Havas Group has acquired a majority stake in Blink, a social media agency with a unique model which specializes in content and management of conversations between consumers and brands, assisting organizations to follow, understand and take part in the social media realm.
Blink was founded in 2007 by Sagi Chemetz, one of the first social media activists in Israel. It was the first content and social media agency in Israel and one of the first agencies in the social media field globally. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, the team of 35 experts work on digital and content strategy, content creation, social media management, community management, digital PR, crisis management and social and native media buying for its strong customer base which includes both blue-chip companies and SMEs, all leading players in their respective markets.
Yannick Bolloré, Havas Group CDO, said, “Social media has undeniably become one of the most powerful ways More
News Briefs
- Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017
- Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017
Stan Lee was the subject of a love fest Tuesday night, as actors, directors, artists and illustrators lauded the Marvel Comics legend for creating a vast universe of fantastic, flawed, righteous and relatable superheroes.
Mark Ruffalo, Aisha Tyler, Lou Ferrigno, RZA and comics creator Todd McFarlane were among the speakers at "Extraordinary: Stan Lee," a tribute hosted by Chris Hardwick and broadcast into more than 150 movie theaters across the country.
The two-hour program mixed live appearances with video tributes and animated segments that told the story of Lee's career. The 94-year-old dreamer behind Spider-Man, Iron Man and scores of other superheroes sat center stage at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills as one artist-admirer after another shared how his characters and creative energy inspired them.
"I've patterned my life after yours," ''Guardians of the Galaxy" writer-director James Gunn said in a video message.
- Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has opened its call for entries in the television categories for the 32nd Annual ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography, which will be held February 17, 2018, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.
The ASC is now accepting submissions in three categories: (1) Episode of a Television Series – Commercial; (2) Episode of a Television Series – Non-Commercial; and (3) Motion Picture, Miniseries, or Pilot Made for TV. The deadline to enter is November 1 by 5 p.m. (PT).
To qualify for the ASC TV Awards, shows must have a premiere broadcast date in the United States between November 1, 2016, and October 31, 2017. Entry forms can be downloaded here.
Winners in the television categories at the 31st ASC Awards included Fabian Wagner, ASC, BSC for Game of Thrones, Tod Campbell for More
- Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017
"Transformers: The Last Knight" star Mark Wahlberg has outmuscled Dwayne Johnson to become Hollywood's highest-paid actor in the past year with a transforming income of $68 million, according to Forbes magazine.
The former rapper known as Marky Mark beat out "Baywatch" star Johnson, with $65 million, and Johnson's "The Fate of the Furious" co-star Vin Diesel, worth $54.5 million
The rest of the top five, released Tuesday, includes Adam Sandler, flush with a Netflix deal, at No. 4 with $50.5 million and Jackie Chan with $49 million.
The top 10 actors banked a cumulative $488.5 million — nearly three times the $172.5 million combined total of the 10 top-earning women.
All the data is from between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2017, before fees and taxes.
- Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017
In a break with tradition, President Donald Trump and the first lady have decided not to participate in events honoring recipients of this year's Kennedy Center arts awards to "allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction," the White House announced Saturday.
Past presidents and first ladies have hosted a reception for honorees at the White House before the Kennedy Center gala and sat with them at the televised event.
The decision came a day after the entire membership of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities resigned to protest Trump's comments about last weekend's demonstrations by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. The president blamed "many sides" for the violence that left an anti-racism activist dead.
But Trump has long had a contentious relationship with the arts world and some of the Kennedy Center honorees already had said they would not attend the White House reception in More
- Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017
Dale Spina, formerly Warner Bros. VP, Creative Advertising and an award-winning copywriter for the studio, died on August 4 after a brief illness. He was 66 and lived in Newhall, Calif.
As co-head of The Idea Place, Warner’s in-house ad agency, formed in the early 1980s, Spina worked on dozens of Warner titles, including “Batman,” the “Lethal Weapon” series, “Beetlejuice” and “Chariots of Fire.” Many of his projects won Key Art Awards, the annual honors that recognize the best in motion picture creative advertising and marketing.
Spina joined Warner Bros. in 1970 as assistant to West Coast publicity cirector Diana Widom. In 1972, he became assistant to Charlotte Kandel (Widom’s twin sister), who was then a publicity project director. Later he worked as assistant to advertising director Nancy Goliger.
In 1980, Spina began to work with Joel Wayne, previously the top creative executive at Grey Advertising in New York, More
- Friday, Aug. 18, 2017
British Columbia's workplace safety agency has released the first official account of a "Deadpool 2" stuntwoman's death.
The initial report by WorkSafeBC on Friday confirms witness accounts to Monday's accident during filming of the sequel to actor Ryan Reynolds' popular superhero movie.
The report says SJ Harris had been rehearsing a stunt that involved driving a motorcycle out the open doors of a building, across a concrete pad and down a ramp that had been built over three stairs before coming to a stop.
It says during the first shooting of the scene, she continued driving beyond the planned stopping spot, continued down a second ramp and across the road.
The motorcycle struck a concrete sidewalk curb and Harris was thrown off and propelled through a plate glass window.
- Friday, Aug. 18, 2017
The CEO of 21st Century Fox denounced racism and terrorists while expressing concern over President Donald Trump's reaction to the deadly violence surrounding a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
James Murdoch also told friends in a personal email that he and his wife, Kathryn, will donate $1 million to the Anti-Defamation League.
Murdoch writes that the events in Charlottesville last weekend and Trump's response "concern all of us as Americans and free people."
"I can't even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis. Or Klansmen, or terrorists," Murdoch added. "Democrats, Republicans, and others must all agree on this, and it compromises nothing for them to do so."
Trump has put the blame for the violence on both white nationalists and those protesting the gathering last weekend, saying there were "very fine people" on both sides.
Murdoch is the son of More
- Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017
The Visual Effects Society (VES) announced acclaimed visual futurist and VES Visionary Award honoree Syd Mead as a keynote speaker at its 9th annual Summit, “Inspiring Change: Building on 20 Years of VES Innovation.”
Featured speakers will include president of IMAX Home Entertainment Jason Brenek and online security expert and founder of SSP Blue Hemanshu Nigam. The interactive forum on Saturday, October 28 at the Sofitel Hotel Beverly Hills celebrates the Society’s milestone 20th anniversary and will bring together top creatives, executives, thought leaders and visionaries from diverse disciplines to explore the dynamic evolution of visual imagery and the VFX industry landscape in a TED Talks-like atmosphere.
Mead’s storied career spans almost six decades. He was honored as the recipient of the VES Visionary Award at the 14th Annual VES Awards in 2016 for his unique ability to create unforgettable images and advance storytelling through More
- Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017
HBO says it has regained control of its social media accounts after the latest security breach to hit the entertainment company.
The hacking group OurMine on Wednesday night took over several of HBO's Twitter accounts, including ones for "Game of Thrones" and John Oliver's show. The group posted that "we are just testing your security" and asked HBO to contact it for an upgrade.
HBO said in a statement Thursday that "the infringement on our social media accounts was recognized and rectified quickly." It declined further comment.
OurMine has a history of similar hacks showing companies' security vulnerabilities.
It caused far less damage and appeared unrelated to another group of hackers who broke into HBO's computer network and have been doling out stolen information and unaired episodes for several weeks.