Word is that director Andrew Douglas is joining 8Media, the bicoastal company launched by Steve Golin, founder and former chairman of bicoastal/international Propaganda Films. Douglas comes over from bicoastal/international Satellite….Bicoastal/international Hungry Man has signed director Marc Klasfeld, who had been helming music videos through his own production company, Rock Hard Films, New York. The signing marks his first foray into the commercial arena….Director Spencer Antle has joined Metro Pictures, Marina del Rey, Calif….DNA, Hollywood, has added director Bryan M. Domyan….A pair of publicly held companies with commercial production house holdings have launched ventures to diversify into the Internet. New York-headquartered Paradise Music & Entertainment (NASDAQ: PDSE), parent to bicoastal spot shop Straw Dogs, has formed bicoastal Paradise Digital Productions, a division designed to develop and produce content for the Web. Matt Rader has been named president of the new venture, with Elisabeth Caren serving as its director of development….And Minneapolis-headquartered iNTELEFILM (NASDAQ: FILM)—the corporate banner under which reside such commercial production companies as bicoastal/international The End and Chelsea Pictures, bicoastal Curious Pictures, and New York-based Populuxe Pictures—has opened webADTV.com. The new subsidiary will combine iNTELEFILM’s digital archiving and retrieval service, InteleSource.org, with additional Web-based services under development. WebADTV.com will also focus on other Internet initiatives, including applying iNTELEFILM’s short-form expertise to new media advertising models….Invisible Dog, New York, may soon be wagging its tail on both coasts….Tim Smith, CEO of Red Sky Interactive, San Francisco, has been named jury president of the Cannes Cyber Lions….Peligro Music and Sound Design, Los Angeles, has signed spot composer Gordon Cyrus. This is the first stateside commercial representation for Cyrus, who’s established himself as a freelancer in Paris and Stockholm, having composed spots directed by such notables as Traktor of bicoastal/international Partizan, and Jhoan Camitz of Satellite….
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