Production Sound & Video

Spring 2020

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21 Penny Dreadful: by Jay Patterson CAS Magda (Natalie Dormer) in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. "Santa Muerte." Photo by Justin Lubin/SHOWTIME. C ITY OF ANGEL S According to Wikipedia, a penny dreadful was "cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom," and, "typically sensational, focusing on the exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities." The character Sweeney Todd was first introduced in a penny dreadful. Eight or so pages of exciting escapism, all for a penny. The series Penny Dreadful is the creation of John Logan, the very talented writer that brought us Any Given Sunday, Rango, Sweeney Todd, Gladiator, Aviator, The Last Samurai, Hugo, and the Bond fi lms, Skyfall and Spectre. He kills it on Broadway, and his most recent musical, The Last Ship, starring Sting, is currently touring with rave reviews. For his fi rst iteration of a penny dreadful for the screen, Logan created a three-season period piece set in nineteenth-century London. A tale populated with some of the most colorful and horrible characters of the time, from history and fi ction. Characterized by compelling writing, a spectacular cast, lush production design, and the superb photography of John Conroy ISC, its fans were saddened when the series ended in 2016.

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