Supervising sound editor Stephen H. Flick has been named recipient of the 2018 Motion Pictures Sound Editors (MPSE) Career Achievement Award. A veteran of 40 years and more than 150 films, Flick won Oscars for Sound Editing in 1988 and 1995 for Robocop and Speed, respectively. He will receive the Career Achievement Award at the 66th Annual MPSE Golden Reel Awards ceremony, February 17, 2019 in Los Angeles.
Flick has created sound for some of the most beloved and successful films in recent Hollywood history. A master of both traditional and cutting-edge sound editing techniques, he is known for his collaborative approach toward sound production. “Stephen is a true innovator and the epitome of the sound artist,” said Tom McCarthy, MPSE president. “He creates sound that blends organically with picture and brings the film’s world and story to life.”
Flick comes from a background in music, puppetry and college theater. He began his career in motion picture sound in the late ‘70s and earned one of his first credits as sound supervisor on the 1982 horror-thriller Poltergeist¸ which also brought him his first Academy Award nomination. He has a total of five Oscar nominations, with others coming for Die Hard and Total Recall. Additionally, he has three Emmy Awards (for Deadwood, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and John Adams) and a BAFTA for Speed. The MPSE has previously honored him with two Golden Reel Awards, among five nominations. Flick is currently a professor of the practice of Cinematic Arts at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. He also plays jazz saxophone and flute in a number of traditional and contemporary ensembles.
“I have been fortunate to have spent my career doing work that I am passionate about,” said Flick. “It is an honor and a privilege to be recognized by my friends and colleagues in the MPSE.”
The MPSE Career Achievement Award recognizes sound artists who have distinguished themselves by meritorious works as both an individual and fellow contributor to the art of sound for feature film, television and gaming and for setting an example of excellence for others to follow. Flick joins a distinguished list of sound innovators, including 2018 Career Achievement Recipient John Paul Fasal, Harry Cohen, Richard King, Skip Lievsay, Randy Thom, Larry Singer, Walter Murch and George Watters II.
Google is blasted by UK watchdog for what it calls anti-competitive behavior through digital ads
Google was slammed Friday by U.K. regulators who say it's taking advantage of its dominance in digital advertising to thwart competition in Britain, ratcheting up pressure that the tech giant is facing on both sides of the Atlantic over its "ad tech" business practices.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said that the U.S. company gives preference to its own services to the detriment of online publishers and advertisers in Britain's 1.8 billion pound ($2.4 billion) digital ad market. The watchdog leveled its accusations after an investigation, and the findings could potentially lead to a fine worth billions of dollars or an order to change its behavior.
Google is a major player throughout the digital ad ecosystem, providing servers for publishers to manage ad space on their websites and apps, tools for advertisers and media agencies to buy display ads, and an exchange where both sides come together to buy and sell ads in real time at auctions.
"We've provisionally found that Google is using its market power to hinder competition when it comes to the ads people see on websites," the watchdog's interim executive director of enforcement, Juliette Enser, said in a press release.
The watchdog's charges, known as a statement of objections, arrive two years after it opened its investigation. Google's digital ad business is also the focus of a European Union antitrust investigation and a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that's set to go to trial this month.
The CMA said that Google's "anti-competitive" conduct is ongoing, but the company disputed the allegations Friday.
"Google remains committed to creating value for our publisher and advertiser partners in this highly competitive sector," the company said in a prepared... Read More