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The International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) has announced the first group of nominees for the 61st Annual ICG Publicists Awards, which honors publicists, unit still photographers, and entertainment journalists. 

While publicists are for the most part disinclined to make themselves the story, they’re making their voices heard now, coming out of the woodworks to address their thorny meeting with SAG-AFTRA leadership earlier this week.

EXCLUSIVE: British actors union Equity will today update strike guidance for publicity agents amid confusion over how stars should manage their promotional duties during the SAG-AFTRA walkout.

Variety. The wide-ranging Zoom Q&A covered topics including the upcoming fall film festivals and more existential matters — like, how are small talent PR firms expected to survive when clients are forbidden to do press? The call, which was scheduled last week, comes at a sobering time for publicists confronting the financial realities both the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes have presented.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Leadership from the performers guild SAG-AFTRA held a conference call with top Hollywood publicity agencies on Monday, bracing the powerful gatekeepers of A-list stars for a strike. The objective of the call, according to sources, was to brief the reps on protocols and how talent can best serve the union if and when a strike takes place. “SAG-AFTRA’s National Board has the option to call a strike if the AMPTP won’t agree on a deal that bolsters performer’s careers and ensures their profession remains one that can support a dignified livelihood,” leadership wrote to the PR agencies ahead of the meeting. During the call, which one participant described as panicked, the publicists asked varied questions — including if their clients would be allowed to sit for panels at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con, and if promotional obligations outside the United States would be kosherˆ.

Julia MacCary editor “Abbott Elementary” and “Top Gun: Maverick” received top honors at the 60th annual International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Publicists Awards luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday. The awards honor individual publicists, unit still photographers and entertainment journalists who further publicity campaigns for film and TV. Variety’s senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay and senior entertainment reporter Angelique Jackson each earned nominations from ICG. Quinta Brunson of “Abbott Elementary” received the TV showman of the year honor, and the producers of “Top Gun: Maverick” (Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, David Ellison and Christopher McQuarrie) received the honor on the film side, with Bruckheimer accepting on behalf of all four.

The 60th annual ICG Publicists Awards Luncheon is underway at the Beverly Hilton, and Deadline is posting the winners as they’re announced. Check out the list below. 

Zoe Hewitt The challenge with throwing an annual event for more than 700 people is how to keep attendees engaged without recreating a “Groundhog Day” luncheon year after year. Tim Menke and Sheryl Main, reigning chairs of Local 600’s International Cinematographer’s Guild Publicists Awards, are up to the challenge. This year’s celebration at the Beverly Hilton on March 10 marks 60 years of recognizing the individuals and teams whose job it is to promote entertainment content. “It is a luncheon, but it’s also part of seeing where we’re at in the industry, the importance of publicity and the work that we do,” says Main. This year, some of the nominated campaigns include a “Top Gun: Maverick” (pictured above) promotion that saw James Cordon taking to the skies, a specially curated warrior workout tied to “The Woman King” and murder mystery dinners to boost “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Former ID PR publicists Rachel Karten and Lindsay Krug have launched their own firm, Origin Public Relations. Their client roster already includes Kathy Bates, Hannah Einbinder, Tracee Ellis Ross, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kumail Nanjiani, Emily Hampshire, D’Arcy Carden, Gillian Jacobs, Uzo Aduba, Abbi Jacobson, Christopher Storer, Jen Statsky, Andrea Savage, Busy Philipps, Ilana Glazer, Chris Estrada, Martha Plimpton, Lennon Parham, Jessica St. Clair, Liam James, May Calamawy, Michaela Watkins, Annabel Oakes, Jillian Bell, Abe Sylvia, Katy Mixon and Ellen Rapoport. Karten and Krug left ID PR — founded by power player Kelly Bush Novak in 1993 — in early February after 16 years with the company. “We are grateful to ID for their guidance and mentorship over the past 16 years. We are thrilled to be launching our own publicity firm and embark on this next chapter of our careers,” Karten and Krug told Variety in a joint statement shorting after announcing their departures.

Talk to me, Goose.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, Music Veteran music publicists Luke Burland and Bobbie Gale are teaming up to form a new firm, 2b Entertainment. The two share more than 30 years experience working with artists, music companies and brands. Both previously served in senior media relations positions at Warner Bros. Records (now known as Warner Records) and as in-demand indies — Burland, most recently at BB Gun Press (founded by Brian Bumbery, currently a top communications executive at Apple Music); Gale at her own MixedMediaWorks. Based in Los Angeles, 2b Entertainment’s client roster includes Jojo Siwa, Danny Elfman, Mike Dean, Holly Humberstone, Josh Groban, Julian Casablancas, Justin Tranter, Maggie Lindemann, Meghan Trainor, My Chemical Romance, OK Go, Shania Twain and Steve Earle, among other artists. Corporate accounts run across entertainment, lifestyle and fashion, representing such brands as CITI, +1 Records, Laylo, Dad Grass, Muserk and Cosm. (See the full roster here.)

Award-winning writer, producer, comedian, and actor Quinta Brunson, creator of ABC and Warner Bros. Television’s TV series , will receive the ICG Publicists (International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600) 2023 Television Showperson Award. 

The ICG Publicists Guild today revealed the six nominees for its 2023 Maxwell Weinberg Award for Motion Picture Publicity Campaigns, which include the teams behind last year’s two biggest movies.

The International Cinematographers Guild announced six nominees for the Maxwell Weinberg Award for Motion Picture Publicity, to be recognized at the 60th Annual ICG Publicists Awards.Nominees include the publicity teams responsible for the following campaigns:“The outstanding nominations this year shine a bright light not only on the diversity of the films submitted but also the individual challenges the publicity teams faced in this highly competitive field,” said Sheryl Main, who along with fellow ICG Publicists Awards Chair Tim Menke, made the announcement Thursday.According to the organization, the Maxwell Weinberg Award “honors active members working on motion pictures whose achievements in publicity and promotion during the previous calendar year are deemed outstanding.”Nominees are selected by the Publicists Awards Committee from qualified submitted presentations with the final recipient selected via an online vote of the publicists membership. Voting will be held from Jan.

Nominations for the 60th annual International Cinematographers Guild’s Publicists Awards were announced today honoring individual publicists, unit still photographers and entertainment journalists. Winners will be revealed at an awards luncheon on March 10, 2023, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The announcement was made by Tim Menke and Sheryl Main, ICG Publicists Awards Chairs.

The ICG Publicists Guild revealed the TV nominees for its 60th annual ICG Publicists Awards today. Up for its 2023 Maxwell Weinberg Award for Television Publicity Campaign are the teams behind Abbott Elementary (Warner Bros. Television/ABC), Ghosts (CBS Studios/CBS), Prey (20th Century Studios/Hulu), RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars (Paramount+/ Paramount+) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (CBS Studios/Paramount+).

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterA bonfire of vanities is blazing around the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, as the mid-year mark approaches and discussions intensify over the fate of the 2023 Golden Globe Awards. Will the first big stop of awards season make a triumphant return in January? Or will NBC refuse to air the show, and ice out millions of viewers looking to see tipsy celebrities accept their prizes?When the Globes were boycotted last year after a Los Angeles Times expose revealed that the HFPA — the group of international journalists who vote for the winners — didn’t have a single Black member, it was framed as a one-time punishment.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior CorrespondentPublicists Jack Ketsoyan and Pia Malihi have partnered to launch the new agency Full Scope Public Relations, Variety has learned exclusively.Full Scope Public Relations will be based in West Hollywood, Calif., where it opens its business this month.Ketsoyan, a PR vet and author, started his career with PMK, before co-founding the publicity firm EMCBowery, which recently closed its doors after 14 years. Malihi started her career at EMCBowery, under at Ketsoyan, before joining Jonesworks where she worked with talent, corporate and executive clients.“We are thrilled to be embarking on this new chapter with Full Scope Public Relations,” Ketsoyan and Malihi said in a joint statement.

Taika Waititi is poking fun at fellow celebs in Hollywood.

Sasha Urban editorPublicists for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Ted Lasso” won the top awards at the 59th annual ICG Publicists Awards luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Friday.Director Francis Ford Coppola, who recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was also honored with a lifetime achievement award in honor of the 50th anniversary of his film “The Godfather.” In his speech, Coppola called out Russian president Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, saying, “It breaks my heart … what is happening in the world, this absurd reality of this world today, and I can’t not speak about that.”Each year, the International Cinematographers Guild awards honors the best in film and television publicity. This year’s awards luncheon was helmed by Paramount Pictures publicist Tim Menke and unit publicist Sheryl Main.

The union publicists who worked on behalf of the publicity campaigns for Sony’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and Apple’s Ted Lasso took home top honors today at the 59th annual International Cinematographers Guild’s Publicists Awards. See the full winners list below.

Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, the co-creators and executive producers of the award-winning comedy series Reservation Dogs, are set to receive the Television Showpersons Award at the ICG Publicists Awards next week.

MGM’s Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy will receive the ICG Publicists’ Motion Picture Showpersons Award at the group’s 59th annual awards luncheon on March 25. The news was announced today by awards chairs Tim Menke and Sheryl Main.

EXCLUSIVE: You might have heard of the guy who’s getting the ICG Publicists Guild’s career honor next month.

EXCLUSIVE: The Publicists Guild is out with the film nominees for its 2022 ICG Publicists Awards, which will be handed out in March.

Local 600 publicists who coordinated and implemented these successful campaigns during a very difficult time,” Main said.Per the group’s official explanation, the Maxwell Weinberg Award “honors active members working on motion pictures whose achievements in publicity and promotion during the previous calendar year are deemed outstanding.Recipients of the group’s Motion Picture Showman of the Year Award and the Television Showman of the Year Award will be announced at a later date. The honoree who will receive the Bob Yeager Award for Community Service will be announced during the ceremony.

EXCLUSIVE: The International Cinematographers Guild has pulled back the curtain on the motion picture nominees for its 59th annual ICG Publicists Awards.

The Publicists Guild is out with the TV nominees for its 2022 ICG Publicists Awards, which will be handed out in March.

Clayton Davis The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced the 79th Golden Globe Awards will take place on Jan. 9, with or without a telecast partner, but what does that mean?Speaking to Variety, the gatekeepers of awards season say their understanding  of what’s happening with the Globes is all over the map.Last week, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that it’s moving forward with the 79th annual Golden Globe Awards, even if it’s not televised.

The 2021-22 awards season calendar has another new entry today. The International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600, has set Friday, March 25, for its 59th annual ICG Publicists Awards Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

EXCLUSIVE: UK publicists Donna Mills and Emma Jackson, longtime reps at London-based Premier Communications, have launched new publicity agency Tapestry London.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe coalition of publicity firms that has put pressure on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to change its ways has applauded NBC’s decision to scrap the 2022 Golden Globe Awards telecast out of concern about the lack of diversity among its members.The publicist’ group issued a letter in March that vowed to boycott the HFPA if the organization did not implement major reforms.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorA group of more than 100 Hollywood publicity firms say they are concerned about the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s recently released plans to overhaul the ogranization.In a 70-3 vote on Thursday, the HFPA members approved a plan put forth by its board to radically overhaul the non-profit. The plan includes measures to increase the number of people of color in its ranks.

Jessica Simpson revealed that she believes publicists prevented male actors and musicians from dating her in the past.  The author, singer and actress appeared on "The Drew Barrymore Show" recently where she sat down with the host to discuss her various business ventures including her immensely successful fashion line, the Jessica Simpson Collection.The star revealed that her inspiration came from examining concertgoers' looks while she was attending the live shows of a musician she dated at the

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Jessica Simpson is sharing some new info about her dating life that fans probably don’t know already!