Bicoastal Arts & Sciences has added documentary director Todd Krolczyk whose “Half Pipe Proposal,” a :60 for Nike E6, was honored in the Spec Spot category of this year’s AICP Show. Krolczyk is currently working on his first project for Arts & Sciences as well as a short documentary about musician Mary Timony. Krolczyk studied at Art Center College of Design and built his directorial portfolio while also working in advertising as both a creative and producer….Humble has added director/DP Noah David Smith to its roster. He’s wrapped a UBS job for Publicis NY…Chicago-based integrated production company Utopic has signed directors Alex Beh, Kevin Banna and Al Wyatt for commercial representation. Wyatt is a former agency creative, having been a creative director at BBDO Chicago and Energy BBDO. He had most recently been directing via 59 Films. Banna’s roots are in photography; he then transitioned into the director’s chair. Beh had been with ONE at Optimus. Beh, Banna and Wyatt join a Utopic directorial roster that also includes Michael LaBellarte….The Mill, London, has hired Jon Chads as its business development director-creative. He comes over from London agency BMB where he served as head of broadcast….Adam Hauck has joined entertainment marketing agency Trailer Park as executive producer for the interactive, TV, menus and content division. He brings extensive experience producing on-set content and EPKs for the industry’s top studios, and has longstanding relationships with directors including Joe Carnahan, Joss Whedon and Judd Apatow. Hauck’s recent credits include DVD/EPK content for The A-Team (Fox Home Entertainment), The Pineapple Express (Sony Pictures) and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Universal Pictures), as well as DVD content for LOST (Walt Disney Company)….
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More