NEW YORK–David Turnley, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and documentary filmmaker, has signed with Curious Pictures for exclusive TV commercial and advertising content representation. His ad work includes commercials and campaigns for Brand Jordan via Wieden + Kennedy, State Farm via DDB, and the financial services company Ameriprise out of R/GA. Turnley was formerly repped for spots by Furlined.
As a photojournalist, Turnley won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the momentous political changes that shook the world in 1989, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the uprising at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. He’s been a runner-up for the Pulitzer four other times, and also won the World Press Picture of the Year award twice, the prestigious Robert Capa Award for Courage, and four Overseas Press Club Awards.
He’s been an eyewitness to many of the major news stories of the past 30 years, producing eight books out of these experiences, including his latest, Mandela: Struggle and Triumph. His first documentary film, The Dalai Lama: At Home in Exile, was produced by CNN and won the 2001 Cine Golden Eagle, while also being nominated for an Emmy. He was awarded Best Documentary at the Miami International Film Festival for La Tropical, which he shot in Cuba. He’s currently completing Shenandoah, USA, for which he won a Sundance Grant. Set in a coal-mining town in eastern Pennsylvania, the film tells the story of an incident in which six white star football players beat to death an illegal Mexican immigrant and examines the repercussions of the crime on the community.
“Curious Pictures is a very exciting place right now, given all the disciplines they’re working in, from features to TV shows to games,” said Turnley. “It’s an ever-evolving company, and I think their interest in someone like me is to help them continue to evolve in terms of what they can offer. So in some respects we share similar goals.”
Turnley sees his work in photojournalism as a form of storytelling. He said his method relies on a camera “to tell stories about human dignity,” and that he strives to convey these narratives in visually evocative and intimate ways. “It’s an approach inspired by the work of publications such as LIFE magazine,” he explained.
He’s also used to working in a streamlined, efficient manner that results in work he says can be disarmingly honest. “As someone who’s spent a lot of time in combat zones, I’ve worked on the edge quite a bit,” he said. “And that’s what I’m trying to do in the commercials arena. My goal is to create work that has a sense of honesty and intimacy while also reflecting a strong visual aesthetic.”
“David’s got a phenomenal eye and great professional courage, which serves his directing career well,” said Mary Knox, managing director of commercials for Curious Pictures. “Signing David adds a strong storyteller and documentarian to our growing live-action roster and adds another extremely smart thinker to our company.”
Turnley joins a Curious live-action roster that already includes such talents as Steve Chase, tabletop director Greg Ramsey, and fashion photographer/documentarian Douglas Keeve. Most recently, the studio signed director Michael Wiehart, a former creative director at Superfad.
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More