Noted cinematographer John Schwartzman, A.S.C. (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor), has signed with bicoastal RSA USA for representation as a commercial director/cameraman. He continues to be repped as a DP by The Mirisch Agency, Los Angeles.
As a spot DP, Schwartzman has worked with such top-name directors as David Fincher and David Kellogg when they were at bicoastal/international Propaganda Films (Fincher and Kellogg are now at bicoastal Anonymous Content) and Marcus Nispel, who at the time was with RSA USA (Nispel is now at bicoastal Morton Jankel Zander). Schwartzman has recently teamed on spot projects with director Craig Gillespie of Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ), Baker Smith of Santa Monica-based Harvest, and Steve Chase of bicoastal Reactor Films.
Schwartzman’s most notable collaborations have been with childhood friend, director Michael Bay, with whom he has worked since the spot/feature filmmaker got started in the business. Having DPed numerous Bay-directed commercials (for Bugle Boy, Nike and Miller Lite, among others) at Propaganda and now at the Santa Monica-based Bay Films, Schwartzman continued in that lensing capacity after Bay diversified into feature directing.
Schwartzman served as cinematographer on the Bay-helmed blockbusters The Rock (1996), the aforementioned Armageddon (’98) and just-released war epic Pearl Harbor. His resume as a DP also includes such movies as EDtv (’99), Conspiracy Theory (’97) Mr. Wrong (’96), Airheads (’94), Benny & Joon (’93), Red Surf (’90) and You Can’t Hurry Love (’88).
"For the last five years, a lot of people have been asking me when I’m going to direct, which is what sort of motivated me," said Schwartzman. "Actually some people at Budweiser said, ‘You’re a schmuck … we’ve been waiting for you to do this.’ I’ve been doing it on and off with the people I work for, and now I’m ready to step up to the plate and bat for myself."
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Schwartzman completed graduate studies at USC Film School. After DPing a few smaller features, he got his start in commercials working through bicoastal/international Propaganda Films some 15 years ago. In that span, he has formed many longstanding professional relationships with directors such as Bay (whom he has known for 25 years) and members of his crew—some of whom he has worked with for more than 10 years.
Explaining his decision to sign with RSA USA, Schwartzman said he was influenced, in large part, by the enduring professional relationship he has had with RSA USA managing director Jules Daly, whom he met while working through Propaganda when she was then line producing.
"It really came down to the fact that I’ve known Jules Daly for fourteen years," said Schwartzman. "We had one of those relationships where, although I didn’t work with her all the time, I always looked forward to it when I did. I enjoyed her and how she ran a production. I feel there’s no hidden agenda with her. I’ve had nothing but great experiences when I’ve worked as a crew member for RSA and, for me, it seemed like a natural fit. The other thing is, with [RSA company principals/directors] Ridley and Tony Scott being so busy, I thought I would be in a unique situation; there aren’t a plethora of directors here."
"What makes him fit in perfectly here is that he embraces both the advertising and the film world with equal enthusiasm," said Daly. "He really loves what he does, whether it be a commercial or a film, and he gives it one hundred percent. And I think that just in talking to him, you can see how adding directing [responsibilities] to his beautiful visuals is going to be something that happens naturally."
"I’ve obviously been doing this for a long time," commented Schwartzman, "and felt like I was ready to reach out and stretch my wings a little more. I mean, you can’t do a movie bigger than Pearl Harbor. By the time Pearl Harbor is all said and done, the last four movies that I will have shot will have grossed close to two billion dollars. From a movie point of view, I couldn’t get any bigger as a cinematographer."
Schwartzman’s feature experience has helped make him one of the most sought-after DPs in the commercial world. Coming off large movies such as the $145 million budgeted Pearl Harbor has lent him a definite cache in the spot business, he said.
"I found myself working for ever-younger directors, who were greener and greener and I was doing more of what I’d call the directing work of spots," Schwartzman recounted. Moreover, he contended, during a period in which he DPed regularly for Nispel, then at RSA USA (now at bicoastal Morton Jankel Zander), Nispel wanted him to start co-directing spots with him. "Although it never came to fruition, I spent several weeks with Marcus where we’d do the conference calls and the concepting together."
Schwartzman subsequently put those plans on hold in order to do Pearl Harbor but is now ready to focus on commercial directing full-time. Based on his background, he feels uniquely qualified to direct. "I feel I bring a lot to the table as a cinematographer; more than just a guy who asks where you want to put the camera. I certainly know more about production than most of the people who work in the commercial business, because I’ve had the opportunity to do both commercials and the biggest movies that have ever been made. I know what can and can’t be done, and know how much time it takes to do things.
"Difficult to me is blowing up six battleships, thirty planes in the air and [running] six cameras," Schwartzman continued. "There are different levels of difficulty and I have yet to experience anything in the commercial world that compares to the pressure of being in charge of ninety million dollars and a hundred shooting days, with every day costing six hundred fifty thousand dollars, and you’ve got the studio standing there asking, ‘What’s going on?’"
Although he is best known for movie spectacles and will likely be initially bid on large production jobs, Schwartzman noted that he desires to helm projects of a more intimate nature. "Visually, it’s all in [my repertoire]. My commercial and motion picture reel show that I have a wide range of skills. But if you asked if I had to pick one genre I’d really enjoy doing, I’d say comedy more than anything."
Now shooting the film The Rookie in Texas, Schwartzman is slated to be available for commercial projects towards the end of June. RSA USA is repped on the West Coast by Santa Monica-based rep firm Stacey & Annie; on the East Coast by New York-based staffers Andrea Marcucci and Michele Thibeault, and in the Midwest by Chicago-based monaghan + halpine.
