THE SALE OF EQUIPMENT AND FIXTURES at the Avenue Edit auction earlier month “did very well,” although auctioneer Paul Finn of the Boston-based auction house could not reveal how much money was raised by the sale.
He did say, however, that 100 customers were in the house and another 100 bid via the internet. Proceeds from the auction will be used to pay Avenue Edit’s creditors.
FYI: The DGA will bestow an honorary life membership on Roger Ebert at the guild’s Jan. 31 awards dinner in L.A. ? Executive producer Scott Kemper joined DDB from Arnold Worldwide, New York, where he worked on clients like Hershey, McDonald’s Timex and Merck ? Another New Yorker is former freelance designer/animator Jessica Plummer, who joined Calabash Animation, now very engrossed in a big broadcast and online campaign for General Mills.
MORE SAG HEADACHES. News Corp. said it was exploring a shift of existing series from SAG to AFTRA, but retracted that statement after both unions blasted the move. SAG accused the company of using illegal “scare tactics.” Nonetheless, 20th Century Fox confirmed that it wants spring pilots with AFTRA rather than SAG if possible.
“WERE THE WORLD MINE,” one of the most successful indie films, with 75 festival screenings and 21 awards, plays at the Music Box now through Dec. 19, one of the stops on its successful theatrical release since October.
The fantasy about a high school boy, who escapes reality through musical daydreams, was directed by Chicagoan Tom Gustafson who co-wrote it with his partner, Cory James Krueckeberg.
Stars are Wendy Robie (“Twin Peaks”), broadway actress Judy McLane (“Mamma Mia”), Zelda Williams (Robin’s daughter) and introduces Tanner Cohen as the lead.
“World” is based on Gustafson and Krueckeberg’s short, “Fairies,” which was shot in Chicago in late winter.
GOOD PLANNING. Two weeks in Mexico the end of cold, cold January is producer/director George Elder’s schedule. He and his crew will shoot footage for restaurateur Rick Bayless’ popular PBS show, “One Plate at a Time.” Season seven’s 13 episodes will feature the authentic dishes of Mexico City.
OVER AT CRC, Chris Steinmetz of CRC is producing promising new singer Jennifer Porter’s new iTunes album for the Universal Music label ? And there’s a lot of ADR work going for director Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies.”
AGENCIES TELL US that while nothing’s stirring, not even a mouse (sorry, couldn’t help it), the good news is that new campaign activity began after the New Year.
THERE’S TALK, but nothing official, that “B3,” the sequel to “The Dark Knight” could shoot in Chicago and a Chicago production office would open in early 2009. A “B3” screenplay-in-progress has been confirmed, so the sequel sounds like a go.
If you missed it last year, you can catch “The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience” when it returns to Navy Pier IMAX Theatre from Jan. 23 through March 6. During its previous engagement, the IMAX version attracted an audience of 100,000.
