- Nutopia (production company)
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Nutopia is a British and American television production company with offices on both sides of the Atlantic in London and Washington DC. Established in 2008, it specialises in factual and specialist factual documentaries. Most significant production to date is 2010 Emmy award winning show, America The Story of Us.
Contents
Productions
America: The Story of Us, a 12-part documentary miniseries aired on the American History Channel. From small agricultural colony to international superpower, this series used CGI technology and dramatic re-creations, including contributions from over 1600 actors and extras, to bring to life some of the country’s most iconic and important moments. The series was nominated for four Emmy awards (winning the award for ‘Best Sound’) and achieved the highest-rated special in the network's history,[1] with the debut show gaining 5.7 million viewers. The show was, however, also the source of some controversy, with criticisms leveled at the show’s uneven representation of different historical epochs. The documentary is also biased in the complete misrepresentation of the American Great Depression in that it completely omitted the vital role President Franklin Delano Roosevelt played in the recovery of the economy of the United States. The production falsely mischaracterized Roosevelt's Public Works Administration as "not working" and under playing the hope and vision of the future the Roosevelt administration had in keeping America together. As well as giving the New Deal close to no air time. It has also been shown in the UK and South Africa.[2]
Their most recent production is 4 part series The House That Made Me which aired on Channel 4 in December 2010. Celebrities Boy George, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Michael Barrymore and Jamelia were taken back to their childhood homes which had been recreated in great detail, stirring some long-forgotten memories and reintroducing them to the neighbourhoods of their youth.
9/11: State of Emergency was broadcast on the History Channel US and Channel 4 in Autumn 2010. With contributions from top American politicians, including Condoleezza Rice, this production brought together the stories of some of those involved from the world of politics, the military and the fire services, reliving their personal experiences and shedding new light on the tragic events of that day.
Vatican: The Hidden World, aired in the UK in September 2010 on BBC 2. With unprecedented access to the heart of the Catholic Church, this documentary captured the day to day running of the Vatican, in the year leading up to the Papal visit to the UK.
People
The company was founded by Jane Root (Former President of the Discovery Channel USA and Controller of BBC2 UK) and Laura Franses, (formerly of Raw TV and RDF Media). Board members include Michael Jackson (television executive) and Peter Bazalgatte.
References
- ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/04/26/america-the-story-of-us-breaks-records-for-history/49712
- ^ www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/arts/television/18story.html
External links
- http://www.history.com/
- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/arts/television/18story.html
- http://www.nutopia.com
- http://www.tbivision.com/article.php?category=4&article=903
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2010/apr/21/barack-obama-introduces-history-series
- http://www.absolutezerodegrees.co.uk/Projects/nutopia
Categories:- Television production companies of the United Kingdom
- Television production companies of the United States
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