Filmmaker Paul Fox has joined CoMPANY. Fox has helmed the majority of episodes for the Golden Globe-nominated comedy Schitts Creek, starring Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara. Fox is currently directing the new CBC comedy series, Workin’ Moms, created by and starring Catherine Reitman….Oceana Branding has signed director Jan Boon for commercials and branded content. Boon is probably best known for his prowess in documentary-style branding, an example being his short for Samsung titled The Worst Instagram Ever, which took Gold at last year’s Shanghai Film Festival….Innocean Worldwide Americas, headquartered in Huntington Beach, Calif., has expanded its creative team with several key new hires. Jeff Bossin, Michael Everard and Kelly Kliebe join as VPs, group creative directors. Bossin is responsible for developing and overseeing integrated national campaigns for Hyundai. Bossin comes over from Deutsch LA, where he was working with brands including Target, Zillow, PlayStation and Real California Milk. Everard joins Innocean with an extensive background in the automotive category where he’s been a writer and creative director on brands such as Lexus, Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi Motors, Chevy, and Saturn. He will be co-managing the Hyundai Dealer business at Innocean. Kliebe returns to Innocean from The Garage Team Mazda and has worked at top agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, spanning such brands as Mazda, Toyota, National Geographic, Sony, and Charles Schwab. In his new role at Innocean, Kliebe will work directly on the Genesis account. Also joining Innocean are design director Marius Gedgaudas, art director Gabriel Gama, sr. copywriter Alvaro Soto and copywriter Guilherme Grossi. Gedgaudas had previously been at Ignited. The Cannes Lion-winning team of Gama and Grossi join Innocean from TBWA/Raad, Dubai. Soto had most recently been at McCann Peru….Global content studio Pulse Films has promoted Rik Green to executive producer heading up the U.K. Music division, and appointed Alli Maxwell as EP at the helm of the U.S. Music division Green joined Pulse as a music video producer in 2012, and went on to work on some of the studio’s most iconic videos including “Genghis Khan” for Miike Snow (director Ninian Doff), “Nobody Speak” for DJ Shadow & Run the Jewels (Sam Pilling), and “No Reason” for Bonobo (Oscar Hudson). Maxwell is a multidisciplinary creative and EP whose career spans music videos, commercials, branded entertainment, VR and feature films….
Is “Glicked” The New “Barbenheimer”? “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” Hit Theater Screens
"Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" — or even "Babyratu" — 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 — 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