Director Bob Richardson is joining bicoastal Tool of North America….Chris Hafner has entered into an agreement to direct music videos via Culver City, Calif.-headquartered 8Media. Hafner, who will also be available to helm select commercials, continues as a spots/clips editor at Brass Knuckles, Venice, Calif….COO Tom Block has added the title of president at New York-headquartered IllusionFusion!, the parent to such firms as the Click 3X facilities (New York, Santa Monica, Atlanta and Construct/Click 3X, San Francisco), and New York-based audio design/post facility Sound Lounge. Block became IllusionFusion! COO in April. He formerly served as executive VP/COO of Ingalls, Quinn & Johnson, Boston. Meanwhile IllusionFusion! CEO Peter Corbett has vacated that post and become the company’s chairman of the board….Nancy Fishelson is leaving her position as president/exec. producer at bicoastal Bedford Falls. She will, however, remain with the company in a consultant’s capacity, taking on special projects. Fishelson made the move to focus on a pursuit outside the industry, the re-design of existing homes which she’s been doing successfully as a sideline for the past couple of years…. Commercial director Marshall Stone died of a heart attack at the age of 68 on Saturday, Dec. 11. An ex-Marine, Stone became a prominent director during the ’60 and ’70s working at now defunct production house MPO Videotronics….Exec producers Liz Silver and Luke Thornton are ready to Believe—that’s the moniker of the bicoastal production house they plan to open next month…. Exec. producer John Clark has launched Boxer Films, L.A. Clark formerly headed Culver City, Calif.-basedminus 30 Films. Word is that coming over to Boxer with Clark are formerminus 30 directors Jeff Kaumeyer, Andrew Becker, Jim Zoolalian and Justin Klarenbeck. At press time, a definitive bottom line was not available on the status ofminus 30 directors Peter Kovacs, Rene Eram and Natasha Uppal. SHOOT received conflicting info as to whether those directors were staying at their present roost, moving to Boxer or going elsewhere….Warner Bros., Burbank, has agreed to sell most of its Warner Hollywood Studios to BA Studios for an estimated $65 million. The deal encompasses the stages and offices on the 13-acre Warner Hollywood lot. When the acquisition is finalized, Warner Hollywood Studios will become known as The Lot. BA Studios is owned by real estate investment firms Skye Partners and Blackacre Capital. Plans call for Skye Partners to be responsible for the day to day operation of The Lot. Skye Partners recently completed the renovation of The Ten9Fifty Studios, Culver City….Rusty Ford, exec. producer at New York-based Cabana, has left the company…Russian Hill Recording has closed the San Francisco audio facility bearing its name and consolidated that operation into the company’s Crescendo! Studios…..Minneapolis-headquartered iNTELEFILM has teamed with Excalibur Technologies Corp., Vienna, Va., and AT&T Corp. to launch intelesource.org, a Web-based digitized video storage and retrieval system. Intelesource encodes TV spots with specific searchable criteria (i.e., ISCI Codes, clients, products, directors, producers, creatives), helping global ad agencies and their clients manage and retrieve assets from their video libraries. Additionally, iNTELEFILM will utilize the AT&T/Excalibur technologies in an intranet application among its families of companies and their offices in the U.S. and overseas—including bicoastal Curious Pictures; bicoastal/international The End; bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures, and New York-based Populuxe Pictures….. Henry artist John Scheer has joined 525 Studios, Santa Monica….
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