Bruce Martin has joined Los Angeles-headquartered Scream as co-executive producer in charge of marketing and sales. He joins the com-pany, which is headed by founder/ executive producer Charles Salice, after a little over a year with Los Angeles-based No Prisoners.
According to Martin, the No Prisoners spot division he helped to launch in late ’99 (SHOOT, 11/5/99, p. 1) has been shuttered. No Prisoners founder/CEO Todd Moyer did not return phone calls seeking comment. The company also maintains feature and visual effects divisions.
Joining Martin at Scream is former No Prisoners director Brian Scott Weber. Prior to exiting No Prisoners, Weber helmed a client-direct campaign for multimedia music network Farmclub.com. The director’s other credits include a campaign for Duracell via BBDO New York. Prior to No Prisoners, Weber was repped by Atherton & Associates (now bicoastal/international Cylo tvc).
Scream also represents director/cameraman Stefan Würnitzer and directors Dario Piana and Paul Holohan. Würnitzer recently helmed a pair of Secret spots via Leo Burnett USA, Chicago. Other recent credits include an ad for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation featuring figure-skater Scott Hamilton via BBDO Chicago.
Piana is in development on his feature debut, Werewolves. He currently is helming a campaign for Mercedes-Benz via Ammirati Puris Lintas, Milan. Holohan’s recent credits include "Trading Places" for Classic Coke via DMB&B, St. Louis; and "Instant Cars" for Mars via DMB&B, St. Louis.
Martin said joining Scream presented a great opportunity, in that the four-year-old shop has a "certain mystique, so it can go in a lot of directions." He noted that his new position presents a challenge because the firm’s directorial roster has A-level potential. "That’s something I will help build, so it’ll be a very creative role for me," he remarked.
For his part, Salice stated that the hiring of Martin represents an effort to expand the company without losing its boutique size and approach. Both execs pointed out that the shop’s focus is on the directors and their careers.
As for the other spot directors who had been repped by No Prisoners: Nic Mathieu is set to join bicoastal Anonymous, while Jeff Richter recently signed with the Crossroads Films family. Crossroads’ bicoastal satellite X-Ray will represent Richter for commercials. And Crossroads’ newly formed bicoastal music video house Merge will rep him in the clips arena (SHOOT, 3/2/01, p. 7). Meanwhile, as SHOOT went to press, Tony Diamond, who joined No Prisoners shortly after graduating from USC’s School of Cinema-Television last spring, was weighing his production house options. Barnaby Jackson, who directed the IMAX film The Journey Inside while at No Prisoners, was said to be pursuing feature film opportunities.
Among Martin’s notable executive producer credits at No Prisoners was the Mathieu-helmed "Rocketmen" for Mercedes-Benz via Merkley Newman Harty, New York, which was a SHOOT Top Spot (5/12/00, p. 14). Martin also exec produced the Mathieu-directed music video for Orgie titled "Fiction."
Prior to joining No Prisoners, Martin was president of bicoastal RSA USA for six years. Earlier in his career, he served in a head of sales/executive capacity for more than 16 years at New York-based Steve Horn Inc. and its successor company, Steve & Linda Horn Inc.
Scream is represented nationally by CMP, bicoastal and Chicago, and in Canada by Toronto-based Blink.
