Conspiracy has opened a West Coast office in Venice, with executive producer Mike Brady and director/ cameraman Ron Fricke. The pair exited Atlas Pictures, Santa Monica, over a year ago, and have been working on independent projects together. Conspiracy, New York, founder/executive producer Tony Harding will continue to maintain operations on the East Coast. Harding believes the Southern California foothold will help the company attract additional directors on the West Coast.
Fricke and Brady worked together for five years at Atlas Pictures; there, Fricke’s credits included a package of spots for the Washington State Lottery out of Publicis, Seattle; a Gateway campaign out of McCann-Erickson, New York; and a multi-spot package for Jeep via Bozell Worldwide, Southfield, Mich.
In December ’98, both Fricke and Brady left Atlas to concentrate on making IMAX films, a passion Fricke had long been cultivating. In ’83 Fricke co-wrote, co-edited and was the cinematographer for the IMAX feature Koyaanisqatsi. He followed that up by directing Chronos in ’85, Sacred Site in ’86, and Baraka in ’92. He is currently teaming with Brady on another IMAX film that chronicles the life and work of science fiction writer Arthur Clark, called Search for Infinity. Fricke is also working on a sequel to Baraka entitled Samsarra.
Conspiracy director Ken Morrison introduced Harding and Brady to each other. "I was looking for a home for Ron [Fricke] and I to work out of, and we wanted to get back into spots, so this was the perfect solution," Brady explained. Harding added, "I’m really excited to have Mike Brady on board. … I was looking for someone who had the same goals and same set of experiences [as I have]."
Fricke and Brady join a Conspiracy directorial roster that includes Morrison, Laura Belsey, Brian Bain and Jean-Marc Piché. Conspiracy is represented on the East Coast by Heidi Gottlieb and Doug Wedeck of Single Bid, New York; on the West Coast by Brent Novick of Novick & Associates, San Francisco; and in the Midwest by Stephanie Gigante and Connie Moore of Gigante Moore and Associates, Chicago.
