Cinema advertising company Spotlight Cinema Networks has announced several promotions within its national sales department. The changes are effective immediately and include: Bob Shaw promoted to executive vice president, national; Karen Brady promoted to senior vice president, Eastern region; and Mandi Dyner promoted to senior vice president, Western region
Continuing to build the pool of talent at its post-production facility in New York, Sim has hired Lucie Barbier-Dearnley as senior colorist. Barbier arrives from Company 3, London, and brings expansive credits across features, episodic television and documentaries. Her first projects for Sim will include Aggie, a documentary about philanthropist and art patron Agnes Gund; and the feature You Should Have Left for Blumhouse Productions and director David Koepp.
Emmy nominated filmmaker Pamela B. Green will be the featured speaker at the annual Women in Technology Luncheon on October 21, presented by HPA Women in Post and SMPTE. The popular gathering takes place October 21-24 during the SMPTE 2019 Conference at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Green’s feature documentary Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché tells the moving and groundbreaking story of the first female filmmaker. During the luncheon, Green will be in conversation with Loren Nielsen, co-chair of the HPA Women in Post Committee.
The Motion Picture Sound Editors will honor Victoria Alonso with its annual Filmmaker Award. As executive vice president of production at Marvel Studios, Alonso has executive produced films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe that have garnered critical acclaim and amassed more than $20 billion worldwide including Avengers: Endgame, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor, Black Panther and Captain Marvel, as well as the upcoming Black Widow. She will receive the award at the 67th MPSE Golden Reel Awards ceremony January 19, 2020, in Los Angeles.
Movio has named Shona Grundy head of product. Grundy will work out of Auckland and report to Movio co-founder and CEO William Palmer. A seasoned entrepreneur and product leader, Grundy will be responsible for capturing the required outcomes of the market, related industries, as well as the Movio front-line team and distilling this information into a product vision that provides clear and cohesive direction for the company.
The Motion Picture Sound Editors will honor Academy Award-winning supervising sound editor Cecelia “Cece” Hall with its 2020 MPSE Career Achievement Award. Hall received an Oscar nomination for sound editing in 1987 for her work on Top Gun and won the Oscar four years later for The Hunt for Red October.
The Society of Camera Operators will give cinematographer Steven Poster, ASC, the society’s 2019 Distinguished Service Award. The award will be presented January 18 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel.
Randall Dark is one of the pioneers of making movies and television programs in large format digital video. I’ve known him for more than thirty years and known his wife, Kristen Cox for more than twenty. When Randall recently confided in me that he has Alzheimer’s disease, he encouraged me to think more about Kristen’s needs now than of his own. I reached out to her to offer my support and told her I wanted to write a profile of Randall to remind the industry of how important his contributions have been for the broader world of what we now call digital cinema. She agreed and here is part of that profile, told in their own words.
Randall Dark is a pioneer of making movies in large format digital video. Still developing projects today, he was arguably the industry’s most passionate advocate in the effort to convert the television industry to high definition. Since working on the world’s first HDTV production in the ‘80s – the CBC mini-series Chasing Rainbows – he has made countless feature films and documentaries that explore both the wonders of the world around us and the complexities and humanity within all of us. Recently Randall learned that he has Alzheimer’s disease. With his wife Kristen’s support, he is fighting the disease with all the creativity and humor and simple grace that those of us who are blessed to call him friend know so well.
Film industry veteran David Burke has been appointed chief marketing officer of the Oscar-winning animation studio Laika, creators of Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link. Burke joins Laika from Universal Pictures where he was general manager for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 2006. Laika president and CEO Travis Knight made the announcement.
