Zacuto Films, Punch Films, Orbark are non-broadcast Emmy winners

A GUESSTIMATED 135 INDIVIDUALS went home with golden Emmy statuettes last Sunday, Nov. 6, at the 53rd annual Emmy Awards, the winners in more than 60 broadcast categories.  About 30 of those categories were non-news, a la documentaries, PSAs, cultural and other programming.  Out of these categories and sub-categories, we could only discern three shows that were not produced as a broadcasting entity.

Zacuto Films was one of those three, winning for its interview show, “Film Fellas” Commitment to the Craft.”  Zacuto’s Steve Weiss. Jens Bogehegn and Scott Lynch were the producers.

An Emmy for a PSA, “Texting While Driving: Teen,” was awarded to Punch Films producers John Cuneo and Derek Devine, while Orbert Davis’ Orbark Productions won two Emmys, for best writer and best music, for its doc, “DuSable to Obama: Chicago’s Black Metropolis,” which aired on Ch. 11.

For the complete winners’ list, click here.

FILMMAKER ALEX BEH, who just joined Utopic for representation, had received a lot of media attention earlier this year in the tabloids, and just for not for his filmmaking chops. 

The North Shore native was the boyfriend of Jennifer Love Hewitt before they split last spring.  Hewitt was supposed to co-star with Beh in his feature, “Warren,” which will be filmed in Chicago when it’s ready to go. 

11/11/11 IS THE DATE of the premiere of the feature-length doc “Bill T. Jones: A Good Man” on PBS “American Masters,” after four years in the making as a co-production between Media Process Group and Kartemquin. MPG’s Bob Hercules and Kartemquin’s Gordon Quinn were also the co-directors. 

The doc is about Jones’ dance-theatre piece about the life of Abraham Lincoln.  “We filmed on Bill’s first day at the Springfield Lincoln Museum through the preview of the dance performance at Ravinia, in September, 2009, the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. We started shooting in 2007 and edited for another year-and-a-half,” says Hercules.

PRIOR TO THE BIG AICP SHOW at the Cultural Center Nov. 17, the local Chicago/Midwest chapter will hold a membership meeting for general and associate members Wednesday, Nov. 16 at NBC Towers, in Studio B, second floor, starting with a 5:30 social hour, meeting at 6:30 p.m. 

Special New York guests are AICP national executives Matt Miller and Jane Nunez.  Topics will include various local and national production issues.

A HARLEY DAVIDSON WEBISODE SERIES is being produced through Digitas, as part of Harley Davidson’s ongoing “Ride Free” campaign and endeavors to answer the question, “What makes a motorcycle true?”  

Each webisode is presented in documentary format and offers insight into an aspect of the Harley Davidson brand, including the brand’s distinctive “growl.”  

“Everyone recognizes that classic engine sound whether you ride a Harley or not,” notes Digitas VP/executive producer and director Michael Rafayko.  

Each webisode begins and ends with a sonic tag made from the actual growl of a Harley engine. The score and effects by Sonixphere Greg Allan also derive from the composer’s personal perspective as a long-time Harley owner.

The music ranges from hard rock to alternative. “Because this series is for the internet and not restricted by time, we had the freedom to find the dynamic that best suits the picture and tailor the musical peaks and valleys accordingly,” says Allan.

CD is Kevin McElroy; Paul Green is the series writer and Cara Meiselman of Slingshot Edit the editor.

WIF’S BACKLOT SERIES visits Cinespace studios on Saturday, Nov. 12 for a tour of the massive stage complex where the sets for Starz’ hit series “Boss” are standing and waiting for season 2 shooting to begin.  Cinespace is currently the headquarters for the quarterly shoot for “Shameless,” the Showtime series set in Chicago.

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