Director Jaume, formerly of bicoastal/international Partizan, has come aboard bicoastal/international Believe Media for representation in the U.S. and Europe…..Passion Pictures, London, has taken on representation for the animation collective SSSR, which consists of Kristian Hammerstad, Marc Raisbig and Yu Sato. The latter is from Japan, while Hammerstad and Raisbig are from Norway; the threesome met at Central St. Martin’s College of Art where they graduated with degrees in graphic design last year. SSSR’s credits include a trilogy of music videos for the band Subtle, and a 30-second test commercial, “Evolution,” which won the Kodak Student Film Award. The spot addresses the dangers of smoking….The directing team of Coodie and Chike has signed with A Band Apart, Los Angeles, for exclusive representation in commercials and music videos. The duo’s credits include the Kanye West video “Through The Wire,” which recently copped video-of-the-year honors at The Source Hip Hop Awards. Among other Coodie and Chike-helmed clips are West’s “Two Words,” which featured Mos Def and Freeway, “Culo” with rappers Pit Bull and Lil’ Jon, and a directorial collaboration with Mos Def on the gritty street video “Ghetto Rock.” Coodie and Chike recently directed a spec TV spot for Burrell Advertising, Chicago, which helped the agency land work for McDonald’s….Director Sarah Pirozek, who continues to work via Dame Works, New York, has extended her geographic reach by linking with Sugar Film Production, Dallas….Director/graphic artist Anders Hallgren has joined Freestyle Collective, New York, as a senior designer. He most recently worked as a freelance designer and director at several New York studios….Director Allen Coulter (HBO’s The Sopranos and the upcoming Rome) is prepping his first feature, Truth, Justice and the American Way. The Focus Features film examines the mysterious death of actor George Reeves, who portrayed Superman in the original live-action TV series. Adrien Brody, Ben Afflect and Diane Lane will star. Coulter directs commercials via bicoastal/international Hungry Man….After wrapping work on the new MTV Networks series Wonder Showzen, director Jim Tozzi is again available for commercials via KanDoKid, a New York house founded last year by executive producer Tony Harding and director Jeff Kennedy….
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