NAMES IN THE NEWS. Industry veteran Tom Fletcher, the former Fletcher Camera & Lenses executive, was named director of sales at Fujifilm’s optical devices division. In his new post, Fletcher, who has been consulting for the company for almost a year, will oversee sales and promotion of Fujifilm’s broadcast and cinema lenses in North America, reporting to division VP Gordon Tubbs and working out of a Lake Forest office.
Cap Gun Collective, The Whitehouse’s original content and film/commercials division, has added “24” director/executive producer Stephen Hopkins to its roster for US representation, announced Cap Gun EP Matt Abramson…
Cinespace-based Periscope Post and Audio hired veterans sound designer/mixer John Wong and colorist C. Ryan Stemple, announced Michael Nehs, COO and post production supervisor. “They both bring unique skills and experience; Ryan to our color/DI side and John to our audio and sound side.”
Cutters’ managing director/partner Craig Duncan and Final Cut rep Doug Stephen, Doug Stephen & Partners are the two Chicago members of the 2017 AICP Show Committee, out of 24 committee members.
DDB Chicago later this month is expected to formally announce that Jamie McGarry has been promoted to SVP/director of new business development and Mark Hansen has been tapped as chief client officer/managing director.
McGarry, who will spearhead new business and organic growth efforts for the agency, will report to DDB CEO/president Paul Gunning.
TV SHOW PRODUCER D’SHAUN RAGLAND has relocated his 14-year Chicago Red Dove Media TV production company to Los Angeles. Red Dove’s slate of projects include TV series “The Blexicans,” directed by Bill Duke, “Teen Cuisine,” and is in production on the TV reality series “The Winning Shot.”
A WORLD WAR II DOC, “A City goes to War: Chicago,” possibly the first of an 8-part series about how American industrial centers transformed and retooled during WWII to become what president Franklin D. Roosevelt called “an arsenal of democracy,” is in production from EP/director John Davies and producer/editor Brian Kallies (“Phunny Business: A Black Comedy,” “Heroes on Deck”).
Companies that had been producing cars, stoves and toys were now producing planes, tanks and guns and every citizen was expected to contribute, and did contribute, to the war effort.
WTTW/11 will be the presenting station, locally and nationally on PBS. Bill Kurtis narrates.
CBS SITCOM “SUPERIOR DONUTS,” adapted from the play by Pulitzer Prize and Tony winning writer Tracy Letts, airs Mondays at 9 p.m. The story centers around Arthur Przybyszewski (Judd Hirsch) owner of a long time donut shop trying to stay afloat in a gentrifying Chicago neighborhood.
It costars Katey Sagal as a police officer; David Loechner as an unskilled jack-of-all-trades; Jermaine Fowler as a job-seeking artist with crazy ideas about using social media and new donut flavors to help save the store and Maz Jobrani as a real estate vulture itching to buy Arthur out and replace the donut shop with a chain store.
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