Former Bozell Creative/Exec. Producer Gains Exclusive Representation As A Spot Helmer.
By Millie Takaki
Paul Gold, a former senior VP/associate creative director/executive producer at Bozell, New York, has signed with The Story Companies for exclusive representation as a commercial director. Gold has extensive experience helming spots, both in-house at Bozell and through projects as a freelancer. He will be repped via The Story Companies’ Chicago headquarters, and through its satellite offices in New York, Santa Monica and Dallas.
"Paul brings a lot to the table," said The Story Companies’ executive producer Mark Androw, citing Gold’s storytelling and visual sensibilities as well as experience in directing talent, managing large-scale productions domestically and internationally, and bringing optimum production value to the screen.
Gold has been working as a freelance director since July, when he left his post at Bozell. During that time, he has directed commercials for Liberty Medical, Laser One, and Bristol-Meyers, all for New York agency Della Femina/Jeary & Partners; he has also worked as a freelance creative/producer through Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, on Beck’s Light Beer and Honey Nut Chex.
At Bozell, Gold served as a creative and executive producer on such accounts as Merrill Lynch, Mass Mutual Insurance, Vassarette and Ray-Ban/Bausch & Lomb. He directed many broadcast efforts for Bozell, including a Pfizer spot, "Swimmer," which tells the story of an elderly man who battles high blood pressure to return to competitive swimming; a Federal Emergency Management Administration PSA, which simulated a flood and the plight of a couple in a water-damaged home; and a London Film Festival Award-winning Merrill Lynch ad, "The Barn," which shows a farm engulfed in a thunderstorm. The storm, which ultimately dissipates, symbolizes troubled financial times, while the bull-shaped weathervane glimpsed atop the barn in the final shot signifies Merrill Lynch’s commitment to "be there" for its clients.
Gold’s tenure at Bozell spanned 10 years. Prior to that he worked at BBDO, New York, on Apple Computers, Pepsi, Visa, Pizza Hut and Polaroid. His background also includes a stay at Young & Rubicam, New York, where his endeavors included Dr Pepper, Johnson & Johnson and the U.S. Postal Service. His work as an agency creative and producer has earned awards from such competitions as Cannes, Clio, the British Design and Art Direction Awards and the Directors Guild of America. The last was for Merrill Lynch’s "Sisters," one of the spots for which director Rob Lieberman, now of bicoastal The Lieberman Company in association with bicoastal Straw Dogs, won the DGA Award as best commercial director of ’95.
Gold was formerly represented as a director via The Directory in London for a little less than a year (July ’98-May ’99). He currently teaches film and film design at the School of Visual Arts, New York.
In the six-plus months since he left Bozell, Gold had been looking for a production company to call home. "I took a long time because I wanted to be sure to find the right place," he explained. "I like The Story Companies because it has representation in a lot of markets, and it’s a company that has proven itself over and over. I also like what the company represents. It’s a company that cares about the client, the director and the work."
The Long and Short of The IDA Documentary Awards’ Shortlists
The lineups are set as 20 feature-length and 20 short documentaries have been shortlisted for the 40th IDA Documentary Awards.
This year, the IDA Documentary Awards shortlists and nominees are selected by independent committees of 300 documentary makers, curators, critics, and industry experts from 40-plus countries. More than 700 total entries were submitted for all categories from 77 countries.
Additional IDA Awards will be presented in the following categories: Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Writing, Best Music Score, Best Curated Series, Best Episodic Series, Best Limited Series, Best TV Feature Documentary, Best Music Documentary, Best Audio Documentary, the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, the ABC News VideoSource Award, and the Pare Lorentz Award.
All nominees in the above categories will be announced on November 19.
The 40th IDA Documentary Awards Ceremony will be held on December 5 at The Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles.
Here’s a rundown of the feature and short film IDA Documentary Awards’ shortlists.
FEATURES SHORTLIST
Agent of Happiness
Black Box Diaries
Brisa
Dahomey
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
Hollywoodgate
Igualada
Kamay
Mediha
Motherboard
My Sweet Land
No Other Land
Queendom
Seeking Mavis Beacon
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
Tell Them You Love Me
The Last Journey
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Water For Life (Agua Es... Read More