smart has been promoted to managing director of 1stAveMachine London, replacing Isabella Parish who moved on to produce long-form film. Smart’s new role will require her to oversee a growing roster in the UK and expansion into other markets. Smart joined the mixed media production company three years ago as head of production diving headfirst into producing Stella’s “Buy a Lady a Drink” for Mother London followed by Samsung’s “Unpacking” with 72andSunny. Her keen eye for talent bought directing duo Mathery to the attention of the UK creative community and in addition to Stella and Samsung, she has produced commercials for IKEA, Jaguar, Bose and Huawei. Cutting her teeth at Academy Films, Smart started on reception and worked her way up the production ladder as production assistant and then production manager. She then spent five years as a freelance producer which enabled her to work with prolific production companies such as PRETTYBIRD, Independent, Caviar and Blink with directors including Jonathan Glazer, Frederic Planchon, Kim Gehrig, Cary Fukunaga and Fleur & Manu……
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More