The directing collective Pleix has joined Stink for worldwide representation except for North America and France. Pleix continues to be handled in the U.S. by MJZ. Pleix is a virtual community of seven digital artists (graphic designers, directors, 3D artists, musicians) formed in 2001 and based in Paris. Last year Pleix directed one of the awards season's most lauded spots, Amnesty International's “Death Penalty” out of TBWA Paris. “Death Penalty” earned such honors as a Bronze Lion at Cannes, a Grand Prix for Film Craft and a Silver for Film at Eurobest, Silver at the London International Awards and Silver at the Epica Awards…..Greg Scruton has become a full fledged editor at Arcade Edit, coming up the ranks as an assistant editor. He recently cut the NFL on Fox “Dr. Phil” campaign. Scruton's other credits as an editor include campaigns for Volkswagen, Drivetime, PlayStation, Acura, Nike and Burger King. Arcade is a partnership among managing partner Damian Stevens and editors Kim Bica, Geoff Hounsell and Paul Martinez. Arcade's roster also includes editors Scruton, Patrick Griffin, Christjan Jordan and Stewart Reeves….
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