Anthony and Joe Russo, who helmed Marvel Studios’ critically acclaimed Avengers: Endgame, are set to receive the prestigious International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) Publicists Motion Picture Showman of the Year Award for their historic contributions to the art of cinema and television. The 57th Annual Publicists Awards ceremony, which traditionally occurs the week leading up to the Academy Awards®, will be held in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday, February 7, 2020.
“Anthony and Joe Russo have made a huge impact in cinema with the record-breaking Avengers and Captain America films,” said Lewis Rothenberg, national president of the ICG. “They have taken audiences around the world on a wild journey with their unique and imaginative brand of storytelling and are two of the most exciting innovators in our industry today. We are thrilled to celebrate their cinematic showmanship and commitment to nurturing new talent.”
Joe and Anthony Russo are the artists and innovators of some of the world’s most successful and iconic blockbuster films and television shows. They are the only directors to direct four record-breaking and critically acclaimed films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Avengers: Endgame is the highest-grossing film of all-time, bringing in $2.79 billion, obliterating their own record set with Avengers: Infinity War. Endgame broke more than 100 box-office records, including best opening weekend of any movie in history.
The versatile filmmakers’ unique visions place them among the top-grossing directors of all time with a total box-office revenue in excess of $6.8 billion. Their creative story telling talents have expanded into television with critically acclaimed shows including Arrested Development, for which they won an Emmy® Award, Community, Happy Endings and Deadly Class.
In 2018, Joe and Anthony Russo opened their new studio, AGBO, an artist-led collective focusing on creating global content for film, television and digital platforms. They are also co-founders of Bullitt, a creative studio centered on brand-integrated entertainment and advertising content. The Russo’s recently premiered their film Mosul, directed by Matthew Michael Carnahan, at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. They are set to direct Cherry this fall starring Tom Holland, and they have produced Dhaka starring Chris Hemsworth, scheduled to premiere first quarter of 2020 from Netflix.
Awards chair this year is Tim Menke with Sheryl Main serving as co-chair. The awards will be presented in the following categories: Motion Picture Showman of the Year, Television Showman of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, The Maxwell Weinberg Publicist Award for Motion Picture Campaign, The Maxwell Weinberg Publicist Award for Television Campaign, Les Mason Award for Career Achievement in Publicity, and the Bob Yeager Award for Community Service. More than 800 industry leaders are expected to attend the awards luncheon. Media sponsors include The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, SHOOT Magazine/SHOOTonline, and Variety.
Local school staple “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” from 1939 hits the big screen nationwide
Most Maine schoolchildren know about the boy lost for more than a week in 1939 after climbing the state's tallest mountain. Now the rest of the U.S. is getting in on the story.
Opening in 650 movie theaters on Friday, "Lost on a Mountain in Maine" tells the harrowing tale of 12-year-old Donn Fendler, who spent nine days on Mount Katahdin and the surrounding wilderness before being rescued. The gripping story of survival commanded the nation's attention in the days before World War II and the boy's grit earned an award from the president.
For decades, Fendler and Joseph B. Egan's book, published the same year as the rescue, has been required reading in many Maine classrooms, like third-grade teacher Kimberly Nielsen's.
"I love that the overarching theme is that Donn never gave up. He just never quits. He goes and goes," said Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, who also read the book multiple times with her own kids.
Separated from his hiking group in bad weather atop Mount Katahdin, Fendler used techniques learned as a Boy Scout to survive. He made his way through the woods to the east branch of the Penobscot River, where he was found more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from where he started. Bruised and cut, starved and without pants or shoes, he survived nine days by eating berries and lost 15 pounds (7 kilograms).
The boy's peril sparked a massive search and was the focus of newspaper headlines and nightly radio broadcasts. Hundreds of volunteers streamed into the region to help.
The movie builds on the children's book, as told by Fendler to Egan, by drawing upon additional interviews and archival footage to reinforce the importance of family, faith and community during difficult times,... Read More