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.
Hwang Dong-hyuk On Season 2 of “Squid Game,” Wrapping Production on Season 3; What’s Next?
Viewers may gasp, cringe or cry out watching characters die on Netflix's "Squid Game," but those simulated deaths have a different effect on its creator, writer and director. Instead, Hwang Dong-hyuk feels happiness seeing them go.
The show has a huge cast and Hwang says it was "really difficult" to manage everyone on set.
As characters would die, Hwang recalls saying to the actors on their last day, "'Oh no! How sad! I won't see you tomorrow,' but I was always smiling inside."
"Squid Game" season two premieres Thursday. It once again stars Lee Jung-jae and centers around a secret competition in South Korea that targets people in debt and the winner gets a big cash prize. What they don't know is that losing the game is deadly.
Hwang originally conceived of the show 15 years ago as a two-hour film but it failed to gain traction with financiers or even interested actors. He put it aside and worked on other films instead. He then had the idea to make it a TV series instead and took the project to Netflix. There, it could reach a wide audience.
"I never in my wildest dream thought it was going to be this huge," said Hwang, who spoke about the show and what comes next. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What have you learned from "Squid Game"?
HWANG: I learned that I shouldn't give up. If you love something and if you want to create something, it might not work now, but the time might come later. Or that idea could be the source of inspiration for something else.
Q: You've already finished filming season three of "Squid Game." Have you thought about what your next project will be?
HWANG: I'm afraid to talk... Read More