Normally testimonials aren’t the most inspiring form of communication. But in the case of the ambitious LIME-AID initiative–an online auction of postproduction services designed to raise funds to help build a 75-bed orphanage, a 150-desk school and a clinic as well as provide a clean water supply for a needy community in Port-au-Prince, Haiti–the testimonial is indeed an inspired, eloquent means.
In a page 4 feature story in this issue, SHOOT Associate Editor Nicole Rivard reports in detail on LIME-AID, which is being co-hosted by Bruce Horwitz, owner of audio mix house Lime Studios, Santa Monica, in collaboration with Global Water Trust, a nonprofit group working to provide clean, safe water to children worldwide.
The LIME-AID website is headlined with the promise, “Your next commercial will feed, clothe and house 75 children in one of the most destitute regions of the world.”
Also prominent on the site are the alluded to testimonials from artisans at industry companies that are donating their services to the cause.
“We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to contribute to a project like this,” stated MiShawn Williams, executive producer at music house Human. “We’re all looking for opportunities to make a concrete difference in the world and this is one of them. We’re grateful to be able to be a part of a project to save lives through housing, clean water, education and a simple show of care through a donation of what we do best and daily anyway. This is a way for all of us–Lime, donors and bidders–to really take a stand for life.”
Jerry Spivack, owner of digital effects studio Ring of Fire, related, “We’re happy to be able to give a little of what we do to help improve the quality of life for those who really need it. Thanks for the opportunity to have our services actually make a real difference.”
Producer Scott Ganary of 740 Sound Design said he is honored that his shop was asked to be involved in helping the children of Port-au-Prince.
Horwitz and his wife are in the process of adopting two children from Haiti. In Rivard’s story, he observed, “For my wife and I, just taking the kids out of the country and leaving the country the way it is doesn’t feel complete. What is really needed there is to try and put in motion the projects that will make adoption less and less necessary for those families….It’s the basic stuff, education and health care.”
Horwitz further explained, “It’s not about making a better orphanage for kids who are ultimately going to come to the United States and live vastly more privileged lives than the kids in Haiti. It’s about trying to give something back to the country that’s giving us these kids so that more kids shouldn’t have to leave their families. It’s not about my kids, it’s about the kids who I can’t bring home.”
The auction takes place on Aug. 27, with bidding slated to conclude on Aug. 30.
For more information on how you can participate, log onto www.lime-aid.tv.
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