It’s been a production week of spies in Istanbul and light shows in Buenos Aires. In addition, we were the Gold Sponsor at the AFCI Cineposium near Paris, meeting lots of old friends and making new ones. We spent an evening closer to home at the Higher/Pitch event at Shoreditch in London, which celebrated the use of art throughout the global advertising industry.
Advertising spending in China's domestic industry is expected to grow by 15% in 2011 and 17% in 2012, according to a new report from Shanghai-based communications organisation Group M.
Brad Pitt’s pan-European shoot for Marc Forster’s zombie thriller World War Z will arrive in the south London borough of Southwark in the next few weeks. Shooting will take place on the Heygate Estate, although it’s not been confirmed whether the scenes are set in London or elsewhere.
Caroline Norbury has been appointed the first Chief Executive Officer of Creative England, the organisation that will be replacing the Regional Screen Agencies in England within the next few weeks. Norbury has been interim Establishment Director since mid-June.
California’s screen industries have managed to have the state’s filming incentive extended for a year, according to the LA Times. As in many states throughout the US, especially where conservative Governors swept to power in the 2010 elections, the California incentive is unpopular in some circles.
[slideshow id=151]Electronics giant Philips has taken to the streets of Buenos Aires for its new commercial, See what light can do. The spot shows an endless row of lights zipping across gardens, quiet roads, pools and through homes before reaching the city itself, illuminating the night with a domino effect.
Tanya Seghatchian has resigned from her position as head of The Film Fund at the British Film Institute (BFI). She had been overseeing the fund’s transition from the now-defunct UK Film Council to the BFI, having originally been in charge of the council’s Development Fund.
[slideshow id=150]A new version of John le Carré’s Cold War spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has been filmed on location in London, Budapest and Istanbul. Set in the early 1970s, the film uses the cities as functional meeting places, in some cases using locations rumoured to have been real spy meeting spots.