Havas Media Group has launched Havas Market, a strategic full-service eCommerce offering. Jess Richards, EVP managing director, commerce, will lead it in North America; previously, she served as Havas Media’s head of social, growing the division’s North America’s practice by more than 350% over the past five years. Comprised of eCommerce experts worldwide, Havas Market will give brands within and beyond the retail sector strategic counsel around how to identify the right customers, where to retail, how to show up in retailers’ marketplaces (e.g. Target, Amazon, Walmart), and more. The approach will be guided by Havas Media’s unique Mx process that uses connection, context and content to create the most meaningful experience for a consumer. To pull from expertise across markets, Richards and team have created an advisory board, called the Commerce Accelerator Group, comprised of rising stars across the U.S. This accelerator group will help drive thought leadership and identify new ways to help brands rethink customer relationships…..
Cambridge, U.K.-based studio Vine FX has promoted two of its supervisors. Pedrom Dadgostar is now head of 3D and Ezequiel Villanueva head of 2D. An experienced 3D supervisor, Dadgostar began his career at Bandito VFX before a three-year stint at MPC Advertising where he worked on a selection of high-profile and award winning commercials including Ridley Scott’s “Hennessy: The Seven Worlds” and Channel 4’s 2018 trailer for The Great British Bake Off. Since joining Vine, Dadgostar has been instrumental in the growth of the 3D department, producing work most recently for War of the Worlds, season 1. With 12 years of VFX experience, Villanueva has spent time at both MPC and Double Negative, where he built up a credit list including The Lion King, Mad Max: Fury Road and Wonder Woman. He is currently leading Vine FX’s 2D team on the upcoming eight-part series, The Serpent, co-produced between BBC One and Netflix….
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