Mike Maguire–whose industry pedigree spans 20 years as an award-winning director and creative–has launched production house Halligan.
Maguire has been on the directorial roster of production companies such as MJZ, Biscuit Filmworks, The Directors Bureau, Dummy and most recently Skunk. His work has been recognized at various awards competitions, including Cannes Lions, D&AD and The One Show.
He founded one-man shop Halligan on the premise that austerity and minimalism pave a path to greater creativity. “I started Halligan because I wanted the freedom to do my particular brand of humor,” said Maguire, contending that less budget means fewer eyes and less pressure, which allows for greater creativity–and just being able to go for it. His approach is, “Let’s take whatever budget is there, and make something funny that people will dig.” That’s what he’s done for clients like Bundaberg, CBS, Cobra, Comcast, Fisherman’s Friend, Hyundai, Ikea, Lowe’s, ReMax, Stok, and Volkswagen.
Maguire–a former copywriter at kirshenbaum bond & partners, NY, and associate creative director with Goodby Silverstein & Partners–knows firsthand the heartbreak of writing a script that never gets produced because no one’s willing to champion it. From massive eagles that rip you off your couch to the rabid raccoon in your heating duct to garden gnomes attacking humans–Maguire prides himself on being a champion of the odd, low-budget script that other directors aren’t lining up to shoot. “We do a lot of these projects on shoestring budgets, but for me, it isn’t about how much money can be made off of a job. It’s about going to set, and making myself and a group of people laugh. That’s the most rewarding thing of all.”
As for choosing the Halligan moniker, Maguire explained, “My father was a NYC fireman. For years, he preached the gospel of the tool that forever saved his ass. In his own words, ‘Simple. Efficient. Dependable. The Halligan is the quickest way to break down a door.’ My dad was a get-shit-done kind of guy, and Halligan is a get-shit-done kind of company. So if you have something bizarre you want to do for next to nothing–if you have a lot of heart for it, but not all the cash in the world–give us a shout.”
Halligan’s U.S. sales team consists of Red Rep TV (Holly Ross, Vanessa Mclean, Jeremy Hodghes) on the West Coast, Chiara Chung Inc. (Chiara Chung) in the Midwest, and Miss Smith (Jamie Scalera, Sasha Stern) on the East Coast. Director Maguire is also repped by Suneeva in Canada and Outsider in the U.K.
