Butter Music and Sound has launched a multicultural division, tapping Grammy-nominated musician and recording artist James Zavaleta as executive producer. The department will focus on music and audio solutions for the multicultural market, working closely with agencies and brands on campaigns crafted towards U.S. Latinx consumers. Zavaleta has partnered with agencies and brands as a consulting music producer on a range of branded projects, overseeing the entire audio process, from start to finish with an eye towards the authentic cultural representation of Latinx music. He is also an experienced and versatile singer, songwriter and producer, with credits ranging from singing on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, recording over 30 national jingles, and contributing voiceover musical work on Disney/Pixar’s Academy Award-winning film Coco. In the early days of stay-at-home measures, Zavaleta and Butter West Coast EP Annick Mayer developed the division, bringing his versatile experience as a musician to the commercial music space to offer original music, sync, and sound design services for multicultural campaigns. Born and raised in Southern California, Zavaleta developed singer/songwriter recognition as early as nine, and began playing gigs as far-flung as Las Vegas when he was just 14. As a sought-after performer in Los Angeles, he also performed as a back-up artist to legendary Salsa artists including Oscar De Leon, Tito Nieves, Victor Manuelle and more. His performances earned him television and film roles, performing on Eddie Murphy’s Meet Dave and an episode of FOX television series Prison Break, and earning a spot as a recurring vocalist on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. Drawn to percussion at the young age of 3, he also taught himself to play the piano and, with this instrument as his medium, Zavaleta honed his personal “Latin Pop” style and released his debut self-titled EP in 2012. He first connected with Butter Music and Sound in 2012 while recording for a variety of commercials with the music and sound shop….
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