Harvey Bertram-Brown and Carolyn Corben–a noted fashion design duo who successfully transitioned into filmmaking with endeavors spanning commercials and music videos–have joined Crossroads Films for representation in the U.S. and the U.K. as a directing team.
The longstanding Crossroads, bicoastal and Chicago, recently set up shop in London, through the acquisition of the former Cowboy Films operation, as earlier reported in SHOOT. Crossroads and Cowboy had a 15-year reciprocal representation relationship. But when Cowboy managing director Lisa Bryer decided to retire from the business to become a full-time mom, Crossroads’ partners/execs Cami Taylor and Dan Lindau made the deal to round up Cowboy and become its co-owners.
Bertram-Brown and Corben come to Crossroads from Pink Film Company, London. They initially established themselves as designers on a diverse range of projects, from creating exhibitions and window displays at Liberty and Harvey Nichols in London and Heni Bendel in New York, to styling gigs for celebrities and other notables, to launching their own fashion and house ware lines.
The next natural progression was film, as the pair got the opportunity to bring its creative and design sensibilities to station identities (the Power Gen weather idents shown on the U.K.’s ITV), to music videos (for such artists as Elton John, George Michael, Rachel Stevens, Girls Aloud) and commercials (for assorted clients, including Gordon’s Gin, Honda, Pantene, Debenhams department stores).
Bertram Brown and Corben recently wrapped a Breakthrough Breast Cancer cinema PSA via Pink for Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, London. The spot shows what happens at high-society gatherings when women show up wearing the same outfits; predictably chaotic catfights ensue. However, the exception to the fashion rule is seen when two ladies appear wearing the same Breakthrough sleeveless tops, part of the clothing line that has helped raise money for the breast cancer charity. The two women merely smile at each other in an expression of solidarity.
The Crossroads deal marks the first time that Bertram-Brown and Corben have had representation throughout the U.S. They are no stranger to directing American assignments; in ’01, the duo worked on Samsung’s “Anthem” spot for FCB, New York. Bertram-Brown and Corben have also helmed pop videos that have garnered major stateside exposure, the most prominent being a duet between Elton John and Leann Rhymes titled “Written in the Stars.”
By Robert Goldrich
Martin Scorsese On “The Saints,” Faith In Filmmaking and His Next Movie
When Martin Scorsese was a child growing up in New York's Little Italy, he would gaze up at the figures he saw around St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. "Who are these people? What is a saint?" Scorsese recalls. "The minute I walk out the door of the cathedral and I don't see any saints. I saw people trying to behave well within a world that was very primal and oppressed by organized crime. As a child, you wonder about the saints: Are they human?" For decades, Scorsese has pondered a project dedicated to the saints. Now, he's finally realized it in "Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints," an eight-part docudrama series debuting Sunday on Fox Nation, the streaming service from Fox News Media. The one-hour episodes, written by Kent Jones and directed by Elizabeth Chomko, each chronicle a saint: Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene, Moses the Black, Sebastian and Maximillian Kolbe. Joan of Arc kicks off the series on Sunday, with three weekly installments to follow; the last four will stream closer to Easter next year. In naturalistic reenactments followed by brief Scorsese-led discussions with experts, "The Saints" emphasizes that, yes, the saints were very human. They were flawed, imperfect people, which, to Scorsese, only heightens their great sacrifices and gestures of compassion. The Polish priest Kolbe, for example, helped spread antisemitism before, during WWII, sheltering Jews and, ultimately, volunteering to die in the place of a man who had been condemned at Auschwitz. Scorsese, who turns 82 on Sunday, recently met for an interview not long after returning from a trip to his grandfather's hometown in Sicily. He was made an honorary citizen and the experience was still lingering in his mind. Remarks have... Read More