By Robert Goldrich

After a feature film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s somber Never Let Me Go, director Mark Romanek went on to take a 180 degree turn to the charmingly absurd with a recent Kia commercial that centered on a video game world of mercenary robots who become fun-loving hoofers once they encounter dancing hamsters.
    In-between these two projects was a Romanek-directed real people campaign introducing us to townspeople from Greenback, Tenn., who benefit from a reassessment of their income tax returns by H&R Block professionals. At a high school gym, the folks learn that they collectively saved some $14,000-plus, with the campaign rolling out other elements such as mini-documentaries on the people and how they were positively impacted by the “Never Settle For Less” initiative, a concept which came out of Fallon Minneapolis.
    The H&R Block “Greenbacks for Greenback” commercial earned a Silver Lion at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity’s Promo & Activation Lions competition for Best Use of Experiential Marketing in a Promotional Campaign. The overall “Never Settle For Less” took an additional two Promo & Activation Lions in the Financial Products & Services, and the Best Integrated Campaign categories.
    Further adding to the variety in Romanek’s work is a Chevy Truck spot, “Like Father, Like Son,” for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco. In the commercial, which had just made its on-air debut at press time, nearly all the “product shots” of the truck are contained in a montage of a little boy playing with his toys. It’s a sweet, tug-at-the-heartstrings piece with the lad mimicking his father who drives a Chevy truck and towards the end of the spot arrives at home after a hard day’s work.
    The Chevy package includes two more yet-to-be-released spots, one a straight-up comedy piece which Romanek recalled “felt like a new kind of zone for me.”
    Clearly Romanek, whose production house roost is Anonymous Content, has been in quite diverse, distinctively different zones over the years–a pattern which continues today and underscores a dynamic that keeps him fresh creatively while also contributing to his career longevity as a director. “It wasn’t my intent from the outset but early on I started to realize and then planned to try to get the most diverse mix of work possible, to be in places creatively I hadn’t been before,” related Romanek. “I think that’s what helps a director stay relevant over the years.”
    Being able to attract a wide range of projects and genres of work, though, still comes as a surprise to Romanek who made his initial reputation as a groundbreaking music video director with credits over the years that include Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer,” Johnny Cash’s poignant “Hurt” clip, Michael and Janet Jackson’s “Scream,” Madonna’s “Rain,” Fiona Apple’s “Criminal” and Jay-Z’s “99 Problems.”
    “When I was awarded the H&R Block campaign, I had no idea why they offered me the job but I was completely thrilled,” said Romanek. “The only reason I can think of is that what I do very well is wait. I don’t do a ton of work. I wait until something comes in that turns me on, that seems like a new challenge. I guess if you wait long enough, they’ll say, ‘Let’s get the video guy to do a documentary spot.’ I jumped at the chance.”
    With far ranging work, invariably one experience informs the next. As for what he’s learned from his crossover exploits over the years–and for that matter from the variety he’s enjoyed within each discipline–Romanek assessed, “There are certainly technical and craft aspects I’ve learned that have been valuable. But in the broadest sense the process of getting better as a filmmaker is using your experiences to better your people skills. Personal development is what can benefit from a variety of experiences…The better leader you become as you move your career, the better the work becomes. You become hopefully more encouraging to people. You become better at trying to cohere a group of strangers who have been thrown together on a project for a matter of only weeks. You become better at delegating.”
    Also relative to being informed by his experiences on diverse projects over the years, Romanek observed, “When you’re a young filmmaker, you’re holding onto your vision with white knuckles. Anyone who doesn’t share that vision gets pushed aside or somehow considered as an impediment. But the more you go on, you realize that’s not behooving anyone. Yes, you need to have a clear idea and vision–still, though, that vision needs to have margins, space for other people’s contributions. When you face a creative challenge and don’t know the outcome, you are forced to be open and aware–very much like an actor in the moment, being hyper sensitive to your environment and your crew.
    As for what’s on the horizon for Romanek, he’s open to opportunity, noting that he plans on continued substantive involvement in commercialmaking. And while it’s been six years since he’s helmed a music video, Romanek doesn’t dismiss the possibility of taking on a select clip or two. “The possibility of Lady Gaga came up not too long ago. I keep talking to Kanye West,” he related.
    Additionally, longer form beckons with several projects which he describes as being “in various states of nearness to being greenlighted,” the closest probably being his directing “a definitive live-action Cinderella feature film for Disney, a traditional handsomely mounted period-specific piece, somewhat dark but hopefully very romantic.”
    Romanek would like to see that movie come to fruition. He also has other prospective irons in the fire, including his own screenplay which is being budgeted at Playtone, as well as a dark comedy project with  Ben Stiller. Romanek also recently met with Sony about yet another film.
    “I’ve only done two movies in eight years so I’m hardly an expert at getting a bunch of projects off the ground. But what I have learned is that you have to have a number of lines in the water to get a feature opportunity. You get to the point where you mature and are grateful for every opportunity. I feel that way about movies, videos and commercials. I never take the opportunity to direct for granted.”

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