Director Michele Civetta has signed for exclusive commercial representation with bicoastal HKM Productions. Additionally, Civetta will be represented for music videos by Public Works, a Santa Monica-based HKM satellite, which is headed by executive producer Ellen Jacobson. Public Works was launched last year (SHOOT, 9/10/99, p. 7). HKM also maintains The Directors Bureau, Hollywood.
Civetta, a 23-year-old graduate of New York University’s film school, was signed largely on the strength of his spec reel, which includes a short film as well as ads for Diesel jeans and Trustex condoms.
"I thought [his reel] had some great movement, great transitions, and I loved the subtlety of the acting," said HKM executive producer Lisa Margulis. "And I thought, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this kid’s twenty-three.’ He’s very sophisticated in his thinking. I thought, why not take a chance? It’s always fun, challenging and interesting to build a director."
Civetta is the first director to sign with HKM since Margulis joined the company in September (SHOOT, 9/10/99, p. 7). Additionally, Margulis has brought in two new staffers: head of production Carl Swan and bidding producer Elizabeth Minzes. Swan was formerly head of production at now defunct Harmony Pictures, while Minzes was working as a freelance production manager in Los Angeles.
A native of New York, Civetta will continue to be based there. Having explored several production house options, the director said he was attracted to HKM and Public Works because of "the kind of work they do, the director roster and the personnel, like Lisa Margulis. It just clicked the best with what I want to do."
Already Civetta has some prospective projects in the works, including a music video and a PSA; he wasn’t at liberty to elaborate on the assignments as SHOOT went to press. He also expects to direct a commercial on spec in the near future.
Civetta’s reel has a European flavor and is marked by clever concepts, strong color schemes and both pretty and gritty visuals. He said he has been influenced by old Hollywood films and European cinema, and thus far believes that his work embraces "an absurd vision of life, trying to incorporate the mundane [experience] and allow it to take root in its own sort of livelihood."
The aforementioned Diesel spot, for instance, is set in a shabby-chic diner. In the ad, two customers—and suspected jean smugglers—are the subject of a sting operation. When the smugglers make their move, the authorities jump on them, searching the pair’s suitcase for the contraband. Unable to find any, the officials reluctantly set the men free. Later, when the jeans are successfully delivered on the black market, it is revealed that they had been rolled up and hidden inside the prosthetic leg of one of the smugglers.
The Trustex condoms ad, as well as a commercial for the city of Prague called "Welcome to the Party," were fashioned from a six-minute film Civetta directed, which was shot on location in Prague.
Finally, Civetta directed a music video for the band Dopo Yume, a collaboration among Sean Lennon, the band Cibo Matto, and others. The clip, titled "Igloo," consists of a colorful fantasy sequence that was filmed on location in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. "Igloo" has not been released because the band is still fine-tuning the track’s mix and has yet to sign with a record label.
The project was run through Civetta’s company, Engine 6 Productions, New York, which he launched a year ago with partner/producer Michael Zaro. Civetta plans to maintain the shop for outside projects, such as optioning a book for longform development. Civetta’s additional creative credits include "MTV Raw," an ad he wrote two years ago for MTV’s Directors Series, which was helmed by David LaChapelle, now of bicoastal Venus Entertainment.
Civetta joins an HKM directorial roster that—in addition to founding partners Graham Henman and Michael Karbelnikoff—includes Michael Patrick Jann, Jordan Brady, Richard Sears, Paul Anderson and Sebastian Grousset. The Public Works roster consists of directors Johan Brisinger, Guiseppe Capotondi, Franco Dragone, Sean Ellis and Todd Lincoln; the directing teams Felt, Roenberg and Gus Gus; and the directing collective PanOptic.
