NY-based mixed media production company 1stAveMachine has rolled out a West Coast office and expanded content division. Based in the new Santa Monica shop will be executive producers Andrew Geller and Garrett P. Fennelly, director of development Jordan Stone, and director of digital content Alexander Schepsman. They are part of a team led by 1stAveMachine partners Arvind Palep, Serge Patzak and Sam Penfield. They will focus on film, TV, online, and branded content with special access to servicing clients in the “Silicon Beach” tech sector.
Fred & Farid has added a second office in China, launching a shop in Beijing to go with its ongoing operation in Shanghai. Founded by Frรฉdรฉric Raillard and Farid Mokart in 2007, independent digital creative group Fred & Farid also maintains offices in Paris and New York….
"Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" โ or even "Babyratu" โ happen.
The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.
And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, "Saw Patrol" ).
This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation "Wicked" opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic "Gladiator II." Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy โ it was already halfway there before the name game began: "Wickiator," "Wadiator," "Gladwick" and even the eyebrow raising "Gladicked" have all been suggested.
"'Glicked' rolls off the tongue a little bit more," actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of "Gladiator II" this week. "I think we should all band around 'Glicked.' It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it."
As with "Barbenheimer," as reductive as it might seem, "Glicked" also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging... Read More