TV Series Helmer Gets Back Into Spots
By Robert Goldrich
SANTA MONICA --Director/writer/producer Nelson McCormick has come aboard Aero Film, Santa Monica, for exclusive spot representation. He is best known for his direction of popular drama/action TV series, including episodes of CSI-New York, Alias, Cold Case, The West Wing, ER, CSI, Nip/Tuck, and Third Watch.
At press time, McCormick was at Raleigh Studios, Los Angeles, helming an episode of The Closer, a series which airs on TNT. Last year he directed two episodes of Stephen Bochco’s acclaimed and controversial series for F/X, Over There, which chronicled the drama of soldiers serving overseas in Iraq.
McCormick is no stranger to the ad discipline. Early on in his career he had a stint helming spots via The Front (the former live-action arm of Los Angeles animation/multimedia studio Duck Soup), and Red Sky, San Francisco. His spot credits back then included Ultrawheels In-Line Skates for agency TDA in Longmont, Colorado, and Airwalk footwear via Lambesis in Carlsbad, Calif.
“Nelson is great at directing drama, action, and dialogue,” related Aero executive producer Lance O’Connor. “There’s hardly a person in this country that hasn’t seen or been affected by the television shows he’s either produced, written or directed. Every show he’s directed demonstrates what a strong storyteller he is. I’ve got many different [spot] jobs in mind for him.”
Ironically, it was McCormick’s commercial work eight years ago that brought him eventually to the forefront of directing primetime TV series. According to McCormick, Reid Shane, a producer working at now defunct Propaganda Films, left for a position at Paramount. Shane, impressed by McCormick’s spot fare, brought him over to do a series titled Primal Force. I was immediately thrown into the mix,” recalled McCormick. “At first I was ambivalent about work in television, but that quickly changed. The timing was right, TV work became very high caliber, with good writing and good stories. Many great people like Jennifer Garner (Alias) and J.J. Abrams (Alias, just directed Mission Impossible 3)–their careers were born in television.”
McCormick sees no problem with translating his television work to the commercial world. “Characters are complex in television, the rich drama is great for creating moments–the same with commercials. The stuff I’m doing, whether it’s dialogue driven, emotional or high risk scenarios like on West Wing, relate perfectly to commercials. Television gives a director the discipline to create moments and tell the story.”
McCormick has a highly unusual background for a filmmaker, getting most of his training and experience as a combat cameraman while serving in the U.S. Air Force. “My experiences taught me how to capture the moment the first time, because most of the time you didn’t have the luxury of getting a second chance.”
The director foresees no problems in terms of his availability for spot assignments. “Television work has become very seasonal, schedules get hot in the fall, but I take one at a time, and can schedule one or two week outs with very little notice,” he related. “It actually takes less time to prep a show than people think.”
McCormick joins an Aero directorial roster that also includes Klaus Obermeyer, Henrik Hansen, Ken Arlidge and Brent Jones.
“Overnight Success” Has Been More Than A Decade In The Making For Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson
Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson, two of the stars of Netflix's whodunit "The Perfect Couple," have news for you if you want to call them breakouts: They've been working in this business for more than a decade.
Fahy made her TV debut in 2009 in an episode of "Gossip Girl." Hewson's first big film role was in 2011's "This Must Be the Place." They do concede, however, that it's recent TV roles โ "The White Lotus" for Fahy and "Bad Sisters" for Hewson โ that have led to new frontiers of opportunity.
Susanne Bier, who directed "The Perfect Couple," says both Fahy and Hewson are "going to be big stars."
"They certainly have proper, profound star quality, Both of them in very different ways," Bier says. "Both are incredibly creative, incredibly smart, and also have a impressive insight as to who they are. You can be a great actor or actress and not necessarily really know who you are yourself. And they do."
Hewson, 33, whose dad is U2 front man Bono, may have grown up in a famous family but she's now in demand in her own right. She will next be seen in a second season of "Bad Sisters, " out in November. She's in Noah Baumbach's next film, alongside Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Riley Keough. She's also been cast in Steven Spielberg's next production and is set to star opposite Murray Bartlett in a racing series for Hulu.
Fahy, 34, is in production on a limited series with Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock called "Sirens," written by Molly Smith Metzler ("Maid") for Netflix. She also has two films in the can with Josh O'Connor ("The Crown," "Challengers") and Brandon Sklenar ("It Ends With Us").
The two actors spoke candidly about this phase of their careers. This interview has been condensed for clarity and... Read More