Saville Productions, Beverly Hills, has signed filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell for commercial representation. Mitchell is the acclaimed director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and last years’ highly controversial film, Shortbus.
Mitchell initially started out as an actor appearing in theater, numerous television series and movies before moving into directing. In 1998, he wrote Hedwig and the Angry Inch, an off Broadway musical play about Hedwig, a transgendered rock musician chasing after an ex-lover who plagiarized her songs. Three years later, he directed the feature film version of the play, casting himself as Hedwig. The film and play were critical hits and have each spawned a cult following. Mitchell received the best director and Audience awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the Grand Prix at Deauville. The film was honored as best directorial debut by the National Board of Review and the L.A. Film Critics Society. Mitchell was also nominated for a Golden Globe as best actor.
After the success of Hedwig, Mitchell expressed an interest in financing, writing, and directing a film which would incorporate explicit sex in a naturalistic way. That movie would be called Shortbus. Completed in ’06 after a two-year long talent search and shooting process, it was presented in May ’06 at the Cannes Film Festival. Shortbus also won awards at the Zurich, Athens and Gijon Film Festivals.
Mitchell has directed music videos for Bright Eyes and Scissor Sisters. For the latter he helmed “Filthy/Gorgeous,” which was banned from American MTV for its explicit sexual content. He also directed the video for Bright Eyes’ “First Day of My Life” which has had more than 330,000 views on Youtube.
“John’s work is bold, provocative and highly entertaining. This is a perfect combination to make great ads or longer branded content film,” said Johnny Doran, Saville’s executive producer. “Also, having been an actor for so long, John has a wonderful rapport with talent resulting in convincing performances”
Mitchell’s latest film in development is a modern fairy tale called Oskur Fishman.
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More