The dog days of summer are upon us. It’s hot. It’s a slow time in sports (although, go Dodgers). “The industry” is slow. It’s vacation time. But creativity never takes a break. In fact, vacations are usually very inspiring. So before you take off, check out these links from around the “creative world,” courtesy of boutique recruiting/staffing agency, Eleventh Hour:
California lawmakers are considering putting flashing ads on license plates, doctors are urging the Coliseum not to hold another rave, and the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles beat the San Francisco Giants last night.
That’s what’s going on around Los Angeles, home of recruiting/staffing agency Eleventh Hour. Here’s what’s going on around the “creative world”:
Toy Story 3won the weekend box office for the second consecutive weekend (by the way, THR dubs this second consecutive weekend a “sophomore session,” just in case you need an unnecessary way of saying it).
Branded entertainment is set to increase, according to ADWEEK. I guess it’s better than advertisements on license plates.
FIFA actually feels bad about some of the horrible mistakes made by referees during the 2010 World Cup. They are going to consider using video technology. (Technology: 1 – Stubbornness: 0)
We are halfway through June–about two and half weeks from the fourth of July. What do you do? What do you do? Summer is here. It is going somewhere. You better seize the moment. (Or maybe this is just what I’m telling myself right now.) Either way, enjoy these links from around the creative world, check out Marina del Rey-based Eleventh Hour, and then go outside and do something.
Karate Kidwon a, quite frankly, really weak box office this weekend, grossing $55.7 million.
Two different studios are trying to talk Peter Jackson into directing “The Hobbit” films. At this point, it seems that we can expect these films in 2020.
Best Buy has released a mobile app that works in conjunction with the new 3D film Despicable Me to translate the speech of the “minion” characters in the film. I don’t know what the minion characters are, but it sounds cool.
Mello Yello is back with a retro logo. (I didn’t know it was still around either.)
Bud Light has crammed 32 fans (one from each country competing in the World Cup) into a house and “eliminating” them from the house when their team is eliminated. Should be interesting. Hopefully they checked criminal records.
Four-hundred medical marijuana outlets are being forced to close or relocate all over Los Angeles. That’s what’s going on in Los Angeles. Here’s what’s going on around the “creative world.” (There is not supposed to be a correlation between those two topics…)
Hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day. Governor Schwarzenegger, Mayor Villaraigosa and actor Jon Voight led the celebration/observation of Memorial Day at West Los Angeles National Cemetery yesterday. That’s what was going on in Los Angeles, home of boutique recruiting/staffing firm Eleventh Hour. Here’s what’s going on around the “creative world”:
Volkswagen weaves their arm-punching campaign into the opening of Jimmel Kimmel Live.
Tom Cruise vs. Tom Cruise in an MTV promo. Remember when Tom Cruise was on the verge of crazy and it seemed like his career (or at least, reputation) was beyond repair? It seems that he’s recovered nicely.
A baby takes over Rodeo Drive (or somewhere) in a jort-inspired diaper.
Not sure how we are halfway through March. Time always flies, but in this case, it seems especially fast. It must be the excitement of spring…or the aftereffects of two very long weekends.
Here are your links for March’s hump day. I think SXSW is going on, or something. I haven’t been cool enough to go, so I have no frame of reference, but I’ll act as if I do.
SXSW kicked off this weekend. It is so awesome. It’s, like, the coolest festival that any generation in the history of the world has ever put together. (See?)
Alice in Wonderlandwon the Box Office this weekend, taking home a cool (because Johnny Depp is in the movie) $62 mill. The quote from one of my Facebook friends? “Johnny Depp is a b****!” Uh, OK then… Although, I’m assuming she isn’t a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic, so I wouldn’t put too much stock into her “review.”
The Hollywood Reporter: Jay Roach to receive “Director of the Decade” award at ShoWest 2010.
Sony Pictures chairman/CEO Michael Lynton wants movie theater concessions stands to health it up. I agree, it’s a noble effort, but…good luck with that.
In case you haven’t heard, March Madness is here. Sobe is letting you face off in a “Sobe Lifewater Zero Inhibitions Bracket Challenge” against a celebrity. The prize? You get to meet said celebrity. I’m playing against Kendra. Although, I’m not really sure what I would gain from meeting her since she’s married.
Advertising Age’s “Ad of the Day” is the new Muscle Milk spot entitled “Katie.” I saw this ad about 10 times over the weekend, while watching NCAA basketball conference tournaments. And, personally, I completely agree with this ad being the ad of any day.
James Cameron is bringing Titanic back to the big screens in 3D. Seems like a joke, right? It’s not.
According to an article on AdvertisingAge today, Coca-Cola’s memorable sleepwalking spot that aired during Super Bowl XLIV may have been a complete rip-off of an Israeli dairy commercial from eight years ago. In fact, if you watch the video, it looks like they used the same script. It’s pretty unbelievable:
The ad in question, dubbed “Sleepwalker,” was one of two created by Coke’s longtime agency, Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore., for the Super Bowl broadcast on CBS last weekend. In it, a young man sleepwalks for miles through the African savanna, narrowly missing deadly encounters with herds of elephants and hippos before finally quenching his subconscious thirst with a cold Coke he finds in a tribal village.
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Within 24 hours of the spot airing on the Super Bowl, the video below — a split-screen comparison of the Coke ad and a 2002 spot for Yotvata by Shalmor Avnon Amichay/Young & Rubicam, Tel Aviv, both with similar storylines and set to the music of Ravel’s “Bolero” — had been loaded onto YouTube. Subsequently the video was covered by news outlets in Israel and circulated on Twitter and e-mails among the international and U.S. creative community.
Yotvata Dairy, which markets milk, yogurts and flavored-milk drinks, doesn’t appear to have officially complained to anyone, though.
If this truly is a coincidence, as Coke claims, it’s by far the craziest coincidence I haver ever seen (in terms of intellectual property). It looks like someone found the script for the Yotvata Dairy ad online and made some minor tweaks. You know, like a college student, in a hurry, doing a project last minute, the night before it’s due? Even the shots and music and acting are the same. Wow.
Or, maybe, the writer of this spot simply saw the ad 8 years ago, memorized it, and was sleepwalking when they were writing it. Yeah, that’s it. They had no idea…
Happy Super Bowl Week. Can’t wait for football to resume after a weekend off… What’s that? They played the Pro Bowl yesterday? Seriously? Oh…
Anyway, get your popcorn ready…and your burgers, hot dogs, beef brisket, Doritos, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Beer, and anything else you consume on Super Bowl Sunday. The match-up between the Colts and Saints should be a good one.
Beyonce took home a record-breaking six Grammy’s last night. (Or so I’m told.)
By the way, Avatarwon the box office, again, for a seventh-consecutive session. No big deal.
NBC has renewed “Parks and Recreation” for a third season. I, for one, am glad. This show is extremely underrated and has only improved since it’s first season.
Netflix has added about 300 indie films for on-demand streaming.
And, in case you haven’t heard, “Jersey Shore” is returning for a second season with it’s original cast members. Our country is going down the tubes, because of the tube, but it’s never been so much fun.
Brian Laesch compiled these links for Eleventh Hour’s “beyond the world of recruiting” blog.
Happy Avatar Day. Today is the day that James Cameron’s Avatar most likely surpasses Titanic as the top grossing film of all time. Proving that technology really is taking over our lives. It now dominates movies, too. I know Avatar is the first movie I’ve ever liked, strictly because of the effects. Digital effects are never supposed to be the star of a film–or so I thought–but that’s the case for Avatar.
I’ll be interested to see what James Cameron will do around 2019 to top this. Maybe he’ll create the first film experience where local actors in costumes are hired to come out of the screen and interact with the crowd during the film. Theaters across the country, and worldwide, will spend thousands installing new IMAX movie screens with doors in them… But until that day, I guess we’ll have to watch this outdated 3D stuff.
The Hurt Locker has been voted best film by the Producers Guild of America. Really glad to see this film getting the praise it deserves.
As mentioned, Avatar, with an estimated $1.841 billion in worldwide boxoffice, is expected to passTitanic as the top grossing film of all time.
Conan O’Brien’s final Tonight Show aired on Friday. In case you didn’t see it, here it is on Hulu.
Speaking of Hulu, Nielsen is preparing a system to include all ad-supported online TV watching in their ratings.
Jeff and Erin are getting married!!! Who are Jeff and Erin? I have no idea, but their Hollywood blockbuster trailer-style “save the date” video is fairly epic. I kind of want to crash their wedding…but I’ll probably be busy on 10/09/10.
In a somewhat uncomfortable situation, the “Pants on the Ground” guy performed a private show for the Minnesota Vikings. (The Vikings are on the ground after blowing that game against the Saints. At least, Favre is.)
And, did you hear the White House has it’s own iPhone app? Press Secretary Robert Gibbs loves it!
Brian Laesch has compiled these links for Eleventh Hour’s “beyond the world of recruiting” blog.
I thought about calling this week’s edition of links “Around the Creative World (Holiday Purgatory)”…but figured that might be a bit depressing. You know the time of year though: in between Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve. It’s a blah time of year. If you are lucky enough to be off work, you might still be enjoying yourself. If not, you are counting down the days until the new year so you can move on. At least, I know I am.
But there is one good thing about this time of year. Almost every single media outlet, in every medium, is releasing lists of the “Best of the Year.” And in this case, “Best of the Decade.”
