Director Tony Diamond has come aboard No Prisoners, the Los Angeles-based commercial production house headed by president/executive producer Bruce Martin. This is the first spot roost for Diamond who just graduated from the USC School of Cinema-Television, Los Angeles.
Diamond was signed largely on the strength of Psycho for Milk, his :60 Got Milk? spec, which premiered on entertainment Web firm IFILM Networks (www.ifilm.com and www. ifilmpro.com) in March (SHOOT, 3/24, p. 1). The ad follows a mental hospital patient who breaks out and goes in search of milk at a nearby mini-mart. No Prisoners executive assistant Michael Abbott saw the ad online and brought it to the attention of Martin and Todd Moyer, who is CEO of Los Angeles-headquartered parent company No Prisoners (which also maintains feature and visual effects firm No Prisoners 3dfx, Los Angeles).
I like to find people that nobody has seen before, Moyer explained. Tonys young and fresh, and thats what we find exciting.
Diamond conceived and wrote Psycho for Milk, then pulled together several friends for the three-day shoot.
The great thing about it is that it encompasses [many] of the intricacies of advertising, said Martin. Its cinematic, well shot, well cast, edgy, contemporary-both technically and conceptually-and its funny as hell. [Representing Tony] is a unique opportunity for us, and hes a unique guy.
For his part, Diamond was attracted to No Prisoners because of the rapport he developed with Martin, and the genuine interest the company showed in developing his career. It just gelled, Diamond said. [Bruce] has the same passion for commercials as I do. And for him to take an interest in me after just doing one spec spot, it shows that he takes me seriously, and thats the kind of person Im going to want to be associated with.
Diamond recently wrapped a 12-minute short film, Nobody Dies Twice, a dark comedy about a universally disliked wealthy industrialist who chokes on a peanut and dies. The dead man then returns to earth in an attempt to die in a more dignified manner. The film was produced via USCs course number 480, which grants four students per semester the opportunity to make a short film.
Diamonds additional credits include the short film Single Handed, which he directed during his sophomore year. The plot centers on a group therapy program like Alcoholics Anonymous thats aimed at masturbation addicts.
Diamond, who is managed by Los Angeles-based FourSight Entertainment, joins a No Prisoners spot roster that also includes Barnaby Jackson, Nic Mathieu, Jeff Richter and Brian Scott Weber. Mathieu directed this weeks Top Spot (see p. 14).
Martin said its possible that No Prisoners will explore music video assignments for Diamond. However, at this juncture, the focus of the deal is commercials. No Prisoners has not yet launched a clips division.
Martin handles No Prisoners West Coast sales. New York-based Roxanne & Co. reps the company on the East Coast, and Chicago-based Nikki Weiss & Associates covers the Midwest.
