By Kristin Wilcha

SANTA MONICA --

Director Douglas Avery has signed with Furlined, the production shop launched last year by Diane McArter and James Studholme. Avery comes to Furlined from bicoastal Villains; joining him at his new roost will be Matthew Caltabiano, his longtime producer.

Avery’s move to Furlined represents a reunion of sorts for he and Studholme, who worked together when Avery first began directing spots and was signed to Studholme’s U.K. shop, Blink, London. “It’s incredibly exciting to have him,” says Studholme of Avery’s new affiliation with Furlined. “I know how brilliant he is–I’ve produced jobs for him, and worked with him closely. … I know how much more there is to come–I feel the surface has barely been scratched. He’s an extraordinarily visually literate guy, very strong on atmosphere, and with casting.” (Avery is currently repped in the U.K. by Independent, London, and has no plans to switch his affiliation; he is repped stateside and in the U.K. by Colonel Blimp, a Blink satellite, for music videos.)

McArter noted that Avery is a perfect fit for the Furlined roster. “What we were really looking for was that next person who already had a certain level of experience — and somebody who we felt had the talent and maturity for us to be to really have that beautiful opportunity to take them to the top of the game.” Studholme and McArter found that director in Avery, who was looking to switch roosts after a five-plus year stay at Villains. “Villains really helped me quite a bit in the states,” said the director, “but I just wanted a new energy behind me. I was really intrigued by the people at Furlined, and I think it’s a really interesting mix of European and American sensibility.”

Avery describes his style as “the love child of the Coen Brothers’ sensibilities, with the visual minutiae of David Lynch, narrated by Bill Murray and Christopher Walken.” Avery’s eclectic skills are on display in his recent work, all completed through Villains. In the Clorox Bath Wand spot “Hunched,” out of DDB San Francisco, people go about their daily lives–grocery shopping, feeding children–hunched over from scrubbing the bathroom. Their lives are transformed with the Clorox Bath Wand. And Opel’s “Stairs,” out of 180, Amsterdam, and Independent, shows a guy go going down several flights of stairs only to wind up on the roof–defying logic, much like the low-price of the high-value Opel car. Before joining Furlined, Avery wrapped a pair of Cingular spots via BBDO New York and Atlanta, and is currently bidding on another Cingular job.

McArter, like Studholme, praises Avery’s “conceptual storytelling,” and his ability to mine humor from dark situations, while at the same time delivering good casting and visuals. “He has an understanding of character and narrative, and his ability to [deliver] a story at the service of great concepts and bring that concept to life through character and narrative,” related McArter. “And then the added bonus with Douglas is his aesthetic values–his images are so utterly compelling and compositions are gorgeous; the lighting is artful. He’s incredibly imaginative–at once he has a very light, subtle witty approach to things, and at the same time it can be incredibly dark.”

Avery started out as a still photographer in London, shooting fashion work for the likes of ID magazine, before directing several short films. One of those shorts, Hitch, earned Avery a slot in the 1998 Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase at the Cannes International Advertising Festival. He later signed with Blink, linking up with Villains in late ’99.

    The director joins a Furlined roster comprised of Brian Aldrich, Doug Foster, Jess Hall, Pekka Hara, Zach Math, Mark Molloy, Stuart Parr, Speck/Gordon–Josh and Will, respectively–Charlie White, and Dougal Wilson.

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