Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago, has brought on Bingham Ray as a full partner to launch a feature film production division. A veteran of the independent feature industry, Ray is perhaps best known as a co-founder of the now defunct October Films.
Plans call for Crossroads’ new venture to turn out up to 15 releases over the next five years, with budgets in these ranges: $3 million-$5 million, $6 million-$8 million, and $10 million-$15 million.
The feature division will come under the Crossroads family of companies, which also includes spot production house Crossroads Films, bicoastal commercial shops X-Ray Productions and X-1 Films; bicoastal broadcast creative services agency/ production company Crossroads Television; and New York-based design/editorial/postproduction house 89 Greene. Headquartered in the New York office of Crossroads, Ray will work closely with Crossroads partner/owner Dan Lindau, while partner/owner Cami Taylor will continue to head the firm’s commercial and music video interests.
While this is certainly the company’s most ambitious venture into features, it is not the first. Crossroads produced Jawbreaker, the 1999 film directed by Darren Stein, and The Big Split, the ’99 film helmed by Martin Hynes; and helped produce First Love, Last Rites (’97) and co-produced the yet-to-be-released film The Chateau, both directed by Jesse Peretz, who helms commercials via X-Ray.
Other Crossroads helmers have also ventured into films. X-1’s Peter O’Fallon has directed two features, Suicide Kings (’97) and A Rumor of Angels (’00); and X-Ray’s Francine McDougall directed the ’01 feature Sugar & Spice.
Commenting on the shift in strategy, Lindau said: "The two producers we worked with in the past—Stacey Kramer and Lisa Tornell—have gone on to do other things. We had explored features on a catch-as-catch-can basis. We did a couple of films by raising the money, and in another case we had a studio finance us. But in this new model—as far as I know—we will be the only commercials company that has its own complete independent finance for features. For instance, if we decide there is a movie to be made, then that is, for all intents and purposes, our decision. We don’t have to go out and raise the money; we will have financing for fifteen films over five years, as we are in the final stages of securing distribution partners in the U.S. and other key territories."
Taylor added that Ray will not only create feature film opportunities for the roster of directors within the Crossroads’ family, but will also help attract other directors interested in working in features and commercials. "At this point, a really successful commercial production company has to be diverse, and doing movies is a big part of it," Taylor told SHOOT. "I think that a lot of commercial directors who have movies in development here, there and everywhere would love to be working on commercials and also get feature projects green-lighted through the same company."
Sourcing projects for the feature division will operate under three models: First, projects will be developed from within Crossroads and directed by the company’s commercial and music video directors. Second, films will come from longform directors with whom Ray has established relationships. Third, Crossroads will be looking for young or first-time directors to work with in developing the company’s own projects.
Ray has a 20-year track record in the feature film industry, most recently as partner and co-founder (with Jeff Lipsky) of independent feature production and distribution company October Films. Launched in ’91, the now defunct company released films including Mike Leigh’s ’96 drama, Secrets & Lies; Lars von Trier’s Academy Award-nominated ’96 feature, Breaking the Waves; Robert Duvall’s ’97 feature, The Apostle; and David Lynch’s ’97 release, Lost Highway. In ’98, Lipsky and Ray sold 51 percent of October Films to Universal Pictures. In June ’99, October was sold by Universal Pictures to Barry Diller’s USA Networks and fused with Gramercy Pictures and parts of Polygram to create an entity now known as USA Films. After leaving October Films, Ray took a hiatus from the industry to contemplate his options, ultimately choosing Crossroads.
The deal with Crossroads has been in the making for the past 18 months, with informal discussions starting soon after Ray dissociated himself from October Films. Lindau and Ray are longtime friends.
"The decision to launch the feature division was sparked by Bingham," said Lindau. "I’ve long admired the types of films he has made and the relationships he has had with filmmakers. Having done some work in the movie industry, we weren’t interested in doing business with that many people, but Bingham has the same type of goals for the company that we do. We enjoy being a small, closely held company where few of us are making decisions. Also, he has been well known for being supportive of talent and supportive of directors’ visions. We like that and the fact that he’s not out to make Bingham Ray the most famous and richest man in the world—he’s doing it to produce the best movies he can."
Although Ray conceded that a stigma is still sometimes attached to commercial directors making movies, he welcomes the challenge. "A lot of people on my side of things think it is a rare thing when a commercial director can make the transition," he related. "I think the examples are few and far between—there are far more crash-and-burns than there are successes. But at the same time, part of the fun is giving it a go and trying with talented people who don’t mind taking a giant leap and risk. When you come out of the other end and something there is really worthwhile and substantial, and you have really taken a risk—there is no better feeling in the world than that."
In terms of the types of films the company will be producing, Ray said he was after smart independent films that aren’t of a "connect-the-dot," formulaic, megabuck nature. "I want to do things that cut against the grain. That’s my nature, and that’s Crossroads’ nature as well. There are a lot of great people here who mind their p’s and q’s and do well in the traditional format, but I also think they like to fly by the seat of their pants, and in the pictures business there’s a lot of that," he concluded.
Before launching October Films, Ray spent the ’80s working in marketing, distribution, acquisition and production for a variety of studios—among them, Samuel Goldwyn, Columbia Pictures and Avenue Pictures. He got his start in the industry at New Yorker Films, working in the distribution department. Films that Ray was involved with during this decade were Alex Cox’s ’86 classic, Sid and Nancy; Bernardo Bertolucci’s ’87 feature, The Last Emperor; and Gus Van Sant’s ’89 Drugstore Cowboy.
Directors currently signed with Crossroads Films are Chuck & Clay, Simon Delaney, Steve Eshelman, Bruce Hurwit, Tom Krueger, Nick Lewin and Mark Story. X-Ray Productions’ directorial roster consists of McDougall, Peretz, Russell Bates, Ron Cicero, Glenn Lazzaro, Risa Mickenberg and Clay Tarver. Directors at X-1 Films are O’Fallon, Chris Hartwill, Howard Rose and Spencer Leigh.
