Danny T signs globally for Great Guns

Released less than a month ago, with over 6.5 million hits in just over one week, Danny’s short film Portal: No Escape was described by the influential Huffington Post as “winning the internet right now for the grittiness of its take on the video game”.  It became the month's top favorite, top rated and most discussed film on YouTube after only a few hours online (trending on Twitter within the same timeframe), creating a stir from all the most prominent gaming, movie and online news sites. Unusually it also attracted the attention of mainstream media from the likes of Entertainment Weekly, Wired, The LA Times, The Wall Street Journal and the UK’s national newspaper The Independent.

Eighteen months in the making, it was greeted with a standing ovation at its recent Comic-Con premiere. An extraordinary homage to the hugely addictive video game Portal, Danny created a dark interpretation of the isolation and hopelessness of the game’s protagonist. From an unsettling opening sequence filled with foreboding the film quickly ratchets up into a gripping inter-dimensional escape sequence. 

The success of Portal: No Escape has built on that enjoyed by his previous short film, More Than You Can Chew, released on YouTube only two months prior, which also garnered a huge amount of attention from most major, influential film sites.

Both films exhibit an extension of the style found in his commercials work; an astute eye for the observational that subtly disguises his carefully composed classical framing, anchored by strong, beautifully cast performances. All coming together to create a style that, whilst tightly constructed, feels effortlessly organic, even in films as fx-heavy as Portal: No Escape.

Danny is also positioned at the forefront of the digital generation as co-host of one of the internet’s most popular video podcasts, The Totally Rad Show. Enjoyed by a broad and vocal fan base, the program covers the latest in movies, games, television and comic books. Described by Wired magazine as “the best weekly podcast – period”, it has more recently transformed from weekly to daily broadcasts, evidence of its growing and enduring popularity.

Laura Gregory, founder of Great Guns worldwide, says: “When Sheridan Thomas, the UK’s Head of Production and co-founder of GGi, our new interactive division, brought Danny to my attention earlier this year, I immediately saw that rare, exciting talent that truly understands the relevance of classical film disciplines within the context of this digital generation. The more recent success of Chew and Portal clearly confirm this to be the case”. “What immediately impressed me was the way he was able to stamp his very distinctive, observational style across multiple genres”, adds Tom Korsan, Managing Director of Great Guns’ LA office. “His forward-thinking approach and awareness of what’s going on in this cross-platform world perfectly compliment the direction that we are taking the company in for the future”.

“I’m thrilled to be considered a fully-fledged global "gunner" now,” says Danny. “Since signing earlier this year with Great Guns for the rest of the world, it has become very clear to me how much they care about filmmaking and filmmakers. They are as intensely passionate about the art of commercial storytelling and advancements in all forms of modern media as I am.  So, for me, joining Great Guns in the US is a natural and exciting extension of my relationship with this progressive brand. It's incredibly validating to have been "noticed" by them and I look forward to making them proud.

I love telling emotionally rooted stories, whether they be poetic, slice-of-life tales or bigger, more cinematic experiences. I'm either putting a magnifying glass over the mundane to make it feel special or grounding the extraordinary with a more personal relevance.  With the success of Portal: No Escape I am excited about the possibility of working on some of the larger scale, more cinematic projects but I also love to bring my sensibilities to some of the more personal stuff too. For me it’s all about capturing the emotions of a movie theater experience on the smaller screen, no matter the scale or genre.”