Director Lloyd Stein has joined bicoastal Headquarters. Stein comes over from bicoastal Epoch Films, where he spent the past year. Prior to that, he was at bicoastal/international Propaganda Films….Access Film, a bicoastal house headed by executive producers Jonathan Gilson and Alan Pierce, has signed director Mark Mainguy for U.S. representation. Mainguy is best known in Canada for his spotwork via Toronto-based Radke Films…. Director Alan Hunter—one of the original MTV veejays—has joined Atlanta-based VanDerKloot Film Studio for Southeast U.S. representation….A new Chicago-based commercial production company, Z Group Films, is being launched by Dan Zigulich, a former producer at Foote, Cone & Belding, Chicago…. Producer Nina Rappaport has joined San Francisco-based animation studio Wild Brain, where she will head up the company’s CG efforts. Among her credits is Bunny, which was directed by Chris Wedge of Blue Sky Studios, Harrison, N.Y., and went on to win the ’98 Academy Award for best animated short film…. Congrats to Blair Stribley, principal/executive producer at Chicago and Venice, Calif.-based Backyard Productions, on his marriage to Ellen Pistana, a non-pro; the two were wed on Thanksgiving Day…..
HBO Inks Two-Year First-Look Deal With Sharon Horgan and Her Production Company Merman
HBO has signed a two-year first-look television deal with BAFTA-winning and Emmy®-nominated actor, writer, and producer Sharon Horgan (“Bad Sisters,” “Catastrophe”) and her multi award-winning production company Merman. HBO has also given a straight-to-series order for a new original comedy series, the first project under this deal, from Horgan and produced by Merman, with Horgan serving as writer, star, and executive producer.
This comedy series follows a 50-year-old divorcee’s search for sex and love while juggling caring for her ailing parents and parenting her should-be grown up son.
Amy Gravitt, executive VP, HBO & Max Comedy Programming, said, “We’re thrilled to be reunited with Sharon. Her willingness to offer up her own experiences through the characters she creates makes us all feel a little less lonely, that is what sets her comedy apart so brilliantly. She also has such a sharp eye for material and a strong desire to shepherd other people’s stories, we’re looking forward to the new talent she will bring into the fold.”
Horgan said, “I’m so happy to once again be working with Casey [Bloys], Amy, Francesca [Orsi] and the team at HBO, and really excited that Merman get to continue to tell stories for a company that’s been home to some of the most iconic television shows ever created.”
Horgan has created and starred in such series as “Pulling,” “Catastrophe,” “Motherland,” “Amandaland” and BAFTA and Peabody winning series “Bad Sisters,” which recently released its second season. She received Emmy® nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (“Catastrophe”), Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (“Bad... Read More