Sweetshop has signed director Robert Schwentke for commercials and long-form branded projects globally. This marks the veteran feature filmmaker’s first career representation in the ad arena.
Schwentke has a diverse body of work ranging from edge-of-your-seat thrillers to action comedies and European art house to Hollywood franchise tentpoles. His work includes numerous examples of large-scale world building and is noted for intimate character studies and award-winning acting performances across multiple genres.
His credits include the Golden Globe Best Comedy-nominated Red starring Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker, the Jodie Foster thriller Flightplan, two films in Lionsgate’s The Divergent Series: Insurgent and Allegiant, as well as his most recent project The Captain for which he received the prestigious Fipresci prize for directing from the International Federation of Film Critics.
Schwentke is currently finalizing his post commitment for the action movie Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, starring Henry Golding and due to hit theaters in Spring/Summer 2021.
Greg Schultz, managing director of Sweetshop USA, said of Schwentke, “He’s a thoughtful and intuitive director who has shepherded a long list of A-List talent in films garnering more than a billion dollars in box office. We’re excited for the potential to create some memorable work in the commercial space.”
Schwentke added, “For me commercials are short-form cinema. An advert can be no less moving, funny, dazzling, enlightening, majestic or powerful than a feature. I look forward to exploring and expanding the possibilities of filmmaking with Sweetshop USA.”
Wilf Sweetland, Sweetshop global CEO and partner, said of the director, “His level of craft is second to none, as is his ability to work with the very best in the business.”
In NBC’s “Brilliant Minds,” Zachary Quinto Plays Doctor–In A Role Inspired By Physician/Author Oliver Sacks
There's a great moment in the first episode of the new NBC medical drama "Brilliant Minds" when it becomes very clear that we're not dealing with a typical TV doctor.
Zachary Quinto is behind the wheel of a car barreling down a New York City parkway, packed with hospital interns, abruptly weaving in and out of lanes, when one of them asks, "Does anyone want to share a Klonopin?" — a drug sometimes used to treat panic disorders.
"Oh, glory to God, yes, please," says Quinto, reaching an arm into the back seat. The intern then breaks the pill in half and gives a sliver to the driver, who swallows it, as the other interns share stunned looks.
Quinto, playing the character Dr. Oliver Wolf, is clearly not portraying any dour, by-the-rules doctor here — he's playing a character inspired by Dr. Oliver Sacks, the path-breaking researcher and author who rose to fame in the 1970s and was once called the "poet laureate of medicine."
"He was someone who was tirelessly committed to the dignity of the human experience. And so I feel really grateful to be able to tell his story and to continue his legacy in a way that I hope our show is able to do," says Quinto.
He's a fern-loving doctor
"Brilliant Minds" takes Sack's personality — a motorcycle-riding, fern-loving advocate for mental health who died in 2015 at 82 — and puts him in the present day, where the creators theorize he would have no idea who Taylor Swift is or own a cell phone. The series debuts Monday on NBC, right after "The Voice."
"It's almost as if we're imagining what it would have been like if Oliver Sacks had been born at a different time," says Quinto. "We use the real life person as our North Star through everything we're doing and all the... Read More