Director Marius Holtz has signed with bicoastal RSA USA…. Director Patricia Murphy, best known for her spot work in the U.K., has come aboard Bravo Zulu, Santa Monica, for stateside representation….Word is that director James Dalthorp, formerly of now defunct 1/33 Productions, is headed for Santa Monica-based Area 51 Films….Bicoastal Gartner has added director Raymond Bark….Director Siraj Jhaveri has joined bicoastal Shelter Films….525 Studios, Santa Monica, has entered into a partnership with 3-D/visual effects firm Buf Compagnie, Paris. Via the deal, Buf gains a stronger foothold in the U.S. market. Also, Buf’s technology and workflow methodology are being integrated into 525. Pasquale Croce, a 3-D artist who earlier in his career worked at Buf, has come aboard 525 to spearhead its 3-D division and to train artists to use Buf’s proprietary 3-D database and resources….Phil Price, president and creative director of Click 3X New York, will exit the company effective Feb. 29 to pursue an as-yet-unnamed broadband content venture. Additionally, Click 3X N.Y. executive producer Julie Shevach has assumed the additional title of general manager….Chicago-based animation house Tricky Pictures is disbanding due to the departures of partner/animation director Bruce Alcock, who is returning to his native Canada, and executive producer Harriet Katz, who is relocating to San Francisco. Partner/head of sales Roy Skillicorn said that plans call for some of the equipment and staff to be absorbed into the West Coast office of Tricky’s sister live-action company, Backyard Productions. Skillicorn is considering restaffing the animation shop, although nothing final has been decided yet….Crew Cuts in San Francisco has added editor Mauro Camoroda and executive producer Amy Burlaga….Congrats to the Academy Award-nominated artisans with ties to the spot community including: best director nominees Spike Jonze (of bicoastal/international Satellite) for Being John Malkovich, and Lasse Hallström (of bicoastal/international@radical.media) for The Cider House Rules; Mehdi Norowzian (of bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures), who directed the Oscar-nominated live- action short film Killing Joe; best cinematography nominee Robert Richardson (of bicoastal Tool of North America) for Snow Falling on Cedars; and sound effects editing nominee Ren Klyce (of Mit Out Sound, Sausalito, Calif.) for his contributions to Fight Club….Director Nigel Dick’s telefilm 2gether debuts Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. on MTV. Dick is repped for commercials and videos via A Band Apart, Los Angeles….
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