Olly Chapman has been named managing director of U.K. operations for production house Furlined, which also maintains offices in Los Angeles and New York. Chapman previously served as head of TV production at high-profile London ad agency AMV BBDO. He brings more than 20 years of experience to Furlined spanning creative agencies and independent production companies.
The move reunites Chapman with Ben Davies, EP/director of development at Furlined. “I’ve known Olly for many years. We were colleagues at BBH London. Olly is a trusted partner and operates with true integrity.”
Chapman said of his new roost, “With its great roster in the U.S., Furlined is renowned for its collaborative approach to projects which has been fundamental to its continued success. Working closely with Ben and Diane McArter, president/founder of Furlined, our intention is to bring that Furlined approach here to the U.K, to add to the roster with local talent and deliver some hugely memorable work.”
Furlined’s U,K, office represents six directors from its U.S. roster, including feature directors Speck and Gordon, whose recent film for Donate Life earned top honors at D&AD, The One Show, and was noted by the recent Gunn Report as one of the Top 20 Contenders for a Cannes Lion; Henry Hobson, a Brit, who’s helmed outstanding cinematic narratives and work for Apple, PlayStation and Evony; and Oscar winning (Best Feature Documentary, Undefeated) directors Martin + Lindsay whose recently released documentary LA 92 premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and whose commercial work for Honey Maid with Droga5 garnered a White Pencil at D&AD in 2016.
At Furlined, Chapman will work with independent rep firm OB Management under the aegis of founder Otis Bell.
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More