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    Swedish VFX studio Haymaker launches L.A. studio; Sorrentino named EP/director of new business

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments4146 Views
    Leslie Sorrentino
    LOS ANGELES --

    Haymaker, the award-winning Swedish visual effects studio, has expanded its U.S. operations and opened a new facility in Los Angeles. Haymaker CEO and lead VFX supervisor Alex Hansson has named Leslie Sorrentino as executive producer and director of new business for the Los Angeles office. 

    Haymaker has developed major campaigns for such premium brands as Puma, Girard-Perregaux, Burger King, and Hyundai, as well as such feature films as Borg vs. McEnroe, Chappaquiddick, and the Cannes Film Festival opening selection The Dead Don’t Die.  

    Sorrentino is a multiple Clio and an Emmy Award-winning advertising and VFX veteran. His resume includes work with director Martin Scorsese, as well as Bethesda Game Studios (publisher of the FALLOUT video game series), the National Football League, global agencies, movie studios, and TV networks.

    With a high profile and stature as a VFX studio in Scandinavia, Haymaker maintains a top drawer creative team thanks to the artist-driven nature of the company. Hansson founded Haymaker in 2008 with the goal of creating a studio that placed artistic passion and the use of the latest technology first while reducing the number of executives and administrative positions to the bare minimum, significantly lowering costs for clients while delivering work of the highest quality.

    “We started with nothing and built Haymaker into one of the most accomplished high-end independent VFX studios in Europe,” Hansson said. “That experience taught us new ways of pulling off the impossible for our clients. And I knew instantly that Leslie’s experience, personality, and drive made him a perfect fit for our entry into the U.S. market.”

    Sorrentino related, “After seeing the level of work Haymaker was delivering, I was convinced they were going to succeed in the U.S. Alex pushes to get that extra bit of perfection, which is a real difference maker.” 

    Haymaker’s studio is already in full swing; the Swedish team is collaborating with the Los Angeles office to deliver multiple advertising campaigns. In addition, Haymaker is in pre-production for the highly anticipated remake of the classic feature The Emigrants to be released in December 2021. 

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    Tags:Alex HanssonHaymakerLeslie Sorrentino



    EU accuses TikTok of “addictive design” that harms children, seeks changes to protect users

    Friday, February 6, 2026
    The icon for the TikTok video sharing app is seen on a smartphone in Marple Township, Pa., Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

    The European Union on Friday accused TikTok of breaching the bloc's digital rules with "addictive design" features that lead to compulsive use by children, in preliminary charges that strike at the heart of the popular video sharing app's operating model.

    EU regulators said their two-year investigation found that TikTok hasn't done enough to assess how features such as autoplay and infinite scroll could harm the physical and mental health of users, including minors and "vulnerable adults."

    The European Commission said it believes TikTok should change the "basic design" of its service. The commission is the EU's executive arm and enforcer of the 27-nation bloc's Digital Services Act, a sweeping rulebook that requires social media companies to clean up their platforms and protect users, under threat of hefty fines.

    TikTok denied the accusations.

    "The Commission's preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us," the company said in a statement.

    TikTok's features including infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommender systems "lead to the compulsive use of the app, especially for our kids, and this poses major risks to their mental health and wellbeing," Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said at a press briefing in Brussels.

    "The measures that TikTok has in place are simply not enough," he said.

    The company now has a chance to defend itself and reply to the commission's findings. Regnier said "if they don't do this properly," Brussels could issue a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of... Read More

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