Daniel Severa
- Producer
- Casting Director
- Production Manager
Former Czech kayak racer and multiple national and state
(Czechoslovakia) champion, as well as European vice champion, after few
years career as a State Bank executive officer, find out his life
position in entertainment industry. Shortly after Czechoslovak "Velvet
Revolution" (1989), Severa has been involved in production of Juraj
Herz's "The Frog King" - long feature fairy tale by Hans Christian
Andersen with international cast. Two years later, after few TV dramas
and crimes series for predominately French, German and Italian TVs
(i.e. "Kaminsky - un flic à Moscou", "Wolfgang A. Mozart", "Della note
all'alba", "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicle") as free-lance
production manager, he founded own company Talent Connection, firstly
as casting agency, which becomes the biggest talent agency in former
Czechoslovakia in next six months. In the same period (1992) Severa has
been by Czech Ministry of Culture appointed for Film Market Director of
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. President of this first
independent annual volume was Academy Award winner, director Jiri
Mezel. Till middle 90's Severa collaborated on spectacular features
i.e. Joseph Vielsmayer's "Staligrad" or Lauren Boutonnat's "Where the
Wolves Howls" (aka Giorgino) where stared famous French-Canadian singer
Mylène Farmer and legend of European movie pictures Jaen-Pierre Aumont
("Day for Night"). Ensued three years pan-European developing and
preproduction of presumed life movie of Cannes Gold Palm and double
Academy Awards nominee director Lordan Zafranovic - "The Last Story of
the Century", with Mickey Rourke, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Olympia
Dukakis, where Severa as well as his company lost a lot of money.
Finally he left the project. Upon this experience Severa turned his
focus to play-acting and in period 1997 - 2004 produced comedies and
dramas i.e. Donald Churchill's "The Decorator", Neil Simon's "Last of
the Red Hot Lovers", Tracy Lets "Killer Joe", Tennessee Williams "The
Glass Menagerie", William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew",
Eugène Labiche's "Le plus Heureux des Trois" and Christian Guidicelli's
"La Première Tête". From 2001, when Severa recurred to film and TV
industry, he produced at first two videos with the famous Czech
magician, six episode of TV magazine (for national-wide public TV) and
full-length documentary again with Lordan Zafranovic. In the beginning
of 2005 was Severa invited for the production of a weekly prime-time TV
show "You've Got Mail" (C'è posta per te, Posta pro Tebe) by company
ProTV and till the summer 2012 Czech Television (public broadcaster)
aired 297 episodes of it with average up to 30% share. It presents upon
whole c. 300 Mio viewers. The show has became a flagship of biggest
broadcaster on Czech TV market and Czech TV count with it minimally
till autumn season 2012. Later in 2005 he met in ProTV again with
director Juraj Herz on production of one hour pilot of sitcom series
"Love Your Fellowmen" for TV Prima. In the second half of 2006 he also
produced pilot and 18 regular episodes of another one hour prime-time
TV show "Incognito" (aired weekly on national-wide TV Prima) for the
same company. As well as in case of Czech TV and "You've Got Mail,
"Incognito" ranked among the best entertainment shows of TV Prima and,
though by different title and produced by another company, was
successfully aired weekly till 2011 and in 2007 and again in 2008
obtained TyTy Award (statewide annual audience prize by most popular TV
weekly magazine - the most prestigious local TV award). Also for ProTV
Severa in June and July 2007 produced 9 one hour episodes of "You've
Got Mail - Come Backs" (Posta pro Tebe - Navraty), which markedly
dominated in all rating items in the course of summer season 2007 to TV
broadcasting in Czech republic. All at once Severa was in 2006-7 the
executive producer of the Czech feature film "Bestiar" (Beastiarium)
directed by Irena Pavlaskova by the same name bestseller of Barbara
Nesvadbova produced by Petr Keller's company Starlite Films. Regarding
to full up of his working calendar, he sold to Balzer International
Films the rights of "Snezenky a machri 2" (Snowdrops and Sparks 2), a
sequel of the famous cult Czech comedy of teenage students on an
obligate high school ski exercise, which he owned from 2003. In autumn
2007 Severa started preparation of the most expensive TV drama series
in Czech history "Expozitura" for the prime local commercial
broadcaster TV Nova. The present period crime series of 16 episodes of
75 minutes each is based on true story and production was finished on
spring 2009. Unfortunately TV Nova senselessly archived it for 2 and
half years and aired it in fall 2011. Even "Expozitura" achieved
excellent ratings average (more than 30%), lost its topicality and
uniqueness that would have had in 2009. In July 2008, in the middle of
"Expozitura" shooting, Severa also daringly starts the ambitious
project - historical crime TV series working titled as "King's Judge"
in TV Nova and Three Brothers co-production based on local bestseller
novel series "Sir Oldrich of Chlum Tales" by Vlastimil Vonduska. Top
casted 15th century stories are situated to Czech Kingdom in period of
domination of Premysl II. Ottokar, called The Iron and Golden King.
Right after the first screening of this TV pilot, Bioscop (Czech film
distribution leader) ask for theatrical version. So, from May 2009 was
the film with distribution title "In The Name Of The King" (Jmenem
krale) in Czech and Slovak cinemas. Just before it Severa produced
another series of 8 episodes of "You've Got Mail - Come Backs", which
again dominated to summer TV broadcasting in Czech Republic. In autumn
2008 Severa also supervised co-production of Ziegler Film (BRD) and
Maya Production (CZ) of historical spectacle movie picture "Henri IV"
by Joe Baier based on Heinrich Mann novel, filmed in Czech Republic. In
February 2009 Severa taken over production of second season of
successful crime TV series "Kriminalka Andel" (CSI Prague) and on end
of April the same year he starts principal photography of 16 one hour
episodes of it for TV Nova. One year later Severa continuously produced
another, already the third, series of "Kriminalka Andel" (CSI Prague).
In 2010 was series nominated for Elsa Award (the most prestigious local
annual TV prize by Czech Film and TV Academy). In the same year he also
started preparation of Slovak version of this format for TV Markiza
(leader Slovak commercial broadcaster), but realization finally never
begun for CME's (Central Media Enterprise Group, TV Markiza owner)
decision. In June 2010 he accepted offer from company CET 21 (CME group
member and TV Nova owner) for position of Director of Fiction
Production in CET 21 newly acquired production company Media Pro
Pictures, which became exclusive content producer for TV Nova
broadcasting. In this position Severa supervised productions as
"Ordinace v ruzove zahrade" (Rose Garden Clinic - long running fiction
TV series, one hour, twice a week), long term the most successful
prime-time drama TV series in Czech republic, "Ulice" (The Street - one
hour daily fiction TV series), long term the most successful access
prime-time drama TV series in Czech republic, "Soukrome pasti 2"
(Private Matters 2 - set of four TV films) , etc. As the first format
in Central and Eastern Europe TV industry history was "Expozitura" in
2011 sold for local adaptations to USA, France and Russia. But chronic
dissension with the chaotic, inconsistent and incompetent leadership,
as applied by the Romanian megalomaniac company president Adrian Sarbu
and his minions finally caused end of Severa's work in this company in
summer 2011. Before it Severa produced TV movie "Villa Faber" as pilot
movie for the same name romantic TV series and supervised production of
TV series pilots "Gympl" (The College) and "Helena" (local version of
sitcom Roseanne). All for TV Nova. And also produced another 16 one
hour episodes (the third season) of "You've Got Mail - Come Backs"
(Posta pro Tebe - Navraty), this time for the autumn season of public
broadcaster Czech TV. Leavig Media Pro Pictures transpired for Severa
more than happy circumstance. He at once joined production of weekly
half an hour TV improvisation show "Particka" (The Crowd) produced by
Maya Production for TV Prima, which TV Nova few month before
non-understandable refused. Till summer 2012 TV Prima aired 45 episodes
of it in prime-time, including New Year Eve one hour Special episode.
As other Severa's production, "Particka" became in few weeks the most
successful "small" TV entertainment show not only in TV Prima
broadcasting, but on Czech TV market as well. For the year 2011 the
show gained a total of three TyTy Awards, including the "Absolute
Winner" category. In 2011, three major TV channels in the Czech
Republic aired in first-run total of 112 hours of shows produced by
Severa. 96 hours in prime-time and 16 hours in access prime-time (15
weeks of one show per week, 11 weeks of two shows per week, 6 weeks of
three shows per week, 14 weeks of four shows per week and 1 week of
five shows per week). It doesn't include the additional 243 hours of
2011 aired programs that Severa only supervised. In winter 2011/1012
Severa refused to offer the position of executive producer of the HBO
production of Emmy, BAFTA Award and double Oscar nominee and Golden
Globe winner Agnieszka Holland film "Horici ker" (Burning Bush)
inspired by life story of Jan Palach and the same position in TV crime
series "Cirkus Bukowski", which is assumed the biggest fiction
production of public broadcaster Czech TV in 2012/2013. The reason was
that, in addition to long-term collaboration with producer John Novotny
and his Maya Production and preparation of new projects in the company
BlueLight Production, where Severa bought a 50% share, he decided to
devote this period to the core business in his agency Talent
Connection, where he is CEO for all the time, and from March 2007 sole
owner. The clients represented by agency obtained in last 20 years
totally 14 nominations and 4 Czech Lion Award (annual movie picture
prize by Czech Film and TV Academy), 1 nomination of and 1 Elsa Award
(annual TV prize by Czech Film and TV Academy), 4 second place and 6
TyTy Awards (statewide annual audience prize by most popular TV weekly
magazine), 13 nomination and 1 Angel Award (annual prize by Czech
Popular Music Academy) and 4 third and 2 second places in Czech
Nightingale (the most prestigious annual statewide opinion pool
competition). During a few months after Severa decided in late 2011 to
return the agency to the number one position in the domestic market, he
successfully expanded agency portfolio by such stars as internationally
reputable actor Karel Roden, actors doyen John Kanyza, often requested
actor Michal Dlouhy, Czech Lion Award winner actor Hynek Cermak, Thalia
Award winner and former Culture Minister and Ambassador to the Holy See
actor and stage director Martin Stropnicky, a very promising actor and
director Vladimir Skultety or young talented actress Anna Linhartova,
nominated in 2011 for the Czech Lion Award.