Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has appointed Katherine Oliver as commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, New York. She replaces Patricia Reed Scott, who held the post from 1983 to ’90 and from ’94 to 2002. Prior to her appointment, Oliver served as general manager of Bloomberg Radio and Television International….Director Dave Borthwick, founder of and principal in the Bristol, U.K.-based studio Bolexbrothers, has joined ka-chew!, the Hollywood-based live-action commercial division of animation studio Klasky Csupo, for exclusive representation in the U.S.….Bicoastal Villains has added a pair of comedy directors to its roster: Axel Laubscher and Bjorn Stein….John Bonito, a director/creative at NBC’s in-house agency, has secured representation as a spot helmer with Hollywood-based Level 7….Director Nick Egan, fomerly of now defunct Cognito Films, is working out of Los Angeles-based Arsenal. Most recently, he helmed a music video for Splender’s "Save It for Later," which Arsenal produced….Editor Jack Douglas has joined Crew Cuts/West, Santa Monica. He comes over from Santa Monica-based The Mint….The Whitehouse has added a couple of editors to its roster in Chicago: Melanie Barter, formerly of The Whitehouse, Santa Monica; and Patrick Burns, formerly of Northern Lights Post, New York. Burns is slated to join The Whitehouse effective July 1. The Whitehouse maintains full-service shops in London, New York, Chicago and Santa Monica….Director Jesus Rodriguez has signed with International Legacy Films, a Los Angeles-based spot/music video house under the aegis of executive producer Michelle Colbert….Cibolo Films, San Antonio, Texas, has signed director Elyse Lewin for representation in the U.S. Hispanic market. Lewin continues to maintain her Los Angeles-based Lewin Pictures for general-market assignments….Barbara Gans Russo, formerly head of broadcast production at Publicis, New York, has been named president of New York operations for The Albert Company, a provider of celebrity talent and popular music rights for advertisers….Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman have launched Sea Spot Run, a commercial/music video shop in North Miami….
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