The German edition of Playboy magazine distanced itself Tuesday from an interview in its latest edition with Ennio Morricone, in which the renowned Italian film composer appears to blast director Quentin Tarantino and the Oscars ceremony.
The interview, published last week, quoted the 90-year-old composer referring to Tarantino as a "cretin" who stole ideas from others and the Academy Awards ceremony as "boring."
Morricone, who won an Oscar in 2016 for his score for Tarantino's film "The Hateful Eight," has vehemently denied criticizing the director, his films or the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
"I consider Tarantino a great director," Morricone said, adding that he credited their collaboration for his Oscar success, "which is for sure one of the greatest acknowledgments of my career, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to compose music for his film."
German Playboy, which is published by Munich-based Hubert Burda Media, said that "up to now, we have considered the freelancer who conducted the Ennio Morricone interview on our behalf to be a renowned print and radio journalist."
"In the past, we have had no reason to doubt his journalistic integrity and skills," the magazine's editor-in-chief, Florian Boitin, said in a statement.
"Based on the information now at our disposal, we must unfortunately assume that the words spoken in the interview have, in part, been reproduced incorrectly," Boitin said without elaborating.
"We would like to express our regret should Mr. Morricone have been portrayed in a false light," he added. "We are working to clarify this matter and are exploring legal measures."
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More