Word is that director Gore Verbinski of bicoastal/international Propaganda Films, and the British co-directing team known as Hammer + Tongs, last with bicoastal U Ground, are joining 8Media, the Culver City, Calif.-based production venture launched by former Propaganda chairman/cofounder Steve Golin….Director Neil Tardio, Jr. has joined Santa Monica-based commercial production house Fuel, a division of publicly traded global digital design firm Razorfish (NASDAQ: RAZF). Tardio was most recently repped by now defunct Fahrenheit Films….Filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld (i.e. Men In Black, Get Shorty, Wild Wild West) is in between features and will be available for commercials for the next several months via executive producer Allison Nunn, who is working independently…. Director Joe Murray has returned to Shadowrock Productions, Beverly Hills….Director Agust Baldursson has come aboard Hollywood-based Orbit Productions….John Orloff, a noted spot director best known for his tenures at a pair of now defunct houses, Wakeford/Orloff and then The Film Tree, has died at the age of 67….
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