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”
Following a banner year with the additions of Editorial Partners Brandon Porter and Conor O’Neill, along with the successful launch of a new outpost in Austin, award-winning creative editorial/VFX company Nomad is continuing to grow its all-star team with the addition of industry veteran Alaina Zanotti as Senior Executive Producer in Nomad’s LA office. With over fifteen years of experience leading … Continue reading “Nomad welcomes Senior EP Alaina Zanotti to LA Studio”
The People’s Joker, a queer coming-of-age parody superhero fan film written and directed by Vera Drew, and co-written by Bri LeRose premiered on September 13, 2022, at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and was pulled from the program after just one screening due to “rights issues.” The first screening of The People’s Joker took … Continue reading “Transgender Joker-inspired fan film pulled from TIFF”
At a press conference held today at the Résidence de France in Beverly Hills, members of the Franco-American Cultural Fund (FACF) and The American French Film Festival Program Committee announced that the Opening Night film for The American French Film Festival (formerly COLCOA) will be the North American premiere of Jean-Jacques Annaud’s NOTRE-DAME ON FIRE / Notre-Dame Brûle. … Continue reading “Notre-Dame on Fire to open French Film Festival”
Northwestern Mutual has discovered an overwhelming desire among Americans to earnestly pursue their dreams now, rather than waiting for that elusive “someday.” Yet, for far too many, financial insecurity is standing in the way of going after what’s most important. Responding to this cultural shift, Northwestern Mutual is unveiling a new national brand campaign – … Continue reading “Northwestern Mutual introduces The Great Realization”
Today, Disney+ announced the Dancing with the Stars season 31 celebrity cast and their professional dancing partners, while live in studio on ABC’s Good Morning America. The series, hosted by supermodel and businesswoman Tyra Banks and new co-host, actor and television personality Alfonso Ribeiro, returns to the ballroom with a lineup of celebrities including a … Continue reading “Dancing with the Stars reveals all-star cast for S31”
Matthew Palmer, who is repped by Avocados and Coconuts for commercials and branded content, is set to debut his latest feature documentary, This Land. A film exploring seven groups of Americans as they experience Election Day across the U.S., the politically-skewed documentary feature premiered In Competition at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Executive produced … Continue reading “Avocados and Coconuts’ Matthew Palmer directs doc”
