The Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) has named production designer Dawn Snyder as its director of education & special projects, succeeding Casey Bernay. The two are currently working together, creating a smooth transition as Snyder takes over officially today (9/1).
Bernay will stay on in a support role and continues to be involved with the Guild as a member of the board of directors and secretary of the Illustrators and Matte Artists Council.
National executive director Chuck Parker noted, “I am thrilled that Dawn Snyder has agreed to take the reins of the ADG Education Program with her thorough art department background combined with her teaching experience. Casey Bernay blazed the trail for harnessing the power of contract services to provide more than just safety training, to the ultimate benefit of not only just Local 800 members, but members of other West Coast locals as well. As Casey moves towards retirement, a seamless transition with Dawn is in the works and the winners will be the members of Local 800 for years to come.”
Snyder said, “After 38 years doing my dream job (as set designer, art director and production designer), I find myself fortunate enough to be able to help craft a program that will educate, strengthen skills, and encourage both current and future members of the Art Directors Guild to succeed in their dream jobs.”
She paid tribute to Bernay for her successful years in the position. The Art Directors Guild has developed, through Bernay, a robust education program which enables members to receive training and develop additional skills related to their work.
Snyder is best known as a TV production designer on shows such as Arrested Development, for which she won an Art Directors Guild Award. Other shows include Rush Hour, Imaginary Mary and the Netflix series Best Worst Weekend Ever. Her set design credits include Geostorm, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Van Helsing, Armageddon, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Caddyshack II and Field of Dreams.
Snyder was recently professor of production design at the Savannah College of Art & Design in Savannah, Georgia, and is currently a member of the adjunct faculty at AFI.
“Terrifier 3” Tops Weekend Box Office
The choices on the movie marquee this weekend included Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker, a film about Donald Trump, a "Saturday Night Live" origin story and even Pharrell Williams as a Lego. In the end, all were trounced by an ax-wielding clown.
"Terrifier 3," a gory, low-budget slasher from the small distributor Cineverse, topped the weekend box office with $18.3 million, according to estimates Sunday. The film, a sequel to 2022's "Terrifier 2" ($15 million worldwide in ticket sales), brings back the murderous Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) and lets him loose, under the guise of Santa, at a Christmas party.
That "Terrifier 3" could notably overperform expectations and leapfrog both major studios and awards hopefuls was only possible due to the disaster of "Joker: Folie à Deux." After Todd Phillips' "Joker" sequel, starring Phoenix and Lady Gaga, got off to a much-diminished start last weekend (and a "D" CinemaScore from audiences), the Warner Bros. release fell a staggering 81% in its second weekend, bringing in just $7.1 million.
For a superhero film, such a drop has little precedent. Disappointments like "The Marvels," "The Flash" and "Shazam Fury of the Gods" all managed better second weekends. Such a mass rejection by audiences and critics is particularly unusually for a follow-up to a massive hit like 2019's "Joker." That film, also from Phillips and Phoenix, grossed more than $1 billion worldwide against a $60 million budget.
The sequel was pricier, costing about $200 million to make. That means "Joker: Folie à Deux" is headed for certain box-office disaster. Globally, it's collected $165.3 million in ticket sales.
"This is an outlier of a weekend if ever there was one," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst... Read More