Production house directorz, Dallas, has signed Austin-based up-and-coming director Jimmy Lindsey, and has also formed a non-exclusive affiliation with director Robert Hannant.
Lindsey has spent the past 10 years working in the local market as a camera assistant. In the last five years, he has worked primarily on features. Among them are Rushmore, The Faculty, Suburbia, Dazed and Confused, Hope Floats, and The Newton Boys, as well as former MTV series Austin Stories.
Over the past few years, Lindsey has pursued commercial directing with a focus on quirky comedy. His first job was awarded five years ago by Austin-based agency T3, which asked him to direct a spot for local coffee shop Metro Espresso. "It was a small commercial in that it’s 15 seconds and one shot," said Lindsey. "But it told me that other people recognize that I have the ability to take all the elements and put them together." Since then, he has been pitching himself to agencies as an independent director, while continuing his day job as a camera assistant to support his family.
Among his credits are "Tex-Mex Flavah," for El Arroyo, a chain of local Mexican restaurants, via Austin-based agency BAM!; the spot spoofed a Propecia hair-loss commercial and won a Gold ADDY at the local ADDY competition this year. Other spots include "A Little Opera Won’t Kill You," for Austin Lyric Opera via T3; and "The Date," promoting sexual disease awareness for the Texas Department of Health via BAM! and Sherry Matthews Agency, both Austin. Most recently, Lindsey completed a commercial titled "Loaded Down," for Austin Shoe Hospital via The Brunson Agency, Austin.
Lindsey explained that he opted to focus on garnering real-world spot assignments, rather than helming spec spots for his reel. "I’d get a job here and there and, over the course of a year, I’d direct three spots," he reported. "That’s why the process was a bit longer for me. When I sent my reel to directorz, they were surprised to hear I’d been selling myself and getting jobs. But I was very much looking for solid representation, and Bednarz [Films, the former moniker of directorz] had been a company with a really good reputation for well over a decade."
Although Lindsey said he had talked to several other companies on the coasts, he opted to chose a house that would allow him to remain based in Austin. "I’d decided I could stay here, near home, and take a 40-minute flight to directorz if I need to," said Lindsey. "Directorz just feels right; I think they’re doing fantastic work."
Jeremy Besser, executive producer/head of sales at directorz, said, "I think Jimmy’s casting is impeccable. His reel is pretty regional right now, but the work, I think, looks national. It’s a nice showing for a guy who’s just starting. Personally, I think he’s a great guy; he’s smart, has great ideas and is easy to talk to."
Director Hannant has had a number of production company affiliations over the years; among them are Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago, and a pair of Dallas-based shops: Big Fish Films and Concrete Productions. "Robert has been directing for a number of years, and I think he’s a very talented guy," noted Besser. "He’s done everything, from fashion to people/vignette stuff. Now he’s making a foray into comedy. His stuff has usually been good-looking film with a comedic bent and we’re just trying to build on that."
Lindsey and Hannant join a directorz roster consisting of director/principal Jeff Bednarz and tabletop specialist Tom Ryan; directorz also represents Washington Square directors Peter Sillen and Jeff Feuerzeig in the Southwest market.
Directorz is repped on the West Coast by Patty Everett and in the Midwest by Gay Guthrey; the company is currently seeking new East Coast representation.
