Word is that director David Kellogg has exited bicoastal/international Propaganda Films and joined 8Media, the bicoastal shop formed by Propaganda founder/former chairman Steve Golin…. Bicoastal Cohn+Company is now representing directors Olivier Venturini, Martin Bell and Mark Raymon Bennett; they join a roster that includes Paul Goldman and Paul Cade….Director Rupert Wainwright, formerly repped for spots via now defunct Pavlov Productions, has signed with Santa Monica-based Windmill Lane Productions. Wainwright is well versed in commercials and longform; he directed last year’s box office hit, Stigmata….Director P.E. Goldman, who helms spots via Aussie house 8 Commercials, has joined Ritts/Hayden, Los Angeles, for stateside spot representation….Dublin Productions, Hollywood, has added director Walter Pawluk….Film industry veteran Jack Lechner has joined bicoastal/international @radical.media to head its motion picture division. Lechner comes over from Miramax Films, where he was executive VP, production and development.…Director Glenn Miller has signed with Life of Riley, Pacific Palisades, Calif., for exclusive commercial representation. The deal formalizes a working relationship he’s had with the company as a freelancer since ’98….Bicoastal Coppos Films and executive producer Bill Reilly have parted ways….Denise Minter has been promoted to VP of production at Palo Alto, Calif.-based animation/visual effects studio Pacific Data Images (PDI). She will oversee production for PDI’s feature animation and its commercial and feature effects divisions. Minter previously served as senior producer for PDI’s commercial division….Noreen Szeluga is the new executive producer at Chicago-based Big Deahl Productions; she was formerly executive producer at Peter Elliott Productions, Chicago….Meanwhile, former Big Deahl executive producer Alan Sadler told SHOOT he is weighing his options, and plans to remain in production, possibly in the broadband arena….Citing the pressures of running a production company, veteran director Eric Young is closing his 12-year-old Minneapolis-based shop, Young & Company. While he decides his next course, Young will be available to work through Voodoo Films, Minneapolis….Editor Bill Marmor, formerly of Crew Cuts West, Santa Monica, has joined TrailHead, Santa Monica….Longstanding, New York-based Sutcliffe Music & Sound Design has relaunched itself as Wax Music & Sound Design and formed an alliance with Multi Video Group, the New York-headquartered parent to several production/post-related businesses….Smythe & Company, New York, has signed composer Tony Prendatt….Ivan Bernstein, best known for his tenure at The Post Group during the ’80s, died last month of AIDS at his home in Miami. He was 45. From ’83 to ’88, Bernstein oversaw operations at The Post Group, Hollywood. In ’88, he helped the company launch its Orlando, Fla. facility at Walt Disney World. (The Post Group has since pulled out of that Fla. operation.) Bernstein is survived by his parents and a sister….
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