Good news for the LA production community. FilmLA issued an update regarding regional filming activity. After posting three consecutive record-breaking quarters, local filming in the second quarter (“Q2”) of 2022 was down by -5.8 percent over the same period last year. From April through June, FilmLA recorded a total of 9,220 Shoot Days (SD) compared … Continue reading “LA film production returns to pre-pandemic levels”
During Day 1 of the American Film Market, a panel was held that looked at the continued lack of pandemic insurance. According to notes from the AFM, the situation has added complexities, expense and risk to most productions. Moderated by Jill Goldsmith, Co-Business Editor of Deadline, financiers and producers discussed strategies that can get films made, what projects are … Continue reading “AFM: Finance Conference looks at lack of pandemic production insurance”
Who would have assumed that Andy Serkis’ film, with Tom Hardy reprising his role as a reporter with superpowers gained from aliens, would have the biggest first weekend since December 2019? Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Sony’s follow-up to the hit 2018 supervillain film blew past expectations at the box offices this weekend. Pre-opening estimates … Continue reading “Venom 2 has the biggest opening of the pandemic”
Good news for CBS, and Paramount+. The 73rd annual Emmys saw its viewership rise to 7.4 million, according to Nielsen’s preliminary numbers. Over the past decade, major award shows have seen a steady decline in audience, but last year’s ceremonies saw an even steeper decline due to the pandemic and quarantine. The 72nd Emmys only … Continue reading “Emmys: Ratings rise from previous pandemic year”
Things didn’t go exactly as planned for Hollywood’s biggest night. In a year, where Hollywood held back most of its biggest films due to the pandemic, the 93rd Academy Awards drew its smallest audience ever. While the awards tried to change things up in a year that saw a tragic pandemic take and shut down lives, … Continue reading “Pandemic Academy Awards ratings anemic”
Director Martin Garde Abildgaard wants to make one thing clear – his debut feature A Beautiful Curse is not a pandemic story, it’s a love story. Though the backdrop of the film is a sleeping pandemic, it merely sets the scene for romance; a story of boy meets girl in unusual circumstances which allow for … Continue reading “A Beautiful Curse is not a pandemic story, but a love story”
While living at the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak, in the daily world of double face masking, social distancing and isolation, the Latinx community is creating a safe and comforting way for people to gather together in the name of Angelino’s favorite food — tacos. Villas Tacos Pop Up Shop, a family business that started … Continue reading “Villas Tacos makes the pandemic comforting”
2020 was an incredibly challenging year for production, across advertising, TV and film. These teams are not considered essential workers, neither federally nor on state levels. Thus, when the country was on complete lockdown, there was a 3-4 month period with essentially no work, which caused great hardships for production companies, thousands of crew members, … Continue reading “Post-COVID, some pandemic-policies should stick around”
Upon turning 50, George Clooney joked to his friends that he should be put on the cover of AARP The Magazine with the headline “Sexiest Man (Still) Alive.” But it took nearly 10 more years – and living through a decade that included his first marriage, the arrival of children, and a nearly fatal motorcycle accident – to agree … Continue reading “George Clooney on the pandemic, aging and more”
Producer and director Michael Bay released the trailer for his new feature, Songbird. The first feature filmed in Los Angeles since quarantine, which has sparked criticism as a tone-deaf movie about an ongoing horror that America and the world is still experiencing. For months, experts have hammered home a critical point: the US’s disastrous handling … Continue reading “Bay’s pandemic movie ‘Song Bird’ is triggering”
Whoa. That was quick. Like a short form video, six months after Quibi’s official streaming launch it has announced it is shutting down. Short form video streaming service, and the brainchild of former Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, announced Wednesday that it was shuttering for good, just six months after … Continue reading “Quibi shuts down streaming service amidst pandemic”
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rite Aid drug store chain is offering seasonal flu shots and encouraging all age groups to get the vital shots as soon as possible to help maintain strong immune systems, keep communities thriving and play a role in minimizing the number of flu hospitalizations this year. With health care providers … Continue reading “Creating a flu shot spot… during a pandemic”
With millions of Americans waking up to a new quarantined world of working from home, businesses shut down, restaurants, movie theaters, bars and gyms shuttered, some companies are attempting to make the populations’ social and work distancing at home more pleasant. Down Dog is one of those companies. Today, the highest-rated app for practicing yoga … Continue reading “Down Dog keeps yoga app free during pandemic”
There are at least 2,033 cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in the United States, according to the state and local health agencies, governments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In response, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) has released a blog to help members through what they call, “a myriad of issues.” … Continue reading “AICP releases blog to help members through pandemic”
Actress, Producer and Writer Nakia Secrest (Scandal, Modern Family) is the writer of Radio Silence, one of the five exciting films chosen by the Oscar-qualifying 27th annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF). The festival announced its selections yesterday. Directed by Ric Serena (My Indiana Muse), the film will compete in the festival’s Annual HBO Short Film … Continue reading “Writer Nakia Secrest’s Radio Silence selected by ABFF”
There is so much going on in Cannes this week. Beginning today, The 76th annual festival gets underway, featuring the likes of Spike Lee, Brie Larson, Pedro Almodóvar, Michael Douglas and so many more. This also marks the 5th anniversary of the French Riviera Film Festival, a fabulous short film festival founded by Gotham Chatham and Nicole Muj. During … Continue reading “Cannes: Filmmaker Chadwick Pelletier”
It is estimated that 1 in 5 AAPIs have recently experienced a hate incident, translating to millions of AAPIs nationwide. Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition dedicated to confronting racism and other forms of bigotry against AAPI communities, has documented more than 11,000 self-reported hate incidents since 2020 alone. But these numbers are just the tip of … Continue reading “Venables Bell + Partners team with Stop AAPI Hate”
There is so much going on in Cannes this week. Beginning today, The 76th annual festival gets underway, featuring the likes of Spike Lee, Brie Larson, Pedro Almodóvar, Michael Douglas and so many more. This also marks the 5th anniversary of the French Riviera Film Festival, a fabulous short film festival founded by Gotham Chatham … Continue reading “Cannes: Actress and host Diana Madison”
Let me just begin by stating the obvious – advertising is an at-will industry. Agencies can hire you for any reason based on any random set of criteria; likewise, they can fire you for any reason at any time. Hire at will, fire at will. They can also pay you whatever they want at will. … Continue reading “Advertising creatives should care about the WGA strike”
Creative Content and Production company, SuperBloom House, has partnered with Marriott Bonvoy to create its latest campaign, “Roam Around the World.” Marriott Bonvoy was looking for a fresh approach to connect with a new audience and landed on a creator-led, social-first global campaign that taps into social media and social behaviors as the driving force … Continue reading “Marriott Bonvoy inspires global travelers”
