Director George Jecel is joining Santa Monica-headquartered TWC….Jeb Schary, an ad agency vet who has served as a producer at The Richards Group, Dallas, since 1995, has jumped over to the editorial side of the business, joining Mad River Post, Dallas, as its executive producer, effective July 18. Also coming aboard the Dallas shop is editor Sylvette Artinian, formerly of Blue Rock, New York….Director Jonathan David, formerly of bicoastal/international MJZ, has joined bicoastal Go Film…..Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago, has launched a stateside division called Avion@Crossroads. Avion and Crossroads have maintained a co-production relationship for 10-plus years. The new division serve as a more formal stateside repping agreement for three of Avion’s directors: Wade Sherman, Chris Woods and Ian Robertson….Turnpike Films, Los Angeles, has added four directors handled in the U.K. by spot shop Love…Richard Carroll, Philip Dupee, Louisa Fitch and Peter Weber–for exclusive U.S. representation. Meanwhile Turnpike helmer Justin Reardon has picked up representation in Canada via Steam Films. And Steam director Mark Mainguy has joined Turnpike for U.S. representation…..Animation house Acme Filmworks, Hollywood, has signed director Shane Acker, whose short film 9 recently won a Gold Student Academy Award as well as a special jury prize at the Annecy animation festival…..Belgian live-action production house Roses Are Blue has come stateside, opening headquarters in Venice, Calif., with a roster consisting of directors Raf Wathion, Bam Van Riet and Frank Van Passel. The company is managed by exec producers/partners Tom Weissferdt and Michael Sagol….Chicago-based postproduction house Swell has named Monna O’Brien as its president. She most recently served as head of broadcast production/senior partner at Ogilvy & Mather, Chicago….Nancy Osborne is joining Uncle, Santa Monica, as executive producer. She had been exec producer at F.M. Rocks, Santa Monica….Feature filmmaker Roger Michell (Notting Hill) has signed with Los Angeles-headquartered Saville Productions (with offices in London, Tokyo and Berlin) to direct commercials……Right Brain Media, Los Angeles, has signed director/cameraman Jerry Dugan for exclusive spot representation….Richard P. Crudo has been re-elected for a third term as president of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)…..Barbara Marshall has been promoted to managing director of Encore Hollywood, a post facility that’s part of the Ascent Media Creative Services Group family of shops. Marshall formerly served as director of Encore Visual Effects……The industry is mourning the death of director Bruce Malmuth following a courageous fight against cancer. Malmuth, 71, was active in commercials, music videos, documentaries and features. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Bruce Malmuth Build a Child Foundation, P.O. Box 570625, Tarzana, CA 91357-0625…..
Martin Scorsese On “The Saints,” Faith In Filmmaking and His Next Movie
When Martin Scorsese was a child growing up in New York's Little Italy, he would gaze up at the figures he saw around St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. "Who are these people? What is a saint?" Scorsese recalls. "The minute I walk out the door of the cathedral and I don't see any saints. I saw people trying to behave well within a world that was very primal and oppressed by organized crime. As a child, you wonder about the saints: Are they human?" For decades, Scorsese has pondered a project dedicated to the saints. Now, he's finally realized it in "Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints," an eight-part docudrama series debuting Sunday on Fox Nation, the streaming service from Fox News Media. The one-hour episodes, written by Kent Jones and directed by Elizabeth Chomko, each chronicle a saint: Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene, Moses the Black, Sebastian and Maximillian Kolbe. Joan of Arc kicks off the series on Sunday, with three weekly installments to follow; the last four will stream closer to Easter next year. In naturalistic reenactments followed by brief Scorsese-led discussions with experts, "The Saints" emphasizes that, yes, the saints were very human. They were flawed, imperfect people, which, to Scorsese, only heightens their great sacrifices and gestures of compassion. The Polish priest Kolbe, for example, helped spread antisemitism before, during WWII, sheltering Jews and, ultimately, volunteering to die in the place of a man who had been condemned at Auschwitz. Scorsese, who turns 82 on Sunday, recently met for an interview not long after returning from a trip to his grandfather's hometown in Sicily. He was made an honorary citizen and the experience was still lingering in his mind. Remarks have... Read More