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Date & Time: Tuesday, Dec 16 from 1:30 pm to 10 pm GMT
Location: 27 Burley RdKirkstall, England
Dunton’s own past association with film harks back to Carol Reed’s production of Oliver!, working alongside cinematographer Ossie Morris to create the first video assist on a Mitchell 35 camera. This provided Reed and his team of seven choreographers quick and easy access to the performances of some 400 dancers during the biggest of the film’s many musical numbers.
Prior to this, Dunton had worked as a television engineer, then as a video engineer at Pye in London. His enduring fascination with anamorphic lenses born, he would go on to establish his own company, Joe Dunton Cameras in 1976.
Innovation followed, a consequence of his instinct for problem-solving in close collaboration with the industry colleagues he would soon call friends.
Some of these inventions include the heated camera eyepiece, the Ladderpod, a video assist for the Louma Crane, the Moy Bazooka, the Mitchell Vitesse geared head and an HD camera magazine that was interchangeable with a traditional film magazine.
A new initiative in 1993, inspired by Joe Dunton, was the Society’s first Equipment Show, which featured the latest innovations from camera and lighting companies. Initially held at Shepperton, it was to prove so popular that further exhibitions were held in subsequent years at Pinewood, Mister Lighting and Grip House, Dukes Island, at Elstree Studios for many years.
The show grew enormously over the years and Rob Saunders of SCS Exhibitions came on board to lend it a more professional look. It is now titled the BSC Expo and held annually. Historically held on Studio Stages, more recently at Pinewood and Leavesden; in 2016 as there was no studio space available it moved to Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park, which proved such a success for ease of access, that it is currently held there.
Joe Dunton’s leadership again came to the fore when, in June 1997, assisted by the British Film Commission, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Federation of Electronics Industries, the British Society of Cinematographers flew the flag at Showbiz Expo in Hollywood.
Over 30 exhibitors, fronted by leading British technicians representing various facets of the film industry, came together in the colorful British Pavilion. It was deemed an unqualified success after 21,000 people visited the show in its three days, which provided valued exposure for the Society.
In addition to earlier ties with the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), the Society founded with its European counterparts a Federation of Cinematographers named IMAGO on the initiative of Luciano Tovoli, AIC. The Federation was born on 13th December 1992 in Rome through a declaration of solidarity by the AIC (Italy), AFC (France) BSC (UK) and BVK (Germany). Its remit: to uphold the highest standards in the cinematographic profession by improving communication and friendship. This has resulted in an exchange of knowledge through experience, thereby helping preserve and propagate the variety of national cultures on which the traditional technical and artistic quality of the European cinema industry is founded. Initially embracing only European Societies with "associates" worldwide, in 2015 its statutes changed to welcome all Societies as full members. It now is an umbrella Federation supporting Societies of 47 countries worldwide with a reputation as a progressive organisation promoting education, image quality, co-authors rights, social conditions and friendship between cinematographers everywhere.
While the years saw Dunton honoured with an MBE, lifetime achievement awards from the Cine Gear Expo and the Society of Camera Operators, and recognition from BAFTA, none of it will have turned his head, or greatly changed his outlook.
In a BAFTA interview (22 Feb 2010), Joe said
“Not only do I want to help these filmmakers harness future technology to tell their stories, I also want to remind them of the past so that they understand the grandeur and gift that is the silver screen.”
Rest in Peace Joe
Sources: by Kevin Hilton for BC Magazine, BAFTA
The private equity firm that’s headed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is part of the group that’s joining Paramount’s hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros. Discovery, regulatory filings revealed on Monday.
Kushner’s involvement in Paramount’s attempt to convince WBD shareholders to reject Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal, which was already approved by Warner’s board of directors, comes as Paramount chairman David Ellison insists that his offer has a better chance of clearing regulatory hurdles with the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, just as Ellison – whom the president has called a “great person” and repeatedly praised since taking over Paramount in August – announced he was launching a hostile takeover of WBD, Trump publicly blasted Paramount for allowing 60 Minutes to air an interview with Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The anti-Paramount screed is just the latest wrinkle in the increasingly bitter bidding war for Warner, which has also seen Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos make a secret pilgrimage to the White House last month in an effort to woo Trump over to his company’s side.
While the president is once again irate over a 60 Minutes segment and lashing out at Ellison on social media, the involvement of Kushner in the tender offer and the president’s chummy relationship with the Paramount chief and his father – Oracle founder and close Trump ally Larry Ellison – could help sway some WBD shareholders to press the board into accepting the Paramount bid, believing that Netflix could face more resistance from the White House.
However, even though Paramount is sweetening the pot and going public with its takeover attempt, it may not matter to Warner and the majority of its stockholders, who have concerns about Paramount’s other investors and were put off by Ellison’s unsolicited pursuit of WBD earlier this year.
Affinity, along with the sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, have “agreed to forgo any governance rights – including board representation – associated with their non-voting equity investments,” according to Monday’s filing. The Middle Eastern public investment funds were also part of Paramount’s original Warner bid last week.
One of the significant points of contention the Warner Bros. board had with Paramount’s offer was its reliance on the Saudi money to complete its financing.
“The company was relying on billions of dollars from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, which would invite a review from the US government’s security apparatus,” Bloomberg reported. “Even if it passed, that was an additional inconvenience. Though Paramount had denied a report that it was receiving money from those funds, they were participants in its bid.”
In the filing on Monday, Paramount declared that the Ellisons and investment firm RedBird Capital would “backstop” all of the equity needed for the transaction.
“Each outstanding share of WBD Series A common stock will be exchanged for $30.00 per share in cash, reflecting a total equity value of $77.9 billion. Including the assumption of net debt and noncontrolling interest, this reflects an implied enterprise value of $108.4 billion,” the filing stated. “The Ellison family and RedBird have collectively committed to backstop 100% of the $40.7 billion of equity capital required for the Transaction.”
Besides Paramount increasing its offer significantly and revealing that the president’s son-in-law is part of the takeover bid, Ellison has also seemed to appeal to the president’s desire to see CNN – which is currently owned by WBD – come under the umbrella of CBS News and its “anti-woke” new editor in chief Bari Weiss.
As the deal currently stands, Warner Bros. Discovery will proceed with spinning off its linear TV properties from the rest of the company, while Netflix will acquire the film and television studios, along with HBO and streamer HBO Max. Discovery Global, which will become a separate company in late 2026 and includes CNN, TBS and TNT Sports, will not be part of the merged Netflix-Warner. Instead, Netflix is offering WBD shareholders $27.75 a share, of which $23 will be paid in cash and the rest in stock of the spun-off television company. Ellison, meanwhile, is seeking to buy WBD in its entirety – which will include CNN and the rest of the cable assets.
“We want to build a scaled news service that is basically fundamentally in the trust business, that is in the truth business, and that speaks to the 70% of Americans that are in the middle,” Ellison told CNBS on Monday, declaring that he would combine CNN with CBS News if Paramount is successful in its hostile takeover.
Ellison also said he’s had “great conversations” with Trump about Paramount’s plan for its proposed CBS-CNN news business, but added that he didn’t want to speak for Trump.
While MAGA influencers are taking to social media to rage against the Netflix deal, saying “TRUMP MUST STOP THIS,” CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter noted that CNN was being used as a political football throughout this entire saga.
“At the risk of repeating myself, Netflix isn't trying to buy CNN. But Paramount is,” he wrote on Monday morning, pointing out that “Ellison's actions ‘most recently mirror those of Elon Musk,’ who fought to take over Twitter and won.”
Source: MSN
