"Succession," "Stranger Things," "Station Eleven" top TV portion of competition
By Robert Goldrich
LOS ANGELES --House of Gucci and No Time to Die were the marquee feature winners at the ninth annual Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) Awards held Saturday night (8/27) during an in-person ceremony at the Los Angeles Center Studios.
House of Gucci and its location managers Elisabetta Tomasso/LMGI, and Piernicola Pinnola/LMGI, won for Outstanding Locations for a Period Film. House of Gucci was shot throughout Italy in Milan, Lake Como, and the Italian Alps.
No Time to Die and its location professional ensemble of Ben Piltz, Duncan Broadfoot, Matthew Clarke, Mandy Sharpe and Charlie Hayes/LMGI won for Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Film. No Time to Die was lensed in London, Norway, Jamaica, The Faroe Islands and Italy.
On the television front Succession (filmed throughout New York State and Italy) and its location managers Paul Eskenazi and Enrico Latella/LMGI, topped the Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary TV Series category. Stranger Things (shot in Atlanta, GA, Albuquerque, NM, and Vilnius, Lithuania) and the locations team of Tony Holley/LMGI, Kyle A. Carey/LMGI, John Lucas/LMGI, Jonas Spokas/LMGI and Vytautas Riabovas won for Outstanding Locations in a Period TV Series. And Station Eleven (filmed around Ontario, Canada, and Chicago) with Srdjan Vilotijevic/LMGI, Elmer Jones, Stefan Nikolov and Stuart Berberich/LMGI earned distinction for Outstanding Locations in a TV Serial Program, Anthology or Limited Series.
Winning for Outstanding Locations in a Commercial was location manager Caprice Ericson, LMGI for Crown Royal’s “Kickoff With Crown.”
And garnering the Outstanding Film Commission honor was the Oklahoma Film & Music Office and its director, Tava Maloy Sofsky, for their work on the series Reservation Dogs.
Martin Scorsese
Filmmaker Martin Scorsese in a video acceptance speech thanked the LMGI for naming him recipient of the Eva Monley Award, named after the pioneering location professional whose scouting and logistical prowess contributed to films for the likes of directors John Huston, David Lean and Otto Preminger. Scorsese said he found the honor most gratifying in that he’s long admired Monley’s work and the role she played in some of his favorite films of all time–and because location managers are integral to successful filmmaking.
On the latter score, Scorsese noted that the Academy Awards don’t recognize location professionals even though they are essential to the motion picture process. Scorsese noted, for example, that instrumental in his much anticipated film, Killers of the Flower Moon (which is currently in post and is slated for release in 2023) was location manager Mike Fantasia/LMGI, a past LMGI president. Fittingly, Fantasia served as presenter of the Eva Monley Award to Scorsese who also affirmed in his acceptance speech that what he sees in his “mind’s eye” is brought to life in large part by the talent of location professionals.
Fantasia, incidentally, was an LMGI Award nominee in the contemporary feature category this year along with colleague Lori A. Balton For Top Gun: Maverick.
Red Nation Celebration Institute
Also receiving a special honor was the Red Nation Celebration Institute (RNCI). Joanelle Romero, RNCI founder and president, was on hand to accept the LMGI Trailblazer Award. In her acceptance speech, she cited Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and shows such as Reservation Dogs as providing accurate depictions of Native and Indigenous people who historically have been marginalized, outright ignored and/or denigrated. Killers of the Flower Moon, noted Romero, has been made with the help of Native Americans in front off the camera, above and below the line.
For nearly two decades, RNCI has been an advocate of and active participant in helping to accurately and authentically tell Native and Indigenous stories, combating and countering stereotypes in media and the arts. RNCI also has worked to train Native and Indigenous talent, opening up opportunities for authorship and employment.
Despite successes such as Reservation Dogs and Killers of the Flower Moon, there’s still much work to be done, stressed Romero who told the LMGI Awards gathering, “Every day we hear the word ‘diversity.’ It’s time to see it.”
Joe Panzarella, Orlando Bloom
Also accepting a special LMGI honor in person was retired location manager Joe Panzarella/LMGI whose credits include Midnight Run, L.A. Confidential, The Italian Job and Vice. Panzarella received the LMGI Lifetime Achievement Award.
Meanwhile accepting via video the LMGI Humanitarian Award was actor Orlando Bloom. He was honored for his work over the past 15 years and counting with UNICEF on behalf of children around the world, including most recently his time spent in Ukraine to help families and youngsters who have become refugees due to the war being waged against the country by Russia.
Awards rundown
Here’s a rundown of the LMGI special honorees as well as a category-by-category breakdown of the winners spanning film, TV and commercials, as well as the recognition for film commission achievement.
2022 LMGI AWARDS HONOREES:
EVA MONLEY AWARD
Martin Scorsese
HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Orlando Bloom
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
John Panzarella, LMGI (Midnight Run, L.A. Confidential, The Italian Job, Vice)
TRAILBLAZER AWARD
Red Nation Celebration Institute
2022 LMGI AWARDS WINNERS:
OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A PERIOD TELEVISION SERIES
Stranger Things – Season 4
Tony Holley, Kyle A. Carey, John Lucas, Jonas Spokas, Vytautas Riabovas
OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A CONTEMPORARY TELEVISION SERIES
Succession – Season 3
Paul Eskenazi, Enrico Latella
OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A TELEVISION SERIAL PROGRAM, ANTHOLOGY, OR LIMITED SERIES
Station Eleven
Srdjan Vilotijevic, Elmer Jones, Stefan Nikolov, Stuart Berberich
OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A PERIOD FILM
House of Gucci – Elisabetta Tomasso, Piernicola (Betta) Pinnola
OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A CONTEMPORARY FILM
No Time to Die – Charlie Hayes, Mandy Sharpe, Ben Piltz, Matthew Clarke, Duncan Broadfoot
OUTSTANDING FILM COMMISSION
Oklahoma Film & Music Office (Reservation Dogs)
Tava Maloy Sofsky
OUTSTANDING LOCATIONS IN A COMMERCIAL
Crown Royal: "Kickoff with Crown"
Caprice Ericson
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More