Robert Green’s directorial career began some 30 years ago when since shuttered house N. Lee Lacy/Associates hired him as a helmer based on his thesis film at UCLA. After 10 years under contract at Lacy, he joined another venerable company, now defunct The Film Tree. A couple of years later, he shifted his professional base from Southern to Northern California, partnering in the since closed Michelson/Green in association with One Pass, San Francisco. Next, he established Robert Green & Company, Monterey, Calif.
But in 1999, Green’s career came to a sudden halt. He was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. "I was told I would probably never work again," he recalled.
Nonetheless, Green harbored hope that he might somehow return to commercialmaking. Green and his wife—who had produced much of his spotwork—made what he described as "a commitment during those dark days that if we were ever able to work again, we’d pursue non-profits [for PSA work]."
This desire to seek out select PSAs sprang directly from his being stricken with illness. "Over the course of a long but steady recovery, I became more sensitive to the often sad production and creative quality of public service announcements for organizations representing people with ailments similar to mine," explained Green. "Those PSAs that used to glide by without much notice took on a much more poignant meaning after I was diagnosed."
Now Green is back in the director’s chair, having recently wrapped his first project in four years: a two-spot package for The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with Tom Hanks as on-camera spokesman. The shoot entailed a deceptively simple one-take dolly move of Hanks paddling a canoe and talking to the camera. The spots—one national, the other for Idaho—were lensed in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Green cited several aspects of the shoot that he found personally gratifying, including a crew member who flew across the country to do the job but would only accept airfare and per diem as payment; substantial equipment and travel discounts from crew and suppliers; TNC volunteers who jumped into P.A. and craft service roles; and TNC trustees who wrote personal checks to get production rolling. "The budget was extremely tight and the spots could not have been completed without the help we received from everyone involved," related Green.
So now the Robert Green & Company banner is fully unfurled again, this time in Green’s new hometown of Bainbridge Island, Wash. (Green can be reached at rmcdevittgreen@ msn.com.) He’s looking to re-enter mainstream commercialmaking for major clients—but is also more vigilant than ever for public service opportunities.
Green actually has a significant PSA track record. He directed a spot that played a key role in a successful lobbying effort—that stretched from ’95 to ’99—to keep Sumitomo Bank from decimating the native Monterey pine forest for real estate development. For that same cause, Green additionally helmed ads that helped elect Monterey County supervisor Dave Potter, a slow-growth proponent who’s now also a member of the California Coastal Commission.
Earlier, Green directed PSAs featuring spokespeople from completely opposite ends of the political spectrum—actor Ed Asner in an anti-smoking spot for the American Cancer Society, and the late Sen. Barry Goldwater in a PSA advocating early diagnosis of breast cancer for Intergroup of Arizona.
Today, Green is looking to add to that body of work—both public service and regular spot gigs—with renewed health and vigor. On the PSA front, Green said he learned from his Monterey pine forest experience that "doing a little bit can make a positive difference."
