Director Rodrigo Garcia-Saiz has joined O Positive for commercial representation in North America and internationally. He has won a Cannes Gold Lion for the Association of Mexican Insurance Companies’ “Office,” a dramatic spot from Ogilvy & Mather, Mexico, that suggests the only thing you should be thinking about while driving is driving, while his comedic Skittles campaign—“Bleachers,” “Cranky” and “Mentor” for DDB Chicago and LatinWorks–was honored in D&AD Annual.
Garcia-Saiz has helmed a steady drumbeat of award-winning work. Other highlights include the Bronze Lion winners “Executed” for Gandhi Bookstores, a funny parody of the horror genre depicting just how swept away a person can be by a good book, and “Playground” for Todos Los Dias Es El Dia (Everyday is the Day to Not Discriminate), a PSA which casts a young boy in alarmingly violent scenes to drive home the consequences of bullying in schools. Both spots came out of Ogilvy Mexico.
What drew Garcia-Saiz to each was a strong concept and the agencies openness to working as a team. “I have had the opportunity to do different genres of commercials—comedy or drama,” Garcia-Saiz explains. “For every board, I put all my heart and cinematic learning of the past 12 years. I love the comedy, but I also love to do emotional things. I love to work with actors and tell a story. I don’t want to be pigeonholed. I’m more a storyteller than anything else.”
Garcia-Saiz, 38, attended film school at University of Mexico’s prestigious El CUEC. He was handpicked to join Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s production company as a commercial AD where he says he had ample opportunity to build his “cinematic muscle.” He went on to form his own Mexico City production company, Central Films. Prior to joining O Positive, Garcia-Saiz was repped stateside by Boxer Films.
“Both David [Shane, director/partner at O Positive] and I have followed Rodrigo’s work for years, so when an opportunity arose to meet with him we jumped at it,” said Jim Jenkins, O Positive director/partner. “David and I both have always seen a sure hand in his work, and a consistency that we really admire, especially in terms of his performances. He’s just an enormous talent.”
Garcia-Saiz said he is “an enormous fan of O Positive. Talking with Jim and David, I felt as if I knew them. They really love their work and enjoy their families; we share a similar vibe. Plus, they do some of the best work out there. I appreciate that O Positive is a small company where I can really focus and do great work.”
O Positive is headquartered in New York, with offices in Los Angeles and production affiliates worldwide. The company’s directorial roster includes Jenkins, Shane, Garcia-Saiz, Peyton Wilson, Lenny Dorfman, Jonathan Klein and Kenny Herzog.
Gary Oldman’s Series “Slow Horses” Trots For Several Seasons Before Getting Some Emmy Love
Jackson Lamb is an Englishman who solves mysteries, but he's not your typically elegant, charming type. One clue is that he often passes gas, rather loudly.
Lamb — portrayed by Gary Oldman — is the beating heart of Apple TV+'s "Slow Horses," a critical darling that seems to have gained traction in the U.S. only lately, now in its fourth season. Ignored at the Emmys for two seasons, it goes into Sunday's telecast with nine nominations, including for best drama series.
"I think it's been a slow burn," says Oldman, who earned an Emmy nod for his Lamb. "More people are now coming up to me and saying, 'I really like the show.' I've become that guy on TV, which I kind of like, actually."
Lamb is the comically unpleasant leader of a band of dejected British spies nicknamed the "Slow Horses" because they work at lowly Slough House, far from the gleaming center of power in London. They've messed up their careers in a variety of ways, including botching surveillance operations, gambling addictions or leaving a top secret file on a train.
Lamb's hair is unkempt and greasy. He wears a ratty, dirty raincoat and his stocking feet are forever up on his desk. He smokes too much, drinks scotch on the job, is violently un-politically correct and is blunt to the point of rude. His voice mail says: "This is Lamb. If I didn't answer it's because I don't want to speak to you."
He's also fiercely loyal to his team and is the sharpest — if the most unclean — knife in the drawer. He can tell from just a footprint the person's salary and is at least three steps ahead of anyone else. He refuses to follow rules — a petulant middle finger to the establishment.
"If there's a sign that says 'No smoking,' Lamb will smoke," says Oldman. "He's... Read More