Scott Essman

The Production Design on Raised by Wolves

October 14, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

In the spring of 2019, Production Designer Chris Seagers and Director Ridley Scott were embroiled in a film project when Scott asked Seagers to initiate the design on the futuristic science-fiction project Raised by Wolves, which Scott was executive producing through his Scott Free production company. “We segued straight onto that,” Seagers said of the new series, which is available on HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s streaming service. “Ridley is busy with […]

Ray McIntyre Wrangled Myriad Visual Effects for Raised by Wolves

October 12, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

Although he supervised all the numerous visual effects on the HBO Max series Raised by Wolves, Ray McIntyre actually represented the third visual effects team to be on the show, which is produced by Ridley Scott’s company, Scott Free. After the first collection of craftspeople worked from January to May of 2019, a new group was brought on in May, followed by McIntyre and his artists, starting in July. “Ridley Scott […]

Filmmaker Spotlight: Darren Lynn Bousman on Death of Me

October 2, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

Embarking on his new horror film, Death of Me, longtime genre director Darren Lynn Bousman knew that he would have to make significant changes to the fundamental settings and themes in the screenplay. “It was originally set in Haiti, and it was [about] voodoo,” said Bousman. “There’s so many good movies based in voodoo—I wanted to do something a little different. We couldn’t find a location based on what the […]

EMMY WATCH 2020: Michelle Radow’s Big Little Lies Make-Up

August 31, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

Having completed its second season, HBO’s series Big Little Lies, created by David E. Kelley, is nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Contemporary Makeup, for its fourth episode, “She Knows.” Makeup department head Michelle Radow, who has been in charge of the show’s makeup for all of Season Two, was among the nominees. Steve Artmont supervised Big Little Lies’ makeup department for Season One, and Radow worked in the department for all seven […]

Close Encounters with Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond

August 28, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

With equal amounts of artistic intrigue and a dissemination of vital filmmaking crafts, French director Pierre Filmon’s new feature explores the career of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (1930–2016). Created when Zsigmond was still alive, Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond examines the director of photography’s illustrious work and features many of his most notable films. Being a true cinephile, Filmon had long known about Zsigmond, a native of Hungary. “Actually, he was […]

EMMY WATCH 2020: Jason Sherwood on Designing the 2020 Oscars

August 26, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

Jason Sherwood, a young production designer with credits in touring entertainment, theater, and television, is quickly reaching the pinnacle of acclaim for his craft after receiving an Emmy nomination for his work on the 2020 Oscars. “It was a really wonderful and exciting reminder of the work we were able to be a part of,” said Sherwood of the unexpected recognition, “how a team of people has to come […]

Filmmaker Spotlight: Ghosts of War Director Eric Bress

August 25, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

Unsurprisingly, the co-creator of The Butterfly Effect was bound to deliver a unique, non-traditional film with his new offering, Ghosts of War. As its title suggests, Eric Bress’s new project concerns the conventional war movie; however, Bress merged that familiar cinematic category with a wholly unexpected element. “I knew when I first started out that I wanted to blend the war and horror genres,” he said, noting that the chilling […]

Volition Filmmakers Tony & Ryan Smith

August 24, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

For brothers Tony Dean Smith and Ryan W. Smith, their new science-fiction feature Volition was a fully collaborative endeavor in every respect with them sharing writing and producing duties and Tony installed as director. A story with many nuances and turns, Volition represented the first feature for the Smith Brothers. “The kernel of the idea came to me in film school,” said Tony Smith. “I wrote about a scientist who makes this […]

Filmmaker Profile: Archive Director Gavin Rothery

August 18, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

Over the first twenty years of the 21st century, filmmakers have explored the notion of sentient artificial intelligence, where computer/robotic-based creations can engage in autonomous thought. Notably, Steven Spielberg did so with A.I. Artificial Intelligence, in which a mechanical boy was central to the film. Later, Caradog James made The Machine, where a beautiful woman was the embodiment of a new order of positronic intellectual deliberation. More recently, Alex Garland’s […]

Emmy-Nominated Serengeti Doc Films Animals in New Ways

August 13, 2020 Scott Essman Comments Off

Established in Tanzania, eastern Africa, in 1951, Serengeti National Park encompasses 5,700 square miles of grassland for its numerous wild animal species, attracting hundreds of thousands of international visitors every year. Now, spanning six separate episodes, Serengeti, created by BBC Earth, is a comprehensive documentary series concerning the natural behavior of the myriad animals in the park. Directed and executive produced by John Downer, Serengeti, airing in 2019 on the Discovery […]