A man who ends up dismembering his younger self in the name of art might seem an odd plot for any tv show, but for anthology series The Hunger, the episode that culminates in that artistic suicide has resulted in a Rockie nomination.

The episode, called ‘Sanctuary,’ stars David Bowie, who also hosts the series, and Hollywood up-and-comer Giovanni Ribisi, since showcased in The Mod Squad, The Other Sister and The Boiler Room. The plot involves Ribisi as a young drifter seeking refuge at the deserted jail that is the home of a famous artist, well-known for his grotesque art which includes framed severed limbs.

The episode, says Robin Spry, president and ceo of Montreal’s Telescene Film Group, was inspired by ‘an art movement called dismemberment art, which happens to be an obsession of [director] Tony Scott’s. It’s very active in England and Europe at the lower end of the scale; people who cut off their own fingers [and so on].’

Scott, trained as a painter at the Royal College of Art in England, ‘has remained very interested in the art world and David Bowie is a bit of an art connoisseur, so there was a meeting of the minds on that topic. And they went to work with those thoughts as a starting point. David Bowie has not been Mr. Normal throughout his career, so the thought of doing something that strange appealed to him,’ says Spry.

The Hunger had its origin with series creator Jeff Fazio, who was fascinated by a stream of literature that Spry says, ‘combined the bizarre, sometimes the supernatural, with the erotic, and also had the theme in mind that ‘You better worry if you get what you wish for.’ We thought that given this fairly extreme stream of literature there was an anthology series in there. Through Frazier and Showtime in the States we combined with Scott Free [Tony and brother Ridley Scott’s company] and the first three episodes were a coventure with Nite Note, Tony and Ridley Scott’s company in England.’

Bowie’s involvement also came through a Scott connection. The singer, who has remained friendly with the director since the two worked together on the Hunger feature years ago was ‘talked into’ his role as series host by Tony Scott, which was also how the series secured Terence Stamp for hosting duties in its first year.

So far 44 episodes have been completed and the series has been sold in most territories, with plans for a third series tentatively underway.

Telescene has several projects in start-up: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, its second season, to be shot on the Australian Gold Coast; Matthew Blackheart, Monster Smasher, a live-action series starring a World War ii hero built from a number of dead heroes, which is ‘the dreamchild of Bob Engels,’ who did Twin Peaks; Live Through This, about the children of a famous 1970s rock band as they go on tour with their parents and deal with the issues of late adolescence under those difficult conditions; and Door to Door, a mix of animation and live action about a 10-year-old with divorced parents and two sets of siblings who lives his life divided between the two houses.

www.telescene.ca