Icelandic director Thorhallur Saevarsson, professionally known as Thor, has joined Madheart, Los Angeles, for exclusive representation stateside. It’s the first affiliation with a U.S. company for Thor, who is well established in Europe with credits spanning such clients as Philips, McDonald’s, Vodafone, Fuji, T-Mobile, Peugeot, GE, Coca-Cola, Deichmann and Skoda.
Thor, who got his start as a teenager working on American commercial shoots in Iceland, burst onto the scene in 2002 when his short film Autograph took Silver and Audience awards at the Nike Young Directors Awards. A year later, he was included in Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors Showcase at Cannes. Since then, he has helmed scores of spots in affiliation with such production companies as London’s Stink, Denmark’s Moland Film, Germany’s Tempo Media and Slovenia’s Super 16.
Thor’s work defies simple categorization in terms of style and genre but much of it involves character-driven stories, sometimes told through fast paced action. A case in point is a recent commercial for German sports retailer Deichmann in which a man leads police on a harrowing chase across urban rooftops. The scene has the feel of a Hollywood action film. Following a series of narrow escapes, the man is cornered by a SWAT team–who’s after his shoes.
Thor’s directing credits also include a number of car spots, including a recent effects-driven campaign for Czech automaker Skoda. In it, a couple driving through a city suddenly finds themselves in an African landscape, filled with giant waterfalls, tropical birds and a ghostly herd of elephants.
Thor was introduced to Madheart executive producer Lisa Phillips through his Scandinavian agent Martin Bartdrum. “I was immediately taken by her meticulous approach to marketing and sales,” Thor recalled. “I also heard great things about her way of producing from other directors.”
Madheart is represented on the West Coast by Lisa Gimenez Toliver, Catherine DeAngelis of Hot Betty in the Midwest, and Dana Dubay on the East Coast.
Fernanda Torres’ Oscar Nomination Has Made Her Brazil’s Carnival Muse
Brazil's Carnival muse this year isn't one of the divas or drum queens parading with the Rio de Janeiro samba schools. It's Fernanda Torres, who's competing for the best actress Oscar on Sunday.
The Oscars fall smack in the middle of Carnival, Brazil's largest celebration, which runs through Tuesday. During the five-day revelry, the rest of the universe usually fades into the background as Brazilians cut loose and indulge.
Not this year, and the keen focus on the Oscars speaks to Brazil's pride for its culture and desire to be recognized on the global stage.
"Just imagine, her winning the Oscar on Carnival Sunday. It'll be a double celebration," Clarissa Salles, 33, told The Associated Press while buying a replica Oscar statuette in Sao Paulo for her costume.
Torres is nominated for her performance as the lead in the Walter Salles-directed "I'm Still Here," which is also nominated for best picture and best international feature. Excitement around the awards has prompted TV Globo, Brazil's largest network, to resume live coverage of the ceremony after a five-year hiatus. It will forgo the nationwide airing of high-ratings Carnival parades, instead broadcasting the Oscars everywhere except Rio.
Bars and nightclubs across Brazil are organizing Oscar watch parties and results will even be shown on a big screen to the tens of thousands of spectators gathered at Rio's Sambadrome for the parades.
"Today, all of Brazil only thinks about this," President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on his social media channels. "Everybody is cheering for 'I'm Still Here' and Fernanda Torres at the Oscars."
As far away as the Amazon, an Indigenous community in the Inhaa-be village promoted a screening of the film on Friday. With singing... Read More