SANTA MONICA—Alex Blum, partner/executive producer of bicoastal Headquarters, has divested himself of his stake in that commercial production house and teamed with director John Moore—also formerly of Headquarters—to launch Optional Pictures.
The new Santa Monica-based shop will be active in features and spots. In the former discipline, Optional has entered into an overall deal with 20th Century Fox. The Fox studio will have first right of refusal on Optional Pictures’ projects. Already getting the green light from Fox is Flight of the Phoenix, with Moore and Blum serving as the film’s director and producer, respectively. Shooting is slated to get underway in January.
With Blum’s departure, Headquarters continues under the aegis of his longstanding partners there, executive producer Tom Mooney and director David Cornell. Blum, Mooney and Cornell founded Headquarters in 1992. Headquarters’ directorial roster consists of Cornell, Joe Public, Eric Steinman, Lloyd Stein, Eden Diebel and Agust Baldersson. The company’s bicoastal satellite Brand has directors Sean Mullens and Wayne Holloway.
"I wish Alex and John nothing but the best," said Mooney. "Alex is one of the best executive producers ever in this business and he was integral to Headquarters’ success. He and John have a fantastic opportunity to be involved in the movie industry. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that they deserved and earned."
Blum related that while he and Moore are currently focused on Flight of the Phoenix, their intention is to remain very much involved in commercials. Blum has secured independent spot rep Stephanie Stephens to handle Optional Pictures on the West Coast.
He also plans to hire reps for the Midwest and East Coast.
Blum said Optional would also be open to relationships with other directors looking to work in commercials. "I’ve spent the past 25 years of my career in this [commercialmaking] business," he related. "There’s no way I’m turning my back on those collaborations. That would be ridiculous. There are some great people at agencies who I love working with. I hope to continue those relationships and develop others."
At the same time, Blum noted that he’s not in the market to again build a major commercial production house. Optional will be more of the smaller boutique nature in its commercialmaking pursuits.
As chronicled in SHOOT, Moore’s spotwork is what originally brought him and Blum into the feature arena. In ’99, Moore directed "Apocalypse," a :90 cinema-style commercial introducing Sega’s Dreamcast video game system for FCB San Francisco. The Headquarters-produced ad followed a beautiful female thief on the run with a stolen Sega Dreamcast, through the rainy, dark streets of Tokyo. "Apocalypse" debuted on the MTV Video Music Awards and caught the attention of Fox, which tracked down Moore at Headquarters through FCB. Weeks later, director Moore and co-producer Blum were attached to the Fox action/adventure thriller Behind Enemy Lines, which was released in December ’01. The movie’s cast included Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman, Joaquim De Almedia, David Keith and Olek Krupa.
At press time, Moore was in Ireland helming an Irish Lottery spot through a European connection. His other ad credits include Sony PlayStation for TBWA/ Chiat/Day, Los Angeles, and the aforementioned "Apocalypse" for Sega. The Sony PlayStation commercial was set to debut last fall, but has yet to air as original plans were scuttled in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy.
Blum’s spot industry involvement also extends beyond Optional Pictures. As ex-officio chairman of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), he continues to serve on that organization’s national board.
Mooney quipped that the only key unanswered question remaining is whether or not he will be cast in Flight of the Phoenix. He had a cameo role in Behind Enemy Lines. If he doesn’t get an acting gig in the upcoming movie, Mooney said he might have to reconsider his earlier flattering quote about Blum and Moore.
