Compass Films-a New York shop headed by partners/executive producers Kathrin Lausch and Lise Ostbirk-has signed L.A.-based director Don Hannah to its roster for exclusive worldwide representation.
Hannah left now defunct Harmony Pictures (most recently known as Chemistry) in mid-September after suspecting that the production company was in trouble. Publicly traded parent company Harmony Holdings, later closed Harmony Pictures (SHOOT, 12/4 and 12/11/98, p. 1).
For at least two months prior to his departure, Hannah had been in Romania independently shooting commercials for the Romanian market. From there he went to France to write a screenplay, and returned to find Harmony in serious jeopardy. Even before I left for Romania, it was pretty obvious that the company [Harmony] wasnt going to survive, said Hannah, who claimed he never even signed a contract with Harmony because it got lost in the shuffle of the companys confusion.
According to Hannah, after receiving several phone calls from other production companies, New York-based Compass ultimately won him over. Once I saw Compass reel, it became apparent to me that their work was exceptional and that they were not interested in getting too huge, too fast, but rather in getting quality people and bidding on exceptional projects, said Hannah.
Compass was interested in Hannahs work for its international flavor and growth potential. Sometimes the problem with American directors is their work is so American that its hard to market to European agencies, but Don seemed to have a little bit of both worlds, explained Lausch. Compass also felt that because Hannah has only been directing for two years, his talent has yet to be exposed. As a director hes young so its pretty impressive what he has done, said Lausch.
Before Harmony, Hannah was represented through a now defunct satellite of that company, Pure Film. But when Harmony adopted the Chemistry moniker, the company decided to merge Pure into the then new Chemistry operation (SHOOT, 10/9/98, p. 1). Prior to Pure, Hannah directed via since-shuttered Citizen Film for a year; while there, he turned out some spec fare, including a longer piece for Oakley Eyewear titled Bike Glasses, that takes the viewer on a ride with a New York City bike messenger.
Hannahs U.S. spot credits include: a PSA entitled No for Prepare, an organization that promotes female self defense, out of J. Walter Thompson, New York; an in-house PSA for Partnership for a Drug-Free America called Chuck D.; Huffys Getting There via Euro RSCG Tatham, Chicago; and three spots-Launch, Red Carpet and Yellow Package-for St. Louis Post Dispatch out of TBWA/Chiat/Days since- closd office in St. Louis. In Ro-mania, he shot The Face for Connex Mobile Phones via DMB&B, Bucharest and Alo for Echo Pagers, a Motorola product, out of Saatchi & Saatchi, Bucharest. Additional spec work includes spots for Orangina (Catch), Donna Karan (Legs), and American West Airlines (Vito). The latter two were produced on spec with Team One Advertising, El Segundo, Calif.
