LOS ANGELES -- Zigging while others were zagging led writer Steven Rogers to a story many had viewed wholly unappealing--that of figure skater Tonya Harding who was implicated in the knee-smashing attack on her prime U.S. skating competitor, Nancy Kerrigan, just prior to the 1994 Winter Olympics. Harding and her then husband, Jeff Gillooly, became infamous during the course of a media circus/feeding frenzy, which itself came to be regarded negatively as a precursor to what is now our society’s increased... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Tom Cross, ACE has an Oscar pedigree, winning for Best Editing in 2015 for Whiplash , and then nominated again two years later for La La Land . Cross also has a collaborative pedigree with writer/director Scott Cooper, serving as an additional editor on Crazy Heart (which won two Academy Awards, including Best Leading Actor for Jeff Bridges), and then reuniting to cut the recently released Hostiles (Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures). “Working with Scott on his first feature [ Crazy Heart... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Jordan Peele scored a pair of DGA Award nominations on the strength of Get Out--Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film as well as Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director for 2017. Joining Peele in the former category for the Guild’s coveted Feature Film Award are: Guillermo del Toro for The Shape of Water ; Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird ; Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ; and Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk. All except for... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Epoch Films leads the way with two of its directors--Martin de Thurah and Alma Har’el--scoring nominations for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for 2017. This marks de Thurah’s second career nomination; he won the award in 2013. Har’el is a first-time nominee. As a woman breaking through a spotmaking awards category that has been male-dominated over the years, Har’el continues to serve as an example for inclusiveness. She founded the Free The Bid program a year-plus ago and... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Thomas Schlamme, president of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), announced the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television, Commercials and Documentary for 2017. Dramatic TV series nominees are The Duffer Brothers for Stranger Things, Reed Morano for The Handmaid’s Tale, and Jeremy Podeswa, Matt Shakman and Alan Taylor for Game of Thrones. “Directors are driving the push to more distinctive television, eye-catching commercials and powerful documentaries,” said Schlamme. “... Read More, Comment

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- With a red carpet dyed black by actresses dressed in a color-coordinated statement, the Golden Globes were transformed into an A-list expression of female empowerment in the post-Harvey Weinstein era. Oprah Winfrey led the charge. “For too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men,” said Winfrey, accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. “But their time is up. Their time is up!” More than any award handed out... Read More, Comment

LONDON -- The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the nominations for the British Academy Film Awards in 2018. Leading the way with a dozen nominations is The Shape of Water . Darkest Hour and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri received nine nominations apiece; Blade Runner 2049 and Dunkirk each scored eight. I, Tonya garnered five nominations. Call Me by Your Name and Phantom Thread have four each. Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Lady Bird and Paddington 2 earned three... Read More, Comment

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Rachel Morrison, ASC, made American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards history, becoming the first female cinematographer in history to be nominated for the group’s coveted feature honor. She earned the recognition for best theatrical motion picture cinematography of 2017 on the strength of her lensing of Mudbound . Morrison’s fellow nominees are Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC for Blade Runner 2049 ; Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC for Darkest Hour ; Hoyte van Hoytema, ASC, FSF, NSC for Dunkirk ; and... Read More, Comment

SANTA MONICA, Calif.(AP) -- It was a good night for women at the Critics' Choice Awards. "Big Little Lies" was the biggest TV winner, with four awards, and "The Handmaid's Tale" won three. "Wonder Woman" was named best action movie and its star Gal Gadot accepted a special award for challenging gender stereotypes. "Big Little Lies" was named best limited series and won acting awards for Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern. Kidman thanked the entertainment community "who show up to make really fantastic films... Read More, Comment

The National Society of Film Critics has voted for Lady Bird as the Best Picture of 2017, also bestowing upon it the Best Director (Greta Gerwig), Screenplay (Gerwig) and Supporting Actress (Laurie Metcalf) honors. Best Actor and Actress went, respectively, to Daniel Kaluuya for Get Out , and Sally Hawkins for The Shape of Water . Earning Best Supporting Actor distinction was Willem Dafoe for The Florida Project . Roger Deakins, CBE, ASC, BSC, won Best Cinematography for Blade Runner 2049 ... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Filmmaker Michael Mann--a four time Oscar nominee, including for Best Director on The Insider --has joined RSA Films for commercial representation worldwide. Mann’s most recent project with the company is Nike’s “You Can’t Guarantee a Win, but You Can Guarantee a Fight,” featuring unbeaten Hong Kong boxer Rex Tso in a gripping ad that exalts resilience and will. It’s a reunion for the director and RSA, who first collaborated on a sultry thriller for Rolex called “Water,” via JWT Paris. Mann’s... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- TBWA\Chiat\Day New York has hired John Doris as head of integrated production. Doris, who starts at the agency this week, is the first major hire for newly appointed chief creative officer Chris Beresford-Hill, who joined the agency in October. Reporting directly to Beresford-Hill, Doris will lead production for the agency, and be a key driver in exploring and discovering new media, technology and platforms across its client roster, which includes Accenture, adidas, eos, Hilton, McDonald’s,... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Barton F. Graf has hired David Cardinali as head of integrated production. He most recently worked as an executive producer at Droga5. Several campaigns under his supervision for clients like Google, Under Armour, Hennessy and Newcastle Brown Ale have been honored in nearly every international award show. Before his time at Droga5, Cardinali spent the better part of a decade in the production department at Grey NY. He contributed to that agency’s creative revival and his work on DirecTV and... Read More, Comment

SAN FRANCISCO -- Pereira & O’Dell has elevated co-executive creative director Rob Lambrechts to the role of chief creative officer at the agency. As a founding employee, Lambrechts has been instrumental in the success of the shop’s growth and creative service offerings. As CCO, Lambrechts will oversee the creative direction of Pereira & O’Dell’s San Francisco and New York Offices as well as its satellite office in Cincinnati. CCO PJ Pereira will move on to founder and creative chairman and will be... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK -- Chelsea Pictures has added Stacy Peralta--the director of seminal documentaries Dog Town and Z Boys and Riding Giants --to its roster for commercial and branded content representation in North America. One of the first professional skateboarders to break through into popular culture, Peralta has gone on to become equal parts skater, entrepreneur, writer, producer and filmmaker. After a brief, but profoundly influential skateboarding career, he co-founded skateboarding company POWELL-PERALTA. It... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- John Kaplan is joining production and entertainment company Alldayeveryday as partner and president. Based in Los Angeles, Kaplan will manage the flagship office in the Downtown Arts District (DTLA) and lead the company alongside partners Michael Karbelnikoff and Arrow Kruse. Kaplan comes to Alldayeveryday after a decade at Creative Artists Agency, where he served as a sr. agent in CAA’s award-winning entertainment marketing division representing Fortune 500 brands including Coca-Cola, GM, AB... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC has less than 10 ad spots left to sell a little less than a month ahead of Super Bowl 52, the network says. Ads are going for slightly more than $5 million per 30-second spot. The big game, which is as much an advertising showcase as it is a football showdown airs Feb. 4. NBC is airing the Winter Olympics beginning less than a week after the Super Bowl and about one-third of total advertising revenue from both events will come from advertisers who have bought spots during both events... Read More, Comment

Producing a Super Bowl spot is one of advertising’s more high pressure experiences; throw the holidays into the mix and you have a recipe for major stress. So it’s the right time for this list of five ways to keep your production on track through the final weeks before the big game. The advice comes courtesy of experienced producers John Noble and Brad Powell of Fixer Partners, a scalable, on-demand agency production department that produced 2017’s memorable Super Bowl spot, 84 Lumber’s “... Read More, Comment

VENICE, Calif. -- Saville Productions has signed Academy Award®-nominated documentary film director Hubert Davis for his first branded content representation in the U.S. Davis garnered both a Short Subject Documentary Oscar nomination in 2005 and a News & Documentary Emmy Award nod the following year for Hardwood which delved into the life of his father, former NBA player Mel Davis. On the strength of Hardwood --which marked his directorial debut--Hubert Davis became the first Afro-Canadian to be nominated... Read More, Comment

DALLAS -- Sailor Bear--the filmmaking collective of David Lowery, Toby Halbrooks, and James M. Johnston known for its critically-acclaimed features--has joined Lucky 21 for commercials and branded content in the U.S. This marks the first career ad representation for Sailor Bear whose latest motion picture, A Ghost Story , is an exploration of love and loss that made its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Released by A24, A Ghost Story has scored numerous honors, including being nominated... Read More, Comment

VENICE, Calif. -- Production house Durable Goods has signed director Ben Chappell for U.S. commercial representation. He had previously been handled by ONE at Optimus. Chapppell’s extensive body of work includes spots for such brands as Whole Foods, Walmart, UPS, McDonald’s, Sony, Footlocker and Crystal Light, as well as music videos for artists including Miley Cyrus, Rick Ross, Nas, Miranda Lambert, Arctic Monkeys, and The Beach Boys. Chappell brings a versatile perspective to his work, drawing from his... Read More, Comment

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- harvest Films’ co-founder and executive producer Bonnie Goldfarb has been appointed to the California Film Commission (CFC) as a member of its advisory board. A strong advocate for keeping production in California, Goldfarb continues her stewardship of harvest as EP. She has been very active in identifying efficiencies productions can take that promote recycling, carbon neutralization and overall waste reduction. She is a long-time member of the Directors Guild of America and brings decades of... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Steven Spielberg's newspaper drama "The Post" took a bow at a politically charged National Board of Review Awards where Robert De Niro lambasted President Donald Trump with an expletive-laden tirade and Meryl Streep took a moment in an awards season rife with gender politics to praise the men who have been her mentors and collaborators. It was already decided that Tuesday night's gala at Cipriani's in midtown Manhattan would belong to "The Post." The National Board of Review announced the... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With the American Film Institute's annual luncheon Friday recognizing the best in film and television, Hollywood's awards season is officially underway. The schmooze-y celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel brought together the casts and creators of 2017's most celebrated movies and TV shows, many of which are also in contention for the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday. "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins led the honorees in a toast, during which she quoted former Washington Post publisher... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- The Cinema Audio Society has unveiled the nominees for its 54th Annual CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2017 in seven categories. Also announced were the Outstanding Product Nominations. The live-action motion picture category featured nominations for Baby Driver, Dunkirk, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Shape of Water , and Wonder Woman . “The CAS would like to congratulate all our nominees for their fine work in 2017. The standard of excellence from our creative... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES -- Nominees have been unveiled for the 20th CDGA (Costume Designers Guild Awards) celebrating excellence in film, television, and short-form Costume Design. In the running for the Period Film honor are Dunkirk, Murder on the Orient Express, Phantom Thread, The Greatest Showman and The Shape of Water . Contemporary Film nominations went to Get Out ; I, Tonya ; Kingsman: The Golden Circle ; Lady Bird ; and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri . Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film nominees are Beauty and the... Read More, Comment

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Television keeps churning out record numbers of original series but is being overshadowed by the internet's dubious distractions, FX Networks CEO John Landgraf said Friday. Technology entrances people with "hourly doses of bite-size half-truths and click bait come-ons," Landgraf told a TV critics' meeting. "To be honest, as incredible as television's become, it sometimes feels to me like a sideshow in what has become a daily three-ring media circus," he said. Given concerns over society's... Read More, Comment

ATLANTA (AP) -- A film company faces a citation and fine after a stuntman for "The Walking Dead" fell to his death last year during filming on the hit show's Georgia set, federal authorities said Friday. John Bernecker, 33, died July 12 from injuries suffered in a fall on the set in Senoia, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Atlanta, Coweta County coroner Richard Hawk said at the time. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a news release that it issued a "... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A civil lawsuit charging Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis with raping a publicist has prompted three additional women to come forward with their own sexual misconduct accusations, including another publicist who says he forced her to perform oral sex, then raped her. One of the other women speaking out told The Associated Press that Haggis tried to sexually assault her. "I need to be inside you," she recalled him saying, before she managed to run away. Another of the new accusers said Haggis... Read More, Comment

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- What's the hottest thing in the world of technology these days? Your voice. Some of the most popular gadgets over the holiday season were smart speakers with digital assistants from Amazon and Google. Apple is coming out with its own speaker this year; Microsoft and Samsung have partnered on another. As the annual CES gadget show kicks off in Las Vegas this week, manufacturers are expected to unveil even more voice-controlled devices — speakers and beyond — as Amazon and Google make their... Read More, Comment

"Paddington 2 " is that rare creation that somehow improves on its already charming predecessor. Maybe it's the addition of Hugh Grant as a lunatic faded star desperate for some cash to get his one man show going, Brendan Gleeson as a moody prison chef named Knuckles McGinty, a totally random dance routine during the credits, or just the sheer earnestness of it all but "Paddington 2" is a total delight. Paul King returns as director and co-writer for the sequel which finds Paddington (voiced... Read More, Comment

NEW YORK (AP) -- Alabama’s thrilling national football championship victory over Georgia drew 28.4 million viewers to ESPN on Monday night, the Nielsen company said. It was second only to the Ohio State-Oregon championship game in 2015 as the most-watched telecast ever on cable television, the company said. The game ended in overtime with a sudden-death touchdown for the Tide. The week before, the Georgia-Oklahoma college football semi-final was a more popular television event than the much-anticipated game... Read More, Comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Move over, "Star Wars," there are some new box office champs this weekend. "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" has topped the charts after three weekends in theaters, and newcomer "Insidious: The Last Key" opened in second, pushing "The Last Jedi" into third place. Columbia Pictures says Sunday that the Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart-led "Jumanji" is estimated to have earned an additional $36 million this weekend, bringing its total to $244.4 million. "This is all about 'Jumanji's' staying power,"... Read More, Comment

On the night before Christmas, a father tells a story to his daughter. Although the dad tells a classic tale, the girl imagines a totally different story--one in which she is a hero race car driver. Titled Ever After , this short film--a combination of 3D animation and live-action footage--is part of an Audi Spain campaign conceived by agency Proximity Barcelona that looks to raise awareness of how classic tales include gender stereotyping. The Audi Spain work claims the power of imagination to... Read More, Comment

Back in November, Uber Canada, in partnership with MADD Canada, launched a joint fundraising and awareness campaign to remind Canadians of the consequences of impaired driving. The partnership campaign kicked off with a public service announcement delivering the message that no mom should have motherhood taken away and if you’re impaired, to request a safe ride home. Following up on that initial PSA, now Uber wanted to personally bring the message directly to Canadians. On a cold night in... Read More, Comment

There’s only one place to own a tank--in the video game World of Tanks. Owning a tank in real life isn’t much fun and a most inconvenient proposition. It’s tough to grocery shop in, it won’t fit in a car wash--and in this spot, just getting into a parking lot is fraught with problems. Côme Ferré of Paris production house Wanda directed “Parking Lot” for ad agency Romance in Paris. This ad shows a guy trying to enter a parking lot with his tank--yielding frustratingly comedic results. In another... Read More, Comment

Created by McCann New York and directed by Roman Coppola via The Directors Bureau, this L’Oreal Paris spot debuted on the Golden Globes telecast. Part of McCann’s “Comeback” campaign for Elvive Hair Care, the commercial features an actress getting ready to go on stage. She nervously paces in her dressing room, awaiting the big moment. The camera finally reveals the actress to be Golden Globe winner and Stranger Things star Winona Ryder. Supers note that everyone loves a comeback--and your hair... Read More, Comment

L.A.-based agency Omelet launched its first work for client Princess Cruises--an integrated marketing campaign that highlights the brand’s destination leadership and brings to life its promise to its guests: when you travel with Princess Cruises, you come back new. Directed by Arnaud Uyttenhove of production house Caviar, this short film titled Change shows how a Princess Cruise ship captain is witness to the change in his passengers every day--the cruise experience helps them to relax, to open... Read More, Comment