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June auction for sale of Harpo Studio equipment

By Ruth L Ratny May 18, 2015

The biggest Chicago sale of used equipment will take place in early June when millions of dollars worth of top quality gear from Oprah’s Harpo Studios will be auctioned off ...

REEL THINGS

Starz’ new “Girlfriend” TV series shoots here for 4 days

By Ruth L Ratny May 15, 2015

“THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE” – the small screen adaptation of director Steven Soderbergh’s 2009 movie – starting June 9 will shoot city exteriors for four days. The 13...

Cutters scores four AICE Awards, Optimus wins one

By Ruth L Ratny May 15, 2015

At Wednesday night’s 14th annual AICE Awards ceremonies in LA, Cutters and Optimus were voted the Best among US and Toronto editors and postproduction experts competing for ...

Farewell Teletech name — hello new October.tv

By Ruth L Ratny May 14, 2015

Teletech Video, known back in the pre-digital film reel and celluloid days as a major spot duplication and distribution companies, has a new name and a new outlook on business...

Six industry orgs unite for one big networking event

By Ruth L Ratny May 14, 2015

For the first time, six visual media-related organizations will bring their respective memberships together for the inaugural “getting to know you” Chicago Creatives Cockt...

Country Time Lemonade’s return after 14 year hiatus

By Dan Patton May 14, 2015

Although Kraft’s Country Time Lemonade commercials from Chicago's VSA Partners contain hardly any dialogue and barely a logo, they achieve significant impact for the brand�...

INDIE CINEMA

Name actors in Singer Brothers’ first indie feature

By Ruth L Ratny May 12, 2015

THE BROTHERS SINGER, writer/producer David, who is also an award-winning composer, and producer Jonathan, of Coin Operated Films, have lined up an impressive cast for their de...

Filmmakers head for Cannes to promote their projects

By Ruth L Ratny May 12, 2015

SEVERAL CHICAGO FILMMAKERS are heading to the May 13-24 Cannes Film Festival to personally further their films’ fortunes. Husband-and-wife team EP Joe Orlandino and writer/d...

May 13-17 CUFF: film lovers’ paradise of new artists

By Julian Grant May 11, 2015

Because the 22nd Chicago Underground Film Festival May 13-17 is the largest and longest-running such festival in the USA and takes world cinema outside the mainstream, it’s ...

Energy BBDO loses Lay’s to new assignment approach

By Ruth L Ratny May 11, 2015

ON THE HEELS of Energy BBDO losing the Bud Light business to BBDO’s flagship New York office, Lay’s potato chips has said goodbye. Energy BBDO isn’t being replaced ...

Over 4,000 signed up as extras in Spike Lee’s “Chiraq”

By Ruth L Ratny May 11, 2015

More than 4,000 people showed up at St. Sabina Academy and church on the South Side Saturday to sign up as extras in Spike Lee’s “Chiraq,” due to start shooting in the n...

Well done short tickles the palette of famous chefs

By Ruth L Ratny May 11, 2015

Food luminaries from around the world flocked to Chicago to applaud winners of the “Oscars of the Food World” – the 25th annual James Beard Foundation Awards gala — Ma...

Swiatek brothers go coastal to make hit music video

By Dan Patton May 8, 2015

In a true coast-to-coast collaboration, Chicago-based Leo Burnett ACD Paul Swiatek and his brother, LA-based filmmaker Mike Swiatek, recently worked with an 80-plus cast and cre...

Ackerman edited Kay Jewelers’ Mother’s Day spot

By Ruth L Ratny May 7, 2015

The Colonie’s partner Bob Ackerman is the storytelling editor behind Kay Jewelers spot for Stern Advertising that’s been mindful of the moments that make Mother’s Day sp...

INDIE CINEMA

Indiana filmmaker’s short about femme serial killer

By Mike Morgan May 7, 2015

A chilling true story of suspected serial husband killer Belle Gunness that happened more than 100 years ago in LaPorte, Indiana, is the subject of a short film by a combinat...

BBDO’s James & friends’ album a tribute to beer fave

By Dan Patton May 7, 2015

BBDO senior producer Kevin James brought together dozens of musicians for the third annual tradition of turning his birthday into a collective binge of musical inspiration nam...