Bicoastal Sandwick Films has signed directors Dave Merhar, formerly of bicoastal HSI Productions, and Rawson Thurber, who had been with Santa Monica-based F.M. Rocks and its commercial division, Boondoggle.
The two directors share a couple of common bonds; they have built reputations as comedy specialists and both have scored with ads on the Super Bowl. For example, Merhar’s Super Sunday endeavors include Bud Light’s “Falconer” in 2002 and “Shopping” in ’98. The latter depicts several men finding refuge in a department store clothes rack while their significant others shop in the mall. The dress rack not only hides the men from view, but also houses a TV and a healthy supply of Bud Light. “Falconer” shows a falcon delivering bottles of Bud Light to a man in a high-rise building. His female companion is impressed; the spot then reveals that the falcon is swooping down on patrons of an outdoor café, wreaking havoc and absconding with the bottles of brew.
Meanwhile, Thurber made his first major spotmaking splash during the ’03 Super Bowl telecast. His Terry Tate: Office Linebacker series of shorts evolved into a successful Reebok campaign for The Arnell Group, New York. The humorous “Terry Tate” ad fare spurred Big Game viewers to log onto the Reebok Web site in record numbers in order to see the short films starring the Tate character whose vicious linebacker hits and tackles bring employee obedience to the office workplace.
MERHAR
Merhar’s move to Sandwick Films marks a reunion with company principal/executive producer Bill Sandwick. They and Merhar’s exec producer Grayson Bithell, who’s also shifted over to Sandwick Films, worked together at HSI.
Merhar brings an agency creative pedigree to the Sandwick studio. Having first gained industry prominence as a creative director at DDB Chicago, Merhar then became a partner/co-founder in boutique agency Fusion Idea Lab, Chicago. He started directing select projects at DDB and then helped to set up Fusion with the goal of continuing to work on Anheuser-Busch brands, involved in both creative and production.
He then divested himself of his interest in Fusion to pursue directing full time for a greater range of clients and agencies. Merhar first joined now defunct production house Visitor, and later came aboard HSI. Since leaving DDB in ’96, Merhar has teamed with exec producer Bithell.
In addition to Anheuser-Busch ads, Merhar’s credits include work for such clients as Washington Mutual and ESPN. He recently helmed jobs for Taco Bell and Pepsi, which are slated to break soon.
THURBER
Thurber, who wrote and directed the Terry Tate series of shorts, has also been active in longform. He wrote and helmed the feature film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (starring Ben Stiller), and is gearing up for his next theatrical movie.
Thurber’s commercialmaking credits include a comedy campaign for General Motors’ “Mr. Goodwrench” brand of vehicle repair services, out of agency Chemistri in Troy, Mich. The GM spots star Stephen Colbert, a “reporter” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. In the GM campaign, Colbert plays an annoying reporter trying to do an expose on the actual identity of Mr. Goodwrench.
Thurber and Merhar round out a directorial roster at Sandwick Films that includes Jeff Gorman, Steve Kessler and Marc Klasfeld. Sandwick acquired the former JGF, Hollywood, from Gorman in spring of ’04, and renamed the shop Sandwick Films, bringing in such talent as Kessler and Klasfeld, and last fall launching a division, The 5th Column, specializing in handling feature filmmakers for select commercials.