Chelsea has signed director Bruce Hunt for U.S. representation in commercials and branded content. Known for his expertise in visual effects, meshing them with live action and deploying them to advance the larger story as well as character development, Hunt has directed spots over the years for such clients as Visa, Toyota, Lexus, Nintendo, Volkswagen, Panasonic, Hyundai and Tourism Australia. For the latter, Hunt helmed the centerpiece commercial in a campaign overseen by filmmaker Baz Luhrman and tied into his theatrical feature Australia. (Hunt was a 3rd unit director on Australia.)
Hunt is an international artisan, repped for commercials by Revolver in Australia and Asia, @radical.media in Germany, and Home.corp in the U.K. His stateside spot roost prior to Chelsea was Biscuit Filmworks.
He has also been active in features. In addition to his contributions to Australia, Hunt served as 2nd unit director on The Matrix and Dark City. Both films are known for advancing the craft of special effects, and Hunt was a key player in the progressive visuals that define those movies. He also served as 3rd unit director on The Matrix sequels.
Hunt made his theatrical feature directing debut with The Cave. He most recently worked on Guillermo del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.
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