Director Michael Grasso has launched Snug, a boutique production house in Santa Monica, and hired Fran Wall to serve as its executive producer.
Grasso was formerly partnered with managing director Diane McArter in Omaha Pictures, which has recently closed as first reported in SHOOT‘s “Street Talk” (6/10, p. 26). Grasso and McArter decided to go their separate ways after a successful nine-year run at Omaha. McArter too is forming a new production house, carrying the temporary name Diane McArter Productions. Further details on her pending shop were not yet available at press time.
Grasso noted that Omaha is honoring all of its financial obligations. “The decision to close Omaha was not a financial one,” related Grasso. “The company was solvent–For me, I wanted to be part of a smaller operation. Advertising has changed. Clients have changed. Agencies are facing different challenges. Neither clients nor directors are served as well as they could be by larger production companies.”
Thus for his boutique, Grasso selected the Snug moniker, which reflects the goal of having close-knit relationships with agencies, clients and directors. Grasso envisions Snug ultimately having no more than three or four directors; beyond that, he said, a company isn’t easily manageable in terms of serving director, client and agency needs.
Grasso recently wrapped his last job under the Omaha banner: a Haliburton campaign for The Richards Group, Dallas, which put a human face on the controversial corporation. Among Grasso’s many other directorial credits are spots for such clients as Land Rover, Bank of America, Dr Pepper, American Airlines, the U.S. Army, Ford, General Motors and Fannie Mae. The latter work, out of GSD&M, Austin, Texas, is consistent with Grasso’s reputation for people-based storytelling with mini-profiles of Fannie Mae clients and employees.
An accomplished helmer, Grasso has twice been nominated for the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award as spot director of the year. The nominations came in consecutive years, for best commercial helmer of 1989 and ’90, back when he was at the former Lovinger/Grasso & Cohn. The first nomination was earned on the strength of spots for Dr Pepper and 7-Eleven. The following year, Grasso was nominated for his work on behalf of Hallmark and the Centers for Disease Control.
Among Grasso’s assorted other accolades is a Gold Lion at the ’95 Cannes International Advertising Festival for Chrysler Jeep Grand Cherokee’s “Gates,” which he directed for Bozell Worldwide, Southfield, Mich., while at Gartner/Grasso. Grasso partnered with director James Gartner (now of Santa Monica-headquartered GARTNER) to launch Gartner/Grasso in ’93. It was there that Grasso met McArter and in ’96 those two teamed to open Omaha.
Wall brings 20-plus years of commercialmaking experience to Snug. She most recently served as executive producer at now defunct Cielo Films, where she collaborated on spots with such noted directors as David Lynch, Wim Wenders and Guy Ritchie. Earlier Wall served as head of production at the former OneSuch Films. Prior to OneSuch, she established herself as a freelance producer/production manager, working for several production houses, including Johns+Gorman Films (now Sandwick Films), Rhythm & Hues, Los Angeles, and the now defunct Propaganda Films.
Snug has assembled a sales team consisting of independent reps Barrie Isaacson on the East Coast, Maureen Butler in the Midwest, and Rachel Finn and Mary Saxon of Finn/Saxon on the West Coast and in Texas.
