After little more than a year in business, Chicago-based shop Shallcross/James Films is closing and its partners, director Bob Shallcross and executive producer David James, are joining Manarchy Film, Chicago.
Per the deal, James will continue to bid and produce for Shallcross. They are slated to move onto the Manarchy premises, although James said he will be dividing his time between the two offices until his present lease expires in a few months.
Shallcross/James opened in early ’98 (SHOOT, 2/27/98, p.1), after the two principals had previously worked together for a year and a half at the now defunct Neptune Productions, which opened in ’96 as a satellite of bicoastal HSI Productions (SHOOT, 10/4/96, p.1).
Manarchy executive producer Dan Lundmark approached Shallcross and James late last year about bringing them aboard. For his part, he said he wanted to grow Manarchy Film, and was motivated by the quality of the reel, along with James’ reputation as a producer and Bob’s as a creative and a director. Explaining that he considers Shallcross to be "a tremendous creative talent," Lundmark added he knows what’s involved in launching directors’ careers and could help move Shallcross to the next level.
"You want to be somewhat selective about the boards you work on," Lundmark said, "while you’ve also got to pay the bills. How do you stay in business and hold out for the better boards? I thought that might be an issue they were starting to confront."
James told SHOOT that, at the time, he’d told Shallcross that "if I was going to do anything like this, I didn’t want to do it with an out-of-town company. And Manarchy was the only company in town that I’d even consider doing it with, just because of the reputation of [director] Dennis Manarchy and Dan. I respect what they have become as a company; they’re a good presence in Chicago."
Shallcross commented that he was flattered by Lundmark’s interest, particularly since he’s always respected the caliber of work coming out of the Manarchy studio, which represents directors Craig McCord and Peter Van Vliet in addition to Manarchy. "It just seemed like a good thing to do," said Shallcross. "They’re more established and have a lot more things in place, whereas David and I were trying to build all that."
After further discussions with Lundmark, the deal began making "more and more sense" for both parties, said James. It satisfies Lundmark’s desire to expand Manarchy Film and build a larger presence for the company, and offers various cost benefits over operating a one-director shop.
"I think we both realized the economic ramifications of trying to have more people under one roof," said James. "In today’s economy, it seems there’s a lot of people unhappy with the amount of work that’s happening in Chicago. We did fine last year on our own. My motivation really is I think we can move up the food chain quicker with a stronger production element behind us. It’s going to give Bob and I more support and make our lives easier."
Agency Background
Shallcross started out in the early ’80s as an agency creative; his stints included Young & Rubicam, St. Petersburg, Fla.; J. Walter Thompson, Chicago and W.B. Doner & Co., Chicago. In ’87, he joined Chicago-based Leo Burnett Co. as an associate creative director; he subsequently became a VP/creative director. At Burnett, he worked on high profile image advertising for Hallmark and McDonald’s; in fact, he and former Burnett partner Jim Ferguson co-wrote the ’94 feature Little Giants for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, which was inspired by one of their McDonald’s spots "Perfect Season."
In ’93, Shallcross departed Burnett to focus on screenplay writing and, up until a year ago, maintained a part-time consulting relationship with Burnett. When Shallcross/James opened, he opted to devote himself full-time to directing.
Much like the agency creative he used to conceive, Shallcross has concentrated on storytelling projects in his directing career. One of his most notable efforts was a heartwarming Hallmark spot "Old Friends," (initially done as a spec spot) that aired and went on to win a ’97 Cannes Silver Lion. Two other spots, "Motel" for Coca-Cola via Burnett and "ABCs" for Borden Milk via DDB Needham Dallas, made the Cannes shortlist that year.
Among Shallcross’ credits are recent Burnett packages for the Beef Council (another account he formerly had a creative hand in) and Hallmark, and four spots for Lakewood Homes via Lubow Advertising, Chicago. At press time, he was slated to begin helming a spot package for Denver-based retailer Furniture Row out of Hanon McKendry, Grand Rapids, Mich. Shallcross related he is awaiting word about a project out of Italy.
Manarchy Films is repped by New York-based Maggie Klein on the East Coast; Chicago-based Gay Guthrey in the Midwest; L.A.-based Siobhan McCafferty on the West Coast; and by Toronto-based Navigator Films throughout Canada.
