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Mick Fleetwood. Photo by Matthias Clamer. "I had great fun spending a day with Mick Fleetwood at one of his houses on Maui, high up on the slopes of the volcano," says Matthias.

Sandra Lee. Photo by Matthias Clamer.

Matthias Clamer photographed Chris Elliott for the cover of the comedian's upcoming book, to be published by Penguin.

David Cross. Photo by Matthias Clamer.

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Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

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Radiohead. Photo by Nadav Kander for Rolling Stone, April 26, 2012, issue.

Thom Yorke. Photo by Nadav Kander for Rolling Stone.

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Jeremy Irons as Rodrigo Borgia in the Showtime original series "The Borgias." Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

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The stakes were high for Jim Fiscus when Showtime commissioned him to shoot the key art for the historical drama The Borgias, which “chronicles the corrupt rise of patriarch Rodrigo Borgia to the papacy, where he proceeds to commit every sin in the book to amass and retain power.” (More on the show here.)  Jim had one day to photograph the concepts: seven sets, all of them drastically different from each other.

“One of the most exciting ones involved a lot of fire. We had a huge pyrotechnic set,” says Jim. “And I don’t mean a polite New York pyrotechnic set—this was a big Eastern European over-the-top thing.”

The shoot took place in a remote location in Budapest, but the gear came from London. Jim mapped out everything he would need to get the images on Showtime’s list, right down to the head extension cables, because he knew there was no margin for error—once he was on location, there would be no running to a local rental outfit for extra gear. “By the end of the shoot, I had used every stick of gear,” he recalls.

Precisely plotting his equipment needs was only part of his prep process; he also needed to get into the appropriate mindset to photograph what Showtime cleverly calls “the original crime family.” But the network—a longtime client for whom Jim has also shot Dexter and United States of Tara key art, among others—was carefully guarding the scripts, so Jim consumed three books detailing the Borgias’ dramatic tale. “It’s a very interesting story, and it’s a very interesting show,” notes Jim, whose knowledge of the Borgias’ history impressed the cast.

With so many setups to shoot, this would by necessity be a long day, even though Jim and his crew took care to light every set ahead of time to minimize the wait between shots. Speed and efficiency were essential to keeping the cast—which includes Jeremy Irons as the ruthlessly ambitious Rodrigo Borgia—fresh and interested. “I have a longstanding reputation for working quickly,” notes Jim, “and it was absolutely necessary for a shoot like this.”

Here’s a look at more of Jim’s key art for The Borgias…

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Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

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A&E/Lifetime Networks chose to collaborate with Matthew Rolston on the campaign, drawing on his expertise both as a photographer and a director. He also handled music supervision (click here to read about how he commissioned Alex Lasarenko of Tonal for a fresh arrangement of “Hey, Big Spender”). Ultimately, Matthew’s deliverables ranged from print ads to three different TV promos, on-air interstitials, and behind-the-scenes shorts.

“I was able to provide A&E/Lifetime Networks with an incredible variety of creative services,” said Matthew, “from concept development to finished TV commercials and print ads. From Web banners and other Web advertising to on-air interstitials. From outdoor advertising to a proposed Times Square billboard and the production of three completely separate documentaries of the entire process. And, finally, music supervision and music production.”

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Photo by Matthew Rolston for A&E/Lifetime Networks.

Photo by Matthew Rolston for A&E/Lifetime Networks.

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“Every aspect of this is just topping itself,” JAS Sustrich, Lifetime’s vice president of on-air promotions, said of the “Hey, Big Spender” promo (see below), which resembles a music video. “Matthew Rolston is brilliant. Jennifer Love Hewitt is beautiful. The choreography is fantastic.”

“What’s exciting for me is to have such an array of media platforms to work with,” said Matthew. “What’s even better is to have the kind of trust of a client that allows me to engage on so many levels of promotion of a single entertainment asset.”

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Photos by Jim Fiscus for NBC/Universal Television.

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NBC premiered the new series Awake this month, which stars Jason Isaacs as Michael, a detective who lives in two very different realities: In one, his teenage son has died in a car crash, and in the other, his wife is the one who has died in the accident. Complicating things further, Michael has returned to work and is now solving crimes in both worlds, although which of his existences is real remains a mystery.

NBC/Universal Television commissioned Jim Fiscus to shoot the key art for Awake (above). “The concept was that his awareness is divided between the death of his wife and the death of his son, and he’s not sure which is real, so both of the supporting characters are shot in a blur,” explains Jim.

“This was a strange, mercurial, dreamlike concept,” he continues, “so I wanted to approach it like an editorial assignment. I did six to eight executions, working to get the right blurred effect in camera—motion looks far more real when it’s shot in camera.”

The Awake shoot marks the second time Jim has photographed Jason Issacs, whom he previously shot for the Showtime series Brotherhood…

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Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

Photo by Jim Fiscus for Showtime.

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Relativity Media, the studio producing the film, commissioned Matthew Rolston to shoot key art, a project that found him working on set with an old college friend: Mirror Mirror director Tarsem Singh. “We went to film school together at the Art Center College of Design,” says Matthew, “and have been friends ever since.”

Here’s a look at some of Matthew’s Mirror Mirror work…

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Photo by Matthew Rolston.

Photo by Matthew Rolston.

Last year, Entertainment Weekly published this photo by Matthew Rolston of "Mirror Mirror" star Lily Collins in a story about the movie.

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From left: Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Jon Hamm, and Elisabeth Moss of "Mad Men." Photo by Art Streiber for Newsweek, March 26/April 2, 2012, issue.

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The new issue of Newsweek is a smart-looking tribute both to the heyday of the original Mad men and to the hit AMC series inspired by them: Mad Men‘s long-awaited fifth season debuts at 9 PM on Sunday. Though the articles are au courant, the design of the issue harks back to the 60s, right down to the ads. So reading it is like existing in two eras at once: There’s a feature on Mitt Romney, for example, and a vintage-style ad for Spam. (Please hold your comments, ahem.) The issue’s unique concept has been getting lots of attention, including from Creativity Online, ABC News, The Huffington Post, Ad Age, and The Hollywood Reporter.

“The idea arose from a conversation with the show’s creator, Matt Weiner, who remarked that the buzzing content of the 1960s Newsweek was frequently the subtext of his show,” Newsweek editor-in-chief Tina Brown explains in her column. “The office psychodramas in Mad Men ran parallel with a serial melodrama in the news that Newsweek covered with panache: civil rights, women’s lib, the Kennedy assassinations, Vietnam, man on the moon—even the dominance of that new tech phenomenon the Xerox machine.

“We invited the Hill Holliday ad agency in Boston to collaborate on our cover shoot,” she continues, “and its creative director, Lance Jensen, had a brain wave: wouldn’t it be eye-catching for our pages to reflect not just the editorial look of the ’60s but also the advertising idiom of the time? The concept caught fire, and soon creative directors from agencies all over were diving into their vaults to dust off visuals from old accounts like Spam, Tide, Dunkin Donuts, and Hush Puppies. Ad agencies like Brand Cottage, not around in those days, went retro just for kicks.”

The cover story was shot by Art Streiber, who photographed the stars of the show in character. (He also shot Matthew Weiner, arguably also in character—the show’s creator appears to be reading a script.) Art worked with Dirk Barnett, Newsweek‘s creative director, and Scott Hall, the director of photography. Here’s a look at his photos as seen in the Newsweek feature, which was written by Eleanor Clift (you can read it online here). The iPad version, by the way, is packed with lots more of his images. You can download it here.

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Jon Hamm (who plays Don Draper) and January Jones (Betty Francis) of "Mad Men." Photo by Art Streiber for Newsweek.

Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) and Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson). Photo by Art Streiber for Newsweek.

Christina Hendricks (Joan Harris) and John Slattery (Roger Sterling). Photo by Art Streiber for Newsweek.

"Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner. Photo by Art Streiber for Newsweek.

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And, since we’re on the subject of looking back with appreciation, here are some portraits of Mad Men‘s stars from Art’s archives…

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Jon Hamm. Photo by Art Streiber.

January Jones. Photo by Art Streiber.

John Slattery. Photo by Art Streiber.

Christina Hendricks. Photos by Art Streiber.

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Nick Offerman, star of "Parks and Recreation." Photo by Matthias Clamer. "Nick is a semiprofessional woodworker," explains Matthias—hence the chiseled coiff.

Nick Offerman. Photo by Matthias Clamer.

Key art for the Lifetime series "Dance Moms," photographed by Matthias Clamer.

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Kim Kardashian. Photo by Kwaku Alston for The Hollywood Reporter.

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“The first time I photographed Kim was in 2009, for an ad campaign for Keeping Up With the Kardashians for E! Entertainment,” recalls Kwaku. (See a snap her took of her after that shoot here, at his blog.)

Hollywood Reporter photo director Jennifer Laski—who first worked with Kwaku in the mid ’90s , when she was at Elle—also commissioned him to shoot group portraits of “Bridesmaids breakouts” Annie Mumolo, Judd Apatow, Melissa McCarthy, and Paul Feig; and Brunson Green, Viola Davis, Tate Taylor, Octavia Spencer, and Kathryn Stockett, who made The Help what THR calls a “Cinderella Story” of a success. Here’s a look at Kwaku’s photos. And to see a behind-the-scenes video of the Rule Breakers shoots, scroll to the end of this post.

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From left: Bridesmaids stars Annie Mumalo, Melissa McCarthy, and Paul Feig with producer Judd Apatow (second from left). Photo by Kwaku Alston for The Hollywood Reporter.

From left: Brunson Green, producer of The Help; actress Viola Davis; director Tate Taylor; actress Octavia Spencer; and Kathryn Stockett, author of the novel on which the movie is based. Photo by Kwaku Alston for The Hollywood Reporter.

Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner. Photo by Kwaku Alston for The Hollywood Reporter.

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See the full Rule Breakers gallery here. For a look at some outtakes from the shoots, go here. And to watch a behind-the-scenes video of the shoots, click on the image below.

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Click image to access behind-the-scenes video.

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