By Robert Goldrich
NEW YORK --Bicoastal Headquarters is set to officially close on January 31, according to president Tom Mooney who’s partnered in the 14-year-old company with director David Cornell. At press time, Cornell was in Australia wrapping the last job under the Headquarters banner, a J.C. Penney assignment.
Mooney said he would soon be at liberty to discuss his future plans, which entail his continuing in the production company arena. Meanwhile Cornell is slated to join Form, the Los Angeles-headquartered house headed by executive producer Craig Rodgers and director Jesse Dylan.
Headquarters is meeting all its financial obligations, said Mooney. “The timing for this [company closure] is right…We’re coming off of a pretty good year and are able to honor all our commitments.”
Mooney observed that Headquarters’ business model wasn’t ideal in the current marketplace. “Headquarters has been a mid-sized company and those types of shops are really feeling the squeeze today,” he related. “We weren’t a small boutique. And we weren’t a huge house–but we had bicoastal operations and the overhead that went with that.” By being mid-sized, he added, the company was affected more dramatically by the comings and goings of directorial talent.
The decision to close the longstanding Headquarters was “painful,” said Mooney, who’s actually worked with Cornell for the past 16 years, the first two at the former Spots Films. “But it was the right decision for Headquarters to go out with dignity as we all continue our careers in the industry.”
Mooney said Headquarters’ directors knew of the plan to shutter operations for some time, enabling them to explore their production house prospects in recent months. Director Lloyd Stein, for example, who’s been with Headquarters since late ’99, has joined Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago (see story, p. 7).
The other Headquarters’ directors being courted by various companies include Eric King, Matt Ogens, Agust Balderson and Richie Smyth. The latter continues to direct in Europe, maintaining Dublin, Ireland-based production house Blinder.The Long and Short of The IDA Documentary Awards’ Shortlists
The lineups are set as 20 feature-length and 20 short documentaries have been shortlisted for the 40th IDA Documentary Awards.
This year, the IDA Documentary Awards shortlists and nominees are selected by independent committees of 300 documentary makers, curators, critics, and industry experts from 40-plus countries. More than 700 total entries were submitted for all categories from 77 countries.
Additional IDA Awards will be presented in the following categories: Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Limited Series, Best TV Feature Documentary, Best Music Documentary, Best Audio Documentary, the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, the ABC News VideoSource Award, and the Pare Lorentz Award.
All nominees in the above categories will be announced on November 19.
The 40th IDA Documentary Awards Ceremony will be held on December 5 at The Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles.
Hereโs a rundown of the feature and short film IDA Documentary Awardsโ shortlists.
FEATURES SHORTLIST
Agent of Happiness
Black Box Diaries
Brisa
Dahomey
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
Hollywoodgate
Igualada
Kamay
Mediha
Motherboard
My Sweet Land
No Other Land
Queendom
Seeking Mavis Beacon
Soundtrack to a Coup dโEtat
Sugarcane
Tell Them You Love Me
The Last Journey
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Water For Life (Agua Es... Read More