Longstanding commercial house 1/33 Productions, Santa Monica, has closed up shop, with several of its key players—directors Martin Bell, Mark Raymon Bennett and Olivier Venturini, as well as executive producer/head of production David Lasseron—moving over to bicoastal Cohn+Company (see story above). Meanwhile, 1/33’s other two directors—James Dalthorp and Lionel Coleman—are headed for new roosts. At press time, Coleman had signed with Santa Monica-based Visitor. Dalthorp said he was weighing offers from three companies and expects to make a decision shortly.
Former 1/33 principal/executive producer Chris Meltesen told SHOOT he officially resigned from the production house on Feb. 1. Meltesen said that he has retired from the spot production business. He founded 1/33 with Lasseron some 10 years ago, after the dissolution of its predecessor company, Berkofsky/Barrett. "[1/33] was doing very well," said Meltesen. "I think everybody had a really rocky late spring and summer last year, as did we. But it worked out fine; in the end, we had a very good year. I know the company is financially stable."
Lasseron said 1/33 will not be filing for bankruptcy, and intends to honor its debts. "There is a small financial decision—it’s a rep commission that’s still being discussed. Otherwise, everybody else has been paid [or] will be paid. There’s no problem."
1/33 released its sales reps at the beginning of the year: Connie Mellors on the West Coast, Doug Stieber in the Midwest and Jackie Jones on the East Coast. Attorney Mike Nadler, a partner at New York-based law firm Uncyk, Borenkind & Nadler, serves as legal counsel for Mellors. Nadler told SHOOT, "There are some open questions which are in discussion, and I trust that they will be resolved."
1/33 closed its New York branch several months ago (SHOOT, 12/10/99, p.1), following the departures of director Rick Levine, whose New York-based Rick Levine Productions had been affiliated with 1/33 since late ’95, and Pam Rohs, who is Levine’s longtime executive producer. Levine recently opted to align his company with Next, a startup being launched by bicoastal OneSuch Films and Rohs. Next is a OneSuch satellite.
"We closed the [1/33] New York office because it didn’t make any sense for us to have a big Manhattan office," said Lasseron. "It was too much overhead. So what do you do without an office?—you either find a repping company or you go the old-fashioned way, which is what we did by joining [Cohn+Company]. We wanted a New York presence. Jack [Cohn, president of Cohn+ Company] has a New York office, and we have a beautiful L.A. office. It made sense."
Cohn+Company had been informally working out of 1/33’s Santa Monica production office for the last six months. "Cohn+ Company just didn’t have the facilities to set up [on the West Coast] immediately, so it worked out for us," Cohn said. "When their New York office closed, they were looking for representation and were dealing with how to market their directors, and keep them.
"My staff rep, Randi Arnold, and I both rep, and it made sense for the companies to combine," Cohn continued. "And from a sales and marketing standpoint, it was the perfect time for us to add three more directors."
According to the aforementioned Coleman, he left 1/33 when his two-year contract expired in late October. The director said he had decided several months earlier that he would look for another roost. Coleman explained that he was prompted to leave due to his desire to join a more progressive company, as 1/33 was "too conservative."
Coleman also cited the departure of 1/33 executive producer Rohs as part of the reason he left. "[Rohs] was really my confidante at the company," said Coleman. "After her departure, I pretty much knew I wasn’t going to stay. I was free to go at the October mark; at that point in time, it wasn’t decided if 1/33 was going to stay open. I had no intention of staying, even if they would have stayed open."
