Former Smuggler producer Jeff Miller, who spent the last year as executive producer at The Cartel, has launched Interrogate, a production house that opens with the Snorri Bros. on its directorial roster. In addition to the Snorris, whom Miller had worked with at Smuggler and The Cartel, Interrogate will also represent several directors from the U.K. roster of Outsider, including James Rouse, Bart Timmer and Jörn Threlfall.
The new venture will work across all genres and disciplines, spanning TV commercials, longer format branded content, music videos and films. Interrogate has offices in L.A. and New York, as well as a presence in London via its affiliation with Outsider.
The Snorris are childhood friends from Iceland whose work spans such brands as Palm, Motorola, Dell, Cadillac and Starz, and agencies that include Anomaly, Modernista!, Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners, and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.
As for the coterie of Outsider talent handled by Interrogate, Timmer has just broken a follow up to his Heineken “Housewarming” spot with a new effort for the brand, titled “Men with Talent.” And Threlfall has a new Kia spot, titled “Home,” out from David & Goliath in L.A., that adds to a lengthy list of automotive clients that includes BMW, Audi, Mazda, Subaru, Toyota and Saab. Rouse’s directorial debut, a web campaign for Trojan condoms in which carnal gymnastics take on Olympian proportions, helped him earn inclusion into both the SHOOT and Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcases in 2004. This marked the first of assorted viral successes for Rouse who has gone on to score with TV efforts such as the joyous Discovery Channel “Boom Dee Ya Da” anthem, the witty Nike U.K. football spot “Turning Spanish” and Kia Motors’ inspired Flashdance takeoff. The latter came out of David & Goliath while the Discovery Channel promo and the Nike U.K. ad both were created by agency 72andSunny.
Miller came up through the ranks as a line producer, where he collaborated closely with directors, exec producers, agency producers and clients. In his nearly 15 years in the industry, he has produced hundreds of TV commercials for clients across the spectrum, shooting not only all over the U.S. but around the world.
Miller got his start in the industry working as an actor. He eventually began writing for the screen, and sold a screenplay to Disney before starting to produce independent features. This led, in turn, to working in music videos and then commercials, where he produced his first job for director Samuel Bayer. Miller then hooked up with Traktor, the groundbreaking directorial collective, and spent several years producing for them before landing at a start-up company called Smuggler in 2002. After leaving Smuggler in ’09 he joined Dektor Film as executive producer, where he helped rebrand the company as The Cartel. He left that shop to open Interrogate as owner/exec producer.
Representing Interrogate are Kent Eby and Katy Dickson of Eby Dickson on the East Coast, Marguerite Juliusson of Marguerite Juliusson & Co. in the Midwest, and Rebecca Reber and Brooke Covington of Reber Covington on the West Coast.
The End of The “Rust” Criminal Case Against Alec Baldwin May Unlock A Civil Lawsuit
The conclusion of a criminal case against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer clears the way for a related civil lawsuit by relatives of the deceased woman and efforts to depose the actor under oath, attorneys for plaintiffs in the civil suit said Tuesday.
At a news conference in Los Angeles, victims' rights attorney Gloria Allred said that the parents and younger sister of deceased cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were disappointed that prosecutors won't appeal the dismissal of an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. The criminal charge against Baldwin was dismissed halfway through trial in July on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense.
Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during a rehearsal in the movie "Rust" in October 2021 at a film-set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Baldwin, the lead actor and coproducer, was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when it discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
Allred said Hutchins' relatives are determined to pursue damages and compensation from Baldwin and "Rust" producers in New Mexico civil court, and want Baldwin to answer questions under oath in the proceedings. Hutchins' widower and son previously reached a separate legal settlement.
"With the withdrawal that was made public yesterday, we are now able to proceed with our civil case," Allred said. "Clearly, the rights of Alec Baldwin were protected, but the due process rights of the victims — Halyna Hutchins and her parents and her sister — were violated."
Allred said she's ready to prove that Hutchins had a close relationship... Read More