Beast Editorial has brought Melissa Thornley on board as executive producer of the company’s Chicago office.
She brings extensive experience on both the creative and business sides of the industry to her role. Previously, Thornley ran her own sales/representation company and offered independent corporate coaching. Prior to that, she worked for 12 years with The Whitehouse Post, where she served as managing director of all four of the company’s offices following roles as executive producer for the New York and London shops and senior producer in the Chicago office.
A native of Chicago suburb Park Ridge, Thornley expressed delight at having the opportunity to oversee Beast’s office in her hometown. “I love collaborating with creative people and growing businesses. I have missed that creative collaboration that comes from working at a company doing great work. I’ve known the editors in the Chicago office for some time and know there will be a very good professional chemistry among all of us. They’re very talented, and we share the same ideas about the type of work we want to do and we all have a passion for filmmaking.”
Thornley also cited as drawing her to Beast the fact that it’s parent company is Ascent Media Group. “You get the best of both worlds–you’re in a boutique atmosphere but you have access to a technical infrastructure and talent in business, financial and strategic areas that a stand-alone company would never have,” she assessed.
A graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, Thornley is currently president of the Chicago branch of Women in Film.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ Murder Trial Heads To Closing In Tupac Shakur’s 1996 Killing
The murder trial of Duane "Keffe D" Davis in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur is headed to closing arguments after the defense rested Thursday following testimony from three former Las Vegas police officers.
Jurors are scheduled to return Monday for closing arguments before beginning deliberations in the only prosecution brought in the killing of the hip-hop icon. The presentation of evidence ended after nine days of testimony.
Davis, 63, did not take the stand.
Shakur was riding in a BMW on Sept. 7, 1996, when a white Cadillac pulled up next to it at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip and gunfire erupted. Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later. The driver of the BMW, Marion "Suge" Knight, survived.
Years later, Davis would say he procured the gun and his nephew, who has since died, fired the shots. Prosecutors say Davis orchestrated the killing, and he faces life in prison if convicted of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He has pleaded not guilty.
Defense attorney Michael Sanft has argued that Davis fabricated or embellished his accounts of the killing for money and notoriety and that investigators failed to independently corroborate his claims.
Retired Las Vegas homicide detective Dan Long, the defense's final witness, testified that he tried unsuccessfully to verify several details Davis provided during a 2009 police interview.
Davis told Long that his nephew, Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, had gone to a Las Vegas hospital after being beaten by Shakur and others in a casino brawl hours before the rapper was fatally shot. Long said he was unable to find hospital records confirming Anderson was treated there.
Long also tried... Read More
