Suite 7 - Review

Good in Bed - directed by MARK GANTT written by SUSAN MILLER starring EDDIE MCCLINTOCK & JAIME MURRAY

You might not expect a Web series produced as a promotional tool for the Better Sleep Council to be very interesting, but “Suite 7” at MyLifetime.com is worth checking out. The free-standing episodes — the sixth of seven goes up on Friday — all revolve around the same bed, situated in the hotel suite of the title.

What the council’s money has bought is the participation of recognizable performers like Milo Ventimiglia (“Heroes”) as a skeptical best man and Illeana Douglas as an actress on location debating whether to have sex with her co-star. (Mr. Ventimiglia also directed his episode, while Ms. Douglas wrote hers.) Best, so far, is the more sober, 11-minute “Good in Bed,” starring Jaime Murray (“Dexter”) and Eddie McClintock (“Warehouse 13”) as a divorcing couple brought together, for a moment at least, by that magical bed. (YES... THIS IS ONE OF THE EPISODES I DIRECTED!)

MARK GANTT | CREATING VISUALLY COMPELLING PITCHES

I guess the days are over when you just walk into pitches and say things like, “It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets The Godfather.”

The NATPE trade show is for the second year recognizing digital contributions to the content biz, honoring a handful of companies and personalities at its upcoming confab in Miami.

AOL, IKEA, the LXD, Control TV and Gary Vaynerchuk will be recognized as "Content Innovators" on the last day of the market Jan. 26.

The so-called Digital Luminary Awards will be handed out in partnership with Tubefilter.

NATPE president-CEO Rick Feldman said Wednesday the awards acknowledge "the innovative people and companies who serve as catalysts for the digital content revolution."

Recipients will be feted during a reception hosted by Mark Gantt of the Bannen Way at the confab's central location, the Fontainebleau Resort. The 5 pm event will also be streamed live on the NATPE website.

SUITE 7 - Episode #1 "GOOD IN BED"

The new Branded Series by CJP Digital Media and Sponsored by the Better Sleep Council premieres on MyLifetime.com

Director - Mark Gantt
Written by
Susan Miller
Starring
Jaime Murray and Eddie McClintock
Produced by
Wilson Cleveland, Paul St. Clair and Mark Gantt

* New York Times Review

Official Site: SUITE 7 SERIES

Mark Gantt Special Guest-Starring in Season 5 of The Temp Life.
Produced by CJP Digital and Sperion Temp Agency

PODCAST FROM AMERICA: EPISODE 5 WITH MARK GANTT

Welcome to the Christmas episode of PODCAST FROM AMERICA, with my special guest Mark Gantt, a talented actor/writer/producer/director, who I was lucky enough to speak to at the beginning of October. You can listen to the show via iTunes by clicking this link.

I’ve been following Mark’s career with interest since I met him on the set of Sony’s The Bannen Way, just over a year ago. He and his Bannen co-creator, Jesse Warren, were on day 18 of a 19-day shoot at the Lacy Street Studios in east LA, filming their ground-breaking high-production value web series, about a gangster who wants to go straight.

I blogged at the time that ‘Hollywood’s future was in Bannen’s hands‘, and after the series scored more than 14 million hits, and went on to be sold as a feature on DVD, I think they ably demonstrated that well-produced, original web shows can have clout. Their model is very new, but proves that there is another viable way that talented actors, producers and directors, who might otherwise not get the chance, can showcase their talents.

Mark’s now an authority on making shows on the web, and runs a kick-ass course on the subject – find out more at www.ganttworkshops.com.

He also has a host of projects coming up, including the episode of Suite 7 that he directed, starring Eddie McClintock and Jaime Murray, which is out now.