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.
Oscar Nominees Gather For Cocktails, Dinner and The Annual Class Picture
Five days before the Academy Awards, nearly every nominee gathered for a cocktail reception, dinner and class picture shoot that served as an Oscars orientation.
The event Tuesday night at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures was a stand-in for the annual Oscars luncheon usually held about a month earlier but scrubbed because of the Southern California wildfires.
With the voting over and winners determined, contenders got chummy and the mood was cheerful. Best actress favorites Mikey Madison and Demi Moore hugged and chatted. So did best actor front-runners Timothรฉe Chalamet and Adrien Brody.
"Everyone say Oscar nominee!" best actress nominee Cynthia Erivo shouted gleefully from the front row of the museum's David Geffen Theater, where the dozens of nominees sat for their group picture.
Clustered in front with Erivo were three best supporting actress nominees: her "Wicked" castmate Ariana Grande, Monica Barbaro of "A Complete Unknown" and Zoe Saldaรฑa of "Emilia Perez" along with Madison, nominated for "Anora." The five women stood in a circle and talked happily together after the photo, and kept the conversation going as they descended the stairs together to dinner.
In the back of the theater, a trio of best actor nominees sat together: Sebastian Stan of "The Apprentice," Colman Domingo of "Sing Sing" and Brody, of "The Brutalist."
After the photo was taken, Academy President Janet Yang gave the orientation presentation, reminding everyone that the 97th Academy Awards will be held Sunday.
She greeted first-time nominees and acknowledged there were also some with more than one.
Denis Villeneuve, director of "Dune: Part 2" and a four-time nominee, raised his hand. Sixteen-time best original song nominee... Read More