Global content studio Pulse Films and transatlantic comedy production outfit Merman have launched Merman X Pulse. Headquartered in L.A. and London with Pulse’s Kira Carstensen and Merman’s Jeremy Rainbird at the helm as EPs, the new shop will produce branded content, utilizing its roster of comedy filmmakers. Merman X Pulse has access to a roster of leading comedy creators, writers, directors and performers, including David Cross (Arrested Development for Fox, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret for IFC); Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe for Amazon, Divorce starring Sarah Jessica Parker for HBO); Chris O’Dowd (Moone Boy for BBC, Bridesmaids); comedy creators Upright Citizens Brigade; New Zealand collective The Downlow Concept; and a collection of commercial directors from around the world. Merman X Pulse will work directly with brands and agencies creating branded content and commercials. In addition the company will also offer access to its talent and creative teams through script-development, workshops, brainstorms, appearances and promotion…..Live action production company Traction Ave. Films has launched in the heart of L.A.’s downtown arts district. The new venture opens with a roster of eight directors: Shane Drake, Christopher Leone, Nick Losq, Michael Norman, Jerry O’Flaherty, Toben Seymour, Ben Tedesco, and design collective StarBeast. Their slate of work includes broadcast spots for Toyota, Disney, Nike, Lenovo, and Chevrolet; videogame content for EA, 2K Games, and Facebook Games; music videos for Taylor Swift, Timbaland, and Moby; sci-fi and comedy pilots on Netflix and SyFy; and branded content for Kia Motors and Southern Comfort. Heading up Traction Ave. Films are creative director/director Losq, EPs Scott Gemmell and Lloyd D’Souza, and VFX supervisor Chris Clyne. The partners are launching Traction out of StarBeast, their digital design and production company….
Steven Soderbergh Has A Multi-Faceted “Presence” In His Latest Film
Steven Soderbergh isn't just the director and cinematographer of his latest film. He's also, in a way, its central character.
"Presence" is filmed entirely from the POV of a ghost inside a home a family has just moved into. Soderbergh, who serves as his own cinematographer under the pseudonym Peter Andrews (his father's name), essentially performs as the presence, a floating point-of-view that watches as the violence that killed the mysterious ghost threatens to be repeated.
For even the prolific Soderbergh, the film, which opens Friday in theaters, was a unique challenge. He shot "Presence" with a small digital camera while wearing slippers to soften his steps.
The 62-year-old filmmaker recently met a reporter in a midtown Manhattan hotel in between finishing post-production on his other upcoming movie ("Black Bag," a thriller Focus Features will release March 14) and beginning production in a few weeks on his next project, a romantic comedy that he says "feels like a George Cukor movie."
Soderbergh, whose films include "Out of Sight," the "Ocean's 11" movies, "Magic Mike" and "Erin Brockovich," tends to do a lot in small windows of time. "Presence" took 11 days to film.
That dexterous proficiency has made the ever-experimenting Soderbergh one of Hollywood's most widely respected evaluators of the movie business. In a wide-ranging conversation, he discussed why he thinks streaming is the most destructive force the movies have ever faced and why he's "the cockroach of this industry."
Q: You use pseudonyms for yourself as a cinematographer and editor. Were you tempted to credit yourself as an actor for "Presence"?
SODERBERGH: No, but what I did is subtle. For the first and... Read More