Commercial director David Emery and feature helmer Adam Shankman have signed for exclusive spot representation with bicoastal Bedford Falls. Headed by executive producer Tom Korsan, Bedford Falls is one of the shops in the Stoney Road family of commercial production houses owned by Michael Romersa.
Bedford Falls is the first spot roost for Shankman, a noted feature choreographer (Inspector Gadget, Scream 2, Boogie Nights) who recently made the transition to directing. Shankman, who was unavailable for comment at press time, is in postproduction on his feature directing debut, The Wedding Planner. The film stars Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey, and tells the story of a workaholic wedding planner (Lopez) who falls in love with the fiance (McConaughey) of one of her clients.
Shankman’s shortform directing credits include promos for several NBC series (Just Shoot Me, Veronica’s Closet, Frasier) and the forthcoming CBS sitcom Bette, starring Bette Midler.
Emery has wrapped two assignments at Bedford Falls. The first was an ad for the Visa check card, out of BBDO New York, which is expected to break this month. The director was not at liberty to elaborate on the comedic spot, but he did confirm that it was non-Olympic fare.
Emery’s second assignment at Bedford Falls was an ad for PersonalCare HMO, out of New York-based marketing firm Fine Light.
Prior to coming aboard Bedford Falls, Emery worked out of his own shop, a satellite of bicoastal Giraldi Suarez Productions, which was called Emery and was the director’s first spot roost (SHOOT, 7/9/99). After a year, Emery began to consider other options. "Giraldi Suarez is really a one-director shop," he said. "I wanted something with a little more activity going on, with different directors and board flow. [Bedford Falls] seemed like the perfect set-up."
His final assignment through Emery was "Free Time," an ad for high-speed Internet service provider Charter Communications via the Romann Group, New York.
Formerly a freelance producer known for his long tenure with director James Gartner of bicoastal Gartner, Emery made the transition to directing on the strength of a self-financed spec reel. Two of the spec spots on his reel, for Dr Pepper and Pepsi, were based on concepts from Jimmy Siegel, executive VP/executive creative director at BBDO New York. A third spec spot, for Budweiser, called "Decoy," was co-created by Emery and Siegel. The ad follows some hapless duck-hunters whose decoys are not nearly as effective as the fake the ducks have fashioned to lure humans: a wooden case of Budweiser. Emery and Siegel got to know one another during their frequent collaborations on Gartner-directed assignments; Emery produced regularly for Gartner from 1988 to ’97.
"[David] has the potential to go far," said Korsan. "Even though his reel is primarily spec [work], the production values are incredibly well done, and he obviously understands advertising. He’s a movie fanatic and incorporates a contemporary film look into his work, as well as a lot of sensibilities he picked up as a line producer for Jim Gartner."
Emery rounds out a Bedford Falls directorial roster that also includes Brian Belefant, Kevin Donovan, Rolf Gibbs, Marcus Stevens, Jonathan Taylor and Marshall Vernet. Shankman joins several television and feature helmers who are repped for spots by Bedford Falls, including Mark Piznarski, Nick Hamm, and company founders Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick.
Romersa heads up sales for all of the Stoney Road companies. Bedford Falls is repped by New York-based Lori Youmans and Amy Jones on the East Coast; Los Angeles-based Toni Saarinen and Dawn Schiffman on the West Coast; and Chicago-based Robin Pickett and Maureen Butler in the Midwest.
