SHOOT News Briefs for the Week of March 15th, 2010Breaking Tidbits from the World of Filmmaking, Commercialmaking, Television and Entertainment Production Updated Throughout The Week
March 15, 2010 -- Filmmaker Tim Burton Gets French Cultural Honor; FCC Unveiling Sweeping National Broadband Plan; 'Mission: Impossible' Star Peter Graves Dies; ABC, Lifetime Among Winners of GLAAD Media Awards

Disney To Shut Zemeckis-Run Motion-Capture StudioBy Ryan Nakashima, Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP), March 13, 2010 -- To further cut costs at its movie studio, The Walt Disney Co. said Friday that it will shut a San Francisco-area facility used to capture the performance of Jim Carrey for his digitally animated character, Scrooge, in "A Christmas Carol." The closure of the facility in Marin County, north of San Francisco, will be completed by January and result in the loss of 450 jobs.

Lisa Margulis Joins Epoch Films As Exec ProducerNEW YORK, March 12, 2010 -- Epoch Films has hired Lisa Margulis as executive producer. She served in the same capacity most recently for MJZ and prior to that at Anonymous Content, HKM and The Directors Bureau. The move enables Epoch managing director Jerry Solomon to step back from day-to-day commercial production operations and focus on expanding the offerings of the company's branded entertainment shop Dandelion.

The Best Work You May Never See: K&G Fashion Superstore's "Modern Day Hercules"March 12, 2010 -- There's a saying that clothes make the man. Well this spot shows that the right suit can make a man feel like a superhero as we first see him rescuing cats and dogs out of a burning pet store. He then pushes aside a showboat martial artist/would-be attacker on the sidewalk, and then heads for the park where a bat-wielding, blindfolded lad is flailing away at a pinata--but instead is repeatedly striking our suit-clad protagonist, who explains that his suit makes him feel invincible.

The Best Work You May Never See: U.K. Department of Transport's "Named Rider" From AMV BBDOMarch 12, 2010 -- We see motorcycles in traffic who are identified with bold, stylized neon signs bearing their names and other information, such as Tom who's "shy" and "retiring," and Nick and Helen, who "met online." Car drivers weaving in and out of the same traffic take notice of them, which is the point--to raise awareness of motorbike riders.

Top Spot of the Week: Canadian Paralympic Committee's "Swimming" Out of BBDO TorontoMarch 12, 2010 -- We open on a world-class swimmer, Stephanie Dixon, stroking through the water--but the action is being played for us in slow motion reverse. As we see her power, passion and talent on display, her credentials appear on screen. She won five Gold Medals, two Silver at Sydney; one Gold, six Silvers, two Bronze at Athens; and one Gold, two Silver and one Bronze at Beijing.

ONE at Optimus Signs Directors Chaves, BehCHICAGO, March 12, 2010 -- Director Michael Chaves and Alex Beh have signed with ONE at Optimus, the live-action production arm of production and post house Optimus. Chaves, a Southern California local, is best known for his previous tenure at Backyard. His credits include spots for such clients as Toshiba, 7-Eleven, Ford, McDonald's, Microsoft, Kellogg's, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lucky Jeans and Zippo.

Directorial Team Riess/Hill Hits PaydirtBy Robert Goldrich
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF., March 12, 2010 -- The directorial duo of Riess/Hill--consisting of Chris Riess and Amy Hill--has joined Paydirt, the production house headed by partners/executive producers Jonathon Ker and Jeremy Barrett. Riess/Hill comes aboard a Paydirt directorial roster that includes company partner Iain Mackenzie, Lorenzo Fonda, Lex Halaby, Moh Azima, Shawn Kim, and select filmmaking talent from longstanding U.K. music label/studio WARP.

Tim Keene Fills Newly Created Framestore Role Of Executive Producer, CommercialsLONDON, March 11, 2010 -- Tim Keene, who exec produced stereoscopic visual effects for Avatar, has been placed in a newly created role at Framestore, the London VFX house which has been with since 1997. Keene has been named executive producer, commercials, so that ad industry clientele can tap into his extensive VFX experience, particularly the 3D expertise he gleaned from Avatar.

'The Cove' Puts Japanese Fishermen on the Defense; Demonstrates Power of DocsBy Miles Edelsten
OTSUCHI, JAPAN (AP), March 10, 2010 -- Following the success of "The Cove," a documentary about the dolphin-hunting village of Taiji that won an Oscar Sunday, Japanese fishermen are particularly sensitive to filming of whaling or dolphin-hunting — or the morning catch of Dall's porpoise, as I was. So I knew I would not be welcome Wednesday morning as I drew up to the snow-buried quayside in Otsuchi — in northern Iwate prefecture, some 500 miles (840 kilometers) northeast of Taiji — to try and capture evidence of the hunt on camera...

Director Shyam Madiraju and His India Shop Gobsmack! Sign with Curious PicturesNEW YORK, March 10, 2010 -- Curious Pictures has signed director Shyam Madiraju and his Mumbai, India-based content studio Gobsmack! for exclusive representation for TV commercials and other advertising assignments in North America. In turn Gobsmack! will rep many Curious directors for ad projects in India. The move gives the New York-headquartered Curious its first base outside the U.S. and opens the door to assignments from agencies throughout the Asia Pacific region.

AICE Extends Membership To Design, Motion Graphics, Visual Effects ShopsNEW YORK, March 10, 2010 -- In what it regards as a natural evolution, the Association of Independent Creative Editors (AICE)--the international trade association for the independent creative editorial and postproduction industry--has extended its membership reach to now include design, motion graphics and visual effects companies as well as the artists who work for them.

Oscar Ad Misdirect Makes Direct Impression On Women's Health Issue For McCannNEW YORK, March 09, 2010 -- Characterized by many in the advertising industry as the Super Bowl for women, the Academy Award telecast carried a message of importance to the female market, taking the form of a spot which at first appears to be a stylish, high glamour, atmospheric ride extolling the virtues of a perfume or similarly "indispensable" cosmetic or piece of fashion apparel.
     Read the story and see the spot.

TWC Lands Six Directors, Exec Producer Mel GragidoSANTA MONICA, CALIF., March 09, 2010 -- An infusion of filmmaking and executive talent into TWC Films consists of veteran executive producer Mel Gragido along with six directors, three of whom—Jonas Arnby, Hans Moland and Johan Skog—were previously with Gragido at The Joneses. Additionally TWC has signed directors Arni Thor Jonsson, Ken Lambert and Terry Rietta.

Artisans With Commercialmaking Ties Enter Academy Award Winners' CircleFrom Big Winner Kathryn Bigelow To Mauro Fiore, Joachim Back And Former H5 Trio
LOS ANGELES, March 08, 2010 -- Artisans with ties to the commercialmaking industry made their mark at the 82nd annual Academy Awards last night (3/7), starting at the top with Kathryn Bigelow who became the first woman ever to win the Best Director Oscar. Bigelow, who earned the history-making distinction on the strength of The Hurt Locker--which won a total of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture--signed with RSA Films last year for representation in spots and branded content.

A "Precious" Night At Film Independent Spirit AwardsBy Robert Goldrich
LOS ANGELES, March 06, 2010 -- Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire was the big winner at the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards held Friday (3/5) night at L.A. Live's event deck in Los Angeles. The Lee Daniels-directed film won every category for which it was nominated, taking best feature, best director, best first screenplay for Geoffrey Fletcher, best lead female for Gabourey Sidibe, and best supporting female actress for Mo'Nique.

'Clash' of 3-D Movies To Hit Underprepared CinemasBy Ryan Nakashima, Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP), February 22, 2010 -- Movies in 3-D are becoming such big moneymakers that Hollywood studios are cramming them into the nation's theaters, even though there aren't enough screens available to give each film its fullest possible run. That will mean an unprecedented number of 3-D movies for film fans to choose from this spring, and smaller profits for Hollywood studios than they might otherwise get with fewer 3-D competitors.

Drama 'Winter's Bone,' Documentary 'Restrepo' Earn Top Honors At The Sundance Film FestivalBy David Germain, Movie Writer
PARK CITY, UTAH (AP), January 31, 2010 -- The Ozark Mountains drama "Winter's Bone" and the war-on-terror documentary "Restrepo" won top honors Saturday (1/30) among U.S. movies at the Sundance Film Festival. Debra Granik directed "Winter's Bone" while "Restrepo" was helmed by Sebastian Junger.

All Together, 2009's Top Spot Is...Top Vote Getter Is Also SHOOT's Choice, Sounding A Chord of Optimism For 2010
By A SHOOT Staff Report
LOS ANGELES, December 18, 2009 -- There's a dash of sentimentality in our choice for the Top Spot of 2009, culled from a field of SHOOT Top Spots of the Week from throughout the year. As it turns out, though, our sentiment coincides with many of our readers who in an online poll voted decisively in favor of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) animation :60 titled "All Together Now," directed by the duo Fx & Mat of Nexus Productions, London, for Cole & Weber United, Seattle.