Getting to Know the Author: S&S Paves the Way…

Here’s an interesting concept that The Wall Street Journal’s Jeffrey Trachtenberg wrote about on Monday. Publisher Simon & Schuster (S&S) is using video interviews to promote its authors. It isn’t what you think. There’s an element of interactivity involved. The authors are answering reader questions sent by email. But the… more »

Another First of Note — Recording Voices Out of Studio.

In an interview with The New York Times, Gore Verbinski talked about his own fashion risk — instead of recording voice actors individually in a studio, he produced their dialogue by having them act out their scenes together.  What he described as motivation by fear, I call really, REALLY, smart…. more »

A Weekend of Firsts…

Firsts hit the box office this “first” weekend in March. Rango, an animated feature about an ordinary chameleon who accidentally winds up in the town of Dirt, a lawless outpost in the Wild West in desperate need of a new sheriff, was the first cartoon feature directed by Gore Verbinski… more »

Getting Feisty: BMW Billboard Answers Audi’s

2011 is definitely turning into an interesting year for the auto industry. No more moaning and groaning. This time, it is all about being feisty. feist·y [fahy-stee] –adjective, feist·i·er, feist·i·est. 1. full of animation, energy, or courage; spirited; spunky; plucky: The champion is faced with a feisty challenger. Yeah, it… more »

Ford Fusion Ad: Great Copy, Lousy Payoff…

There was a full page ad in The Wall Street Journal on Monday that caught my eye. It was for the Ford Fusion and the copy is really well-written. First it takes a swipe at Camry and Accord loyalists who “aren’t the folks we’re speaking to anyway.” The ad is… more »