PRODUCTION COMPANIES
Global prodco @radical.media signed directors Josh & Xander (aka Josh Melnick and Xander Charity) for commercial rep.

Blinkink, London signed Noah Harris for UK spot rep.

Code Film, Toronto signed director Alexandre Franchi.

Bicoastal prodco Crossroads signed director Sanaa Hamri, ex-Anonymous Content; head of sales Sharon Lew took on the role of EP in the New York office and Carole Hughes, Michael Fekete and Joseph Uliano will handle EP duties in LA.

New York's Curious Pictures signed directors Christopher Mills and Dave Rasura. Lewis Kofsky, director of CG and visual effects, was named partner.

Ghost Robot, New York signed Ramon Bloomberg for US music video rep.

NOLA Pictures, New York signed director Robert Bryant.

Oil Factory, Los Angeles signed director Wayne McClammy.

Partizan signed Brooklyn-based director Ray Tintori for worldwide spot and music video rep.

RSA Films, London signed director Greg Fay, ex-Partizan.

Sonny, London signed director Jeff Labbé for US spot rep.

Bicoastal Station Film signed director/designer James Lima, as well as Allan Coulter (The Sopranos). The London office signed celebrity photographer Steven Klein for UK and European spot rep.

Stink, London signed director Philippe André for UK spot rep.

POST / AUDIO / ANIMATION
Edit house Beast, New York hired veteran EP Joanne Ferraro.

Bond, New York added editor Claudia Reda-Walker to its roster.

Digital design studio Charlex, New York named Gong Myung Lee as CG supervisor.

Post house Fluid, New York added editor Robin Burchill to its roster.

Guru Studio, Toronto hired associate producer Jacquie Rushlow.

Hornet, New York signed directorial collective Team Mixtape Club for US spot rep.

Luma Pictures, Venice hired Scott Boyajan as EP of commercial VFX.

New York-based design and motion graphics agency Nth Degree named brand and design consultant Bob English as ECD.

Particle Sound + Design, Chicago hired audio engineer Katy Mindeman.

PS260, New York added Robert Ryang, Sarra Idris and Dustin Stephens to its roster.

Ringside Creative, Detroit hired visual effects artist, animator, and motion designer Ann Allen.

Riot, New York hired Brent Holt as EP and senior colorist Steve Rodriguez.

New York creative collective Spontaneous signed Anders Halgren (aka Ders) to its pool of artists.

New York-based editorial and VFX/motion design company Version2 hired editor Jane Keller.

The Whitehouse, LA added editor Steve Prestemon to its roster.

AD AGENCIES
180, Los Angeles hired Joel Rodriguez, ex-Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, as CD on the adidas account.

CLM BBDO, Paris promoted copywriter Olivier Moine to CD.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Boulder promoted Tiffany Kosel to CD.

DDB, Chicago hired writer and CD John Maxham as group creative director.

Droga5, New York, hired former TBWA\Chiat\Day, New York copywriter/art director duo Isaac Silverglate and Jeff Anderson.

Grey Canada named Ann Nurock as president and CEO. She was previously CEO of Grey Africa.

McCann Erickson, New York named Jonathan Shipman as head of production.

Saatchi & Saatchi, London hired Michael Rebelo, formerly CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, Singapore, as managing director.

TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles hired CD Tom Van Daele, formerly of Duval Guillaume, New York; ACD Brian Friedrich, formerly of Lowe; senior copywriter for Nissan Ken Pappanduros (returning from freelancing) and ACD on Infiniti Jason Busa (previously with TBWA\Media Arts Lab).

Wieden + Kennedy, London hired former Goodby, Silverstein & Partners creative team Feh Tarty and Pat McKay.

Y&R, New York, hired former TBWA\Chiat\Day, New York GCDs Ian Reichenthal and Scott Vitrone.

WPP's new shop, DaVinci, formed to handle Dell, hired former TBWA\Chiat\Day creative Ken Segall, most recently of Euro RSCG, New York, as ECD.

HOOKUPS> MERGERS, PARTNERSHIPS AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE INDUSTRY
Ben Morris, VFX supervisor at Framestore CFC, was among the winners at the 80th annual Academy Awards accepting the Best Visual Effects Oscar for the film The Golden Compass, while HANraHAN, London's Alan Dewhurst picked up the Best Animated Short Film award for his film Peter & the Wolf. Saville Productions director Alex Gibney's doc, Taxi To The Dark Side, won Best Documentary Feature. It features editing by Version2, New York's Sloane Klevin and audio mixing by Tony Volante of Sound Lounge.

AlmapBBDO, São Paulo partner and GCD Marcelo Serpa will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Clio Awards, beginning May 15 in Miami.

Spots made for the Internet, mobile phones and "other screens" now have their own categories in the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival's film section. "Other screens" might be a digital outdoor ad or branded content on TV. Organizers also announced two "brand new extra" categories: integrated film (for films intended for broadcast on three screens or more) and interactive film.

Fallon, London swept the London awards circuit, scooping the Platinum Award at Creative Circle and Most Succesful Agency of the Year at the BTAAs, where Cadbury "Gorilla" also nabbed Best Commercial. "Gorilla" and Skoda "Cake", along with Sony "Play-Doh" were among the 10 golds scooped at Creative Circle by Fallon work, where CD Juan Cabral also received the President's Award.

Hellman & Friedman, a private equity firm with offices in London, New York and San Francisco, bought Getty Images for $2.4 billion.

Paranoid US, LA signed a deal with London's Thomas Thomas Films, which will rep directors François Vogel, Sophie Gateau and Nicole McDonald in the UK.

RSA Films expanded its partnership with Stockholm-based collective ACNE and will now offer ACNE Digital's web and design capabilities in-house. ACNE Film also signed three new Swedish directing teams: Alphabetical Order, Pop Core and Ensrettet.

EPs Steven Gould and Dina Mande opened SHADOWCORP in Los Angeles, a production company dedicated to new media entertainment.