| May 18, 2012 |
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Stars shine on Cannes red carpetJane Fonda, Eva Longoria and Lana Del Rey were among the famous faces on the red carpet at the opening night gala of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. They and a host of other stars were on hand to see Moonrise Kingdom, the new film from US director Wes Anderson, launch the annual cinema showcase. Bruce Willis, Bill Murray and Britain’s Tilda Swinton joined other cast members at the movie’s glitzy premiere. The film is one of 22 in contention for Cannes’ prestigious Palme d’Or award. THE BRIEF: The ghost of an old technology kills at CoachellaIn 2012, deceased rapper, Tupac Shakur, gifted child of the Black Panthers, folk poet of West Coast’s Death Row Records, virtually killed at the Coachella Music Festival. 2Pac, wearing only his 6-pac and low riding baggy jeans, thrilled a new audience and stunned his fans when he appeared in a hauntingly reincarnated ‘hologram’ shouting, “What the fu-k is up Coachella?” So lifelike was his performance that The Brief had to conjure an urban legend: what if Tupac is still alive? What if he is actually hiding out in Cuba as some of his fans insist? After all, nobody saw his corpse. And what about Tupac’s prolific posthumous output? But bizarre theories aside, audiences at Coachella had only Dr. Dre to thank for making Tupac’s virtual appearance as badass as real life. Sim Reveals New Name and Logo, Company to Operate as SIM DigitalInternational equipment and production service provider, Sim Video, has announced that it will now operate under the name SIM Digital and has revealed a new logo. Now in its 30th year, the company has more to celebrate beyond a new name and fresh look. Mergers, acquisitions, geographic expansions, a new executive team and a growing repertoire of services have increased its success and heightened its profile. The company’s current growth and plans to enter new markets are cited as key reasons for its name change. Filmmakers, NDP give bad reviews to new film creditSaskatchewan’s new film industry subsidy is being panned by the NDP Opposition and industry representatives. The non-refundable film, TV and digital tax credit, worth about $1 million according to the government, will replace the old film tax credit, worth about $8 million, that was cancelled in the provincial budget as a cost-cutting measure. The new program, announced Friday afternoon, offers a 25 per cent non-refundable tax credit on production costs, but only companies that make a profit will get the money. Hey Publishers, Time to Increase Your Video Ad LoadTV advertising is all about interruption, a model that’s been relatively effective for more than half a century. Consumers have come to accept commercials and will put up with them to get to the end of the content. Traditional TV found a model that works, but online publishers refuse to fully replicate the TV ad load model in their long-form content, and that’s a major loss in revenue and advertising market share. Online video has made huge inroads in the race to make more premium, long-form content available to both consumers and advertisers, but online video will never compete with TV ad dollars if publishers aren’t willing to build in a greater ad load. |
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