Spanish Lottery’s “Deportes”–directed by Yuval and Merav Nathan via Acme Filmworks, Hollywood, Calif., for agency Branding, Miami and Madrid–has won the Annie Award in the commercials category during a gala ceremony held earlier this month (2/6) at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles.
Now in its 37th year, the Annie Awards competition annually recognizes outstanding achievement in animation. The Annies are presented by the Burbank, Calif.-headquartered International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood).
Contributing to the stop motion Spanish Lotto spot was a team that included Acme executive producer Ron Diamond, co-exec producer Gwynn Adik, producer Donna Waxstein, DP Rick Thomas, animators Yuval Nathan, Guy Ben-Shitrit and Pete Levin, production designer Merav Nathan, art director Tricia O’Connell and postproduction supervisor George Khair.
Similarly themed stop motion from Yuval and Merav Nathan also graced their “Her Morning Elegance” music video with singer Oren Lavie (which earned Lavie and the Nathans inclusion in the 2009 Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase) and a Comcast commercial “Anthem” for Long Beach, Calif.-based agency Grupo Gallegos (a SHOOT Top Spot, 8/14/09).
Spanish Lotto’s “Deportes” topped a field of Annie nominees that consisted of: another Acme-produced spot, Idaho Lottery’s “Twiceland” directed by Dave Wasson for Boise agency Drake Cooper; Goldfish crackers’ “In The Dark” from Blur Studio, Venice, Calif., with Lee Santos serving as director/animation supervisor for Young & Rubicam, New York; McDonald’s “Nutty Trade” from Blue Sky Studios, Greenwich, CT; and Kellogg’s “The Spooning” for Leo Burnett Chicago, with Henrik Sundgren directing for Acne U.S., Venice, Calif., and Chris Finnegan serving as animation director via Screen Novelties, Los Angeles. (The Screen Novelties collective is now handled via Los Angeles studio DUCK.)
The Annie Awards competition honors outstanding animation achievement in theatrical feature films, TV programs, commercials, home entertainment, video games and short subjects/special projects.
Pixar Animation Studio’s Up won such honors as best animated feature and best director, Pete Docter. Walt Disney Animation Studios earned six Annies overall–three for its feature The Princess and the Frog and three for its television production Prep and Landing. DreamWorks Animation won five Annies including best TV production for children, and directing/TV for The Penguins of Madagascar, and storyboarding/feature for Monsters vs. Aliens. Coraline from animation studio Laika copped a pair of Annies.
For a full list of winners, log onto www.annieawards.org.
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