Peter Caranicas: Last News

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorIn July 2012, I showed up at the office of legendary Hollywood litigator Bert Fields along with Variety freelancer Bob Verini. We were doing a Q&A with the legendary Hollywood lawyer, a partner at Greenberg Glusker, in one of those nondescript Century City steel-and-glass skyscrapers.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Peter Caranicas, a Variety editor for 16 years who was respected for his expertise in production and technology, died Sunday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer. He was 80. Caranicas covered film and TV production, the birth of cable and satellite TV and much more over his long career as a writer and editor at Variety and other entertainment business publications.

For editorial inquiries, please contact Peter Caranicas at peter.caranicas@variety.com. SVP, AnimationBad Robot(Film & TV) Agbaje, 36, helped to bring Charlie Mackesy’s “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” to life, earning Academy Award and BAFTA wins for animated short film, as well as four Annie Awards. Bad Robot is working on diverse animation projects across film and TV, including a two-season order for Bruce Timm’s “Batman: Caped Crusader” at Amazon, and an adaptation of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” for Warner Bros.Enduring power of animation: “I’ve seen such a resurgence and celebration of animation in different forms,” says Agbaje.

For editorial questions, please contact Peter Caranicas at peter.caranicas@variety.com. DISNEY Ryan StankevichSeniorVP, marketing Kyle RodriVP, creative advertising Jackson GeorgeSenior VP, creative advertising 2016’s feature film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was a $1 billion+ grosser with a robust fan base. But six years is a long time in the fantasy-adventure space.

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor EnergaCamerimage, the international cinematography-focused film festival, will honor Oscar winner Sam Mendes with the Special Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Director during its 30th anniversary edition, which will run in Toruń Poland Nov. 12-19. The helmer’s “Empire of Light,” starring Academy Award winner Olivia Colman (‘The Favourite,” “The Lost Daughter”) and BAFTA-winner Michael Ward (“Blue Story,” “Top Boy”), will open the Camerimage fest in addition to being one of the Main Competition nominees. Aside from “Empire of Light,” Mendes’ notable films include “American Beauty” (for which he won his best director Oscar), “Road to Perdition,” “Revolutionary Road,” “Skyfall,” “Spectre” and “1917.”

Peter Caranicas Deputy Editor EnergaCamerimage, the cinematography-focused film festival, will crown director Hype Williams with its Award for Achievements in the Field of Music Video. The annual fest, celebrating its 30th edition, will take place on Nov. 12-19 in Torun, Poland. Williams has collaborated with a who’s who of top artists and bands, including The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Missy Elliott, Nicki Minaj, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Beyoncé, DMX, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez. He will be on hand at Camerimage to receive the award. Having worked at the cutting edge of hip-hop and global pop culture since the late 1980s, Williams has also created multiple still photography and advertising campaigns in the fashion world, such as Love Advent, Conde Nast publications, Marc Jacobs and Marc Jacobs Beauty. He also shot the cover of In Style Magazine’s September Fashion Issue 2017.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorAvid Technology, the leading provider of editorial products and services for film and TV production, and Amazon Studios, a major streaming player, have announced a three-year agreement to bring cloud-based editorial to Amazon Studios’ slate of more than 300 original movies and series. The deal will offer creative teams a cloud experience similar to that of an on-premises editorial bay, including collaborative workflows with shared storage and end-to-end media management, without the complexity and time required to set up and tear down traditional hardware.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorEntertainment attorney Michelle A. Cooke, formerly with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, has joined law firm ArentFox Schiff as partner in the firm’s Media & Entertainment and Trademark groups in Los Angeles.Cooke will co-lead a team of 60 lawyers who advise film studios, TV producers and broadcasters, music services, and a range of multimedia developers and publishers.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorJean-Marie Lavalou, co-inventor the world’s first remote-control camera system, which gave birth to more fluid crane shots and a new world of creative possibilities for motion pictures, died on July 15. He was 76.Born into a well known family of camembert cheese makers in Normandie, Lavalou’s career took its tech twist when he met inventor-partner Alain Masseron.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorEnergaCamerimage, the international art of cinematography film festival, will honor visual arts pioneer Ulrike Ottinger with its Avant-Garde Achievements in Film Award during its 30th edition, which will take place Nov. 12-19 in Torun, Poland.Ottinger, known for work that challenged audiences’ notions of visual arts, has stayed active for five decades across film, photography, theater, opera and exhibition.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorThe 16th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival announced the winners of the Orpheus Awards on May 15, with director Araceli Lemos’ “Holy Emy” taking home the award for best fiction feature film.The prizewinners were revealed at the fest’s red carpet closing night and Orpheus Awards celebration at the Silver Screen Theatre in the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.Festival Director Aris Katopodis opened the sold-out ceremony with praise for the live event, which went virtual in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. “What an exceptional Festival week we have had,” he said.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorLaw firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher has announced the addition of entertainment transactions lawyer Steven E. Hurdle Jr.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorCinematographer Stephen H. Burum will be honored at EnergaCamerimage with the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.Set to run in Torun, Poland, on Nov. 12-19, Camerimage, which focuses on films and cinematography, will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year.Burum is best known for his collaborations with director Brian De Palma, which yielded such classics as “The Untouchables” (1987), a tale of the battle between good and evil; Vietnam War drama “Casualties of War” (1989); ”Carlito’s Way” (1993), which portrayed deep social divides; the iconic “Mission: Impossible” (1996); “Snake Eyes (1998); and “Mission to Mars” (2000).

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorJoe Calabrese – a prominent member of the entertainment bar with multiple appearances in Variety’s Legal Impact Report – is retiring from legal practice and moving into a strategic consulting role with a few of his closest clients. Here he shares his perspective on his impactful career and offers his thoughts on the future of the practice.Joe, you have been practicing over 40 years, first at O’Melveny and more recently at Latham. You are Global Chair of one of the largest entertainment-focused practices in the world and still in the middle of some of the biggest deals in the industry. Why now?It’s all about timing.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorTheir names have graced the tabloids: Armie Hammer. Chris Noth. Danny Masterson.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorFox Post Production Services and Formosa Group – the sound house that has worked on projects such as “Dune,” “Cruella,” “Scream” and “Mare of Easttown” – have entered a strategic alliance designed to broaden Fox creative talent available to producers, enhance the studio’s sound facilities and expand business for both companies. The pact will give Formosa Group a presence in the original Film Editorial building on the Fox lot in Century City, where Fox Post Production Services already boasts four feature mixing stages, two ADR stages, the famous Newman Scoring Stage, a Foley stage and several editing rooms.

Peter Caranicas Deputy EditorShowbiz attorney Erik Hyman has been named chair of the Global Entertainment and Media Practice at the Paul Hastings law firm.Hyman takes over for Craig Emanuel, who, along with a team of partners, helped establish the practice as a force in the entertainment industry. Emanuel will remain as a fully active partner at the firm.With more than two decades of experience, Hyman is well-known in Hollywood as a dealmaker whose clients include Oscar-winning actors, directors, writers and producers – as well as several publicly traded companies.