U.K. talent and facility to join Formosa Group
Streamland Media has acquired Sonorous Trident, a London-based sound facility. Sonorous Trident will join Streamland Media’s sound division, Formosa Group, further expanding its talent roster and facilities in the United Kingdom.
Sonorous Trident’s founders Mike Prestwood Smith and Howard Bargroff will make the move to Formosa Group. The addition of Sonorous Trident to Formosa Group will create a significant hub for filmmakers worldwide. The Trident studio is where many influential musicians recorded historic albums from 1968 to 1981, including The Beatles, David Bowie, Elton John, and The Rolling Stones. The Trident facility expands Formosa Group’s worldwide locations and amplifies Streamland Media’s global support and offerings for content creators.
Prestwood Smith’s extensive credits as a re-recording mixer include Rocket Man, Aladdin, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and multiple films in the Mission Impossible and James Bond franchises. He won a BAFTA Award for Best Sound for Casino Royale (2007) and has earned an additional 10 BAFTA Film nods during his career. Prestwood Smith has been recognized with Oscar nominations for his contributions on News of the World (2021) and Captain Phillips (2014).
Bargroff has mixed numerous high-profile features such as Men and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, for which he received a BAFTA Film Award (2012) nomination. He is a nine-time Primetime Emmy nominee and won a 2021 Daytime Emmy for his work on The Letter for the King. Bargroff has garnered BAFTA TV Awards for A Very British Scandal (2022), The Night Manager (2017) and Sherlock (2012). His television credits include Devs, The Lost King, The Two Faces of January, A Very British Scandal and The Irregulars.
“We’re genuinely thrilled to welcome Mike, Howard and their incredible ensemble to our Formosa Group family,” said Formosa Group founder Bob Rosenthal. “Exceptional artists are the very backbone of Streamland Media, so we can’t wait to collaborate with this talented Trident team. This is a fantastic opportunity for all of us involved and for the remarkable filmmakers whose vision we serve.”
Prestwood Smith said, “Joining Formosa Group and bringing their ‘talent-first’ approach to the U.K. with the goal of shaping a world class, creatively focused sound facility has been a long time in the making. We are very proud to be a part of this extraordinary global creative community.”
Bargroff added, “This opportunity to build on our brilliant team and further expand Trident Studios into a vibrant state-of-the-art facility is fantastic. We have a magnificent team and creative space which we can take to a whole new level as part of Formosa Group.”
The transition of Sonorous Trident into Formosa Group will move forward without interruption to clients’ services.
“Bringing Sonorous Trident into Streamland Media combines industry-leading artists with our world class technology to give filmmakers the creative-driven, customized service they desire,” said Streamland Media CEO Bill Romeo. “The bedrock of Streamland Media’s vision is to meet storytellers when, where and how they create, and support their vision with talent and facilities that fit their needs perfectly. We’re excited for this growth which gives us another opportunity to connect local creative communities on a global level.”
Review: Writer-Director Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man”
Imagine you could wake up one morning, stand at the mirror, and literally peel off any part of your looks you don't like — with only movie-star beauty remaining.
How would it change your life? How SHOULD it change your life?
That's a question – well, a launching point, really — for Edward, protagonist of Aaron Schimberg's fascinating, genre-bending, undeniably provocative and occasionally frustrating "A Different Man," featuring a stellar trio of Sebastian Stan, Adam Pearson and Renate Reinsve.
The very title is open to multiple interpretations. Who (and what) is "different"? The original Edward, who has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes bulging tumors on his face? Or the man he becomes when he's able to slip out of that skin? And is he "different" to others, or to himself?
When we meet Edward, a struggling actor in New York (Stan, in elaborate makeup), he's filming some sort of commercial. We soon learn it's an instructional video on how to behave around colleagues with deformities. But even there, the director stops him, offering changes. "Wouldn't want to scare anyone," he says.
On Edward's way home on the subway, people stare. Back at his small apartment building, he meets a young woman in the hallway, in the midst of moving to the flat next door. She winces visibly when she first sees him, as virtually everyone does.
But later, Ingrid (Reinsve) tries to make it up to him, coming over to chat. She is charming and forthright, and tells Edward she's a budding playwright.
Edward goes for a medical checkup and learns that one of his tumors is slowly progressing over the eye. But he's also told of an experimental trial he could join. With the possibility — maybe — of a cure.
So... Read More