By Kathy DeSalvo
Compulsive Pictures, New York, has added director/cameraman Tony Ober for national commercial representation.
Ober maintains his six-year-old, Seattle-based production company, Ober Lenz Films, for regional work. He also continues his affiliation with Toronto-based Industry Films for Canadian projects.
Known for quirky comedy and a distinct visual style, Ober was affiliated for the past two years with Venice, Calif.-based Ocean Park Pictures. Ober explained that he wanted broader representation and hoped to increase his exposure across the country by joining the five-year-old Compulsive.
Ober said he found the two Compulsive principals—executive producers Jack Turney and Donald O’Connor—to be a good fit personally. "I liked the guys very much," said Ober. "I also liked the [small] size of their directing roster, and the people on their roster. It just seemed to be a different vibe than being on a fifty-person roster; they seemed to be interested in putting the time into me and my career."
Turney related that he knew from looking at Ober’s work that the director was an "easygoing, natural" comedy director. He added that Ober’s DP background gives him a significant advantage as a comedy director. "The result is beautifully lit, great-looking comedy," assessed Turney. "It’s rich, cinematic and funny."
Ober first made his mark in the industry by directing an award-winning series of spots for the Seattle SuperSonics out of WongDoody, Seattle. The ads feature SuperSonics players who drop by the homes of unsuspecting fans. The spontaneous reactions from the fans make for strikingly humorous moments. The campaign has racked up a spate of honors, including a Cannes Gold Lion, five Clios, five ANDYs, two Gold Pencils at The One Show, three Northwest ADDYs and a national ADDY.
After getting his start in the industry as an electrician working on film sets, Ober became a staff production manager and a DP at now defunct Telemation from ’83-’86. Following this, he was a freelance DP and gaffer for a few years, working on commercials with such directors as Vilmos Zsigmond, Jordan Cronenweth and Larry Hutson. Ober turned his attention to directing in ’92; two years later, he launched Ober Lenz Films.
Through Ober Lenz, Ober recently directed the spots "Sam" and "Vin" in the ongoing SuperSonics campaign. These new spots, which feature Gary Payton and Vin Baker, have a twist on the original theme: fans drop by the homes of players.
Ober’s other recent credits include Canadian spots for Nike, McDonald’s and gas station chain Petro Canada, all via Cossette & Company, Toronto; Microsoft out of Communique, Toronto; and Panasonic via Palmer/Jarvis DDB, Toronto. Through Ober Lenz, he has wrapped a spot for Interview. com via Big Bang, San Diego, in addition to a recent three-spot package for Azteca Mexican restaurants via WongDoody. The campaign includes the spot "Amnesia," a Hispanic soap opera spoof in which an accident victim can’t remember his name or the recipe for fajitas burritos. Ober also directed a Honda spot for Rubin Postaer and Associates, Santa Monica, through Ocean Park.
Ober joins a Compulsive directorial roster comprised of Jorgen Lööf, Charlie Carlson and Brendan Donovan. The shop is repped by New York-based Miller/Nadler on the East Coast; Chicago-based Karen Kovach Company in the Midwest and by Los Angeles-based Rachel Finn Represents on the West Coast. The company is also repped in Canada by Industry Films.
Judge Upholds Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Charge Against Alec Baldwin In “Rust” Shooting
A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
In a ruling Thursday, state District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer stood by her July decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. She said prosecutors did not raise any factual or legal arguments that would justify reversing her decision.
"Because the state's amended motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the state elected not to raise earlier, the court does not find the amended motion well taken," the judge wrote, adding that the request was also untimely.
A spokesperson for Baldwin's lawyers said Friday that they had no immediate reaction to teh decision.
The case was thrown out halfway through trial on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
Baldwin's trial was upended by revelations that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammo unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers say investigators "buried" the evidence in a separate case file and filed a successful motion to dismiss.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey can now decide whether to appeal to a higher court.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for "Rust," was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer —... Read More