Moxie Pictures has signed writer/director Phillip Van for Global commercial representation. Van has helmed commercial campaigns for a wide range of clients including Blue Cross, Yves Saint Laurent, NBC, Optimum and Tribeca Film Festival that have earned him accolades at the D&AD, One Show, Promax and national Addy awards.
Van’s long-form storytelling acumen is evident in several cinematic web series, including a highly popular series for XBOX that was released as a prequel to the horror video game “Alan Wake” for which he won a 2011 One Show Silver Pencil and D&AD Yellow Pencil Award. Most recently, he completed “Deja View,” an innovative campaign out of Campfire for Infiniti that utilizes voice recognition to dynamically adapt to each viewer, allowing each one to have a unique interaction with the characters and storyline.
Van comes to Moxie from Little Minx, his first commercialmaknig roost while he was wrapping his commitments as a student at NYU’s graduate film program. At that time, he was included in SHOOT’s fall 2007 Up-and-Coming Directors feature story rundown. During his NYU tenure, Van was honored with a Student Academy Award (silver medal) and a BAFTA/LA honorable mention distinction for his thesis film High Maintenance, a comedic, tongue-in-cheek look at how male/female relationships might evolve in the future, offering a wry commentary on the direction in which consumerism and romance are headed.
Van went on to direct several narrative short films that garnered kudos at top festivals including Sundance, Berlin, HBO US Comedy Arts, Seattle, Aspen and Gen Art. During this time, he also helmed numerous international spots, music videos and branded content pieces for Paris-based Mr. Hyde. Among Van’s other numerous commercial projects including a short documentary series for Chevy out of Mother NY. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
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