Director Jonathan David said he has agreed to join Los Angeles-based production house Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ) effective Jan. 1, after his current contract with bicoastal Shelter Films expires.
David told SHOOT that it was largely his rapport with MJZ principal/executive producer David Zander that prompted him to make the move. The director said he and Zander share the same creative and comedic sensibilities ("we laugh in the same places," said David), and that Zander is relentlessly focused on the quality of the work. Moreover, David said, he was impressed by Zander’s ability to read people very well.
According to Zander, he reached a verbal agreement with David after a series of discussions. Zander said he initiated conversations with David after seeing his reel. David has been with Shelter for nearly four and a half years.
Although David is best known for comedy, Zander emphasized the director’s talents are considerably broader. Terming him "an actor’s director," Zander said, "not only does Jonathan tell a clear story, but he really [excels at] believable performances. If the situation is funny, he’ll make it real and believable; he won’t yuk it up and make it ‘cartoony’ in any way.
"I think that because of his ability to direct actors and get believable performances, he can do dramatic work as well," added Zander, who cited a recent David-helmed French Telecom campaign, including the :30 spots "Yellow Cab" and "The Date," via DDB Paris as evidence of the director’s skill in drama. "What I also like about his work is that everything has a motivation and logic behind it," observed Zander, who said he was impressed by the consistency of the quality of work on David’s reel. "His choices aren’t arbitrary—they’re grounded in reason that furthers the story. He gets the essence of the idea and knows how to communicate that idea in a believable way. He has great ideas on his reel, executed really well."
David began his career as a documentary filmmaker, working in New York for the BBC during an eight-year stretch, before starting his own New York-based production company, Tulip Films, in ’86 (he continues to maintain Tulip as a corporate entity for business purposes). Through Tulip, David researched, wrote, directed and produced a number of public television documentary programs over the course of six years, including several on the physical reasons behind psychiatric disorders, a theory not widely advanced at the time, said David.
In the early ’90s, David began working in other television genres. He served as a writer/director of comedy segments for MTV’s The Jon Stewart Show and for cable network Comedy Central. For the latter, he created "Just Say No-J," a series of promos parodying the O.J. Simpson trial; these caught the eye of Shelter president Steve Shore, who signed him for commercial representation in ’95 (SHOOT, 6/30/95, p.8).
The shift from serious documentaries to comedy wasn’t as divergent as it would seem, noted David. "Even my serious subject documentaries were always quite funny," said David. "I’d get so close to these tragic elements. … People are funny about their situations. Even the most gruesome situations like the O.J. Trial—even Johnnie Cochran had a few laughs."
At Shelter, David made his initial splash with a six-spot package for Northgate Mall via Butler, Shine & Stern, San Francisco. Those spots were shot from the perspective of a security camera, with two guys providing a sports-inspired play-by-play of shoppers’ behaviors. Another noted project was the initial four-spot "Yanks" campaign David helmed for adidas via Leagas Delaney, San Francisco, featuring five New York Yankees fans with letters painted on their chests. The campaign earned a Silver Clio and the spot, "Abandoned Mr. S," won a Cannes Silver Lion and a Bronze Clio. This year, the David-directed Dunkin Donuts :30 entitled "Chase" out of Hill Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Boston, was honored in the humor category of the AICP Show.
Among David’s recent credits are spots for express mail service DHL via DDB Paris, and an AT&T spot featuring David Arquette via Foote, Cone & Belding, New York. He just wrapped three European spots—"Never Eat Street Food," "Be Careful Crossing" and "Use Your Initiative"—for Brooklyn Gum via Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London. David describes the latter as "life on the Brooklyn Serengeti," and added, "We did the spots like a nature show: strictly observational.
"It’s found comedy," continued David. "[It’s] the whole idea that the funniest things are the things you stumble across. Believable details are what make people laugh. The division between something being funny and something being dramatic or touching is really a very subtle shift in the point of view."
Separately, Zander said MJZ is planning to launch a New York production office slated to open early next year. The office would primarily service New York-based directors David and Irv Blitz.
David joins an MJZ directorial roster also comprised of Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel, Blitz, Kieran Walsh, Robert Richardson, Tom DeCerchio, Sean Thonson, Victor Garcia, and Geoffrey Barish (who works through MJZ satellite The Seven Ounce Man).
David will be repped by L.A.-based Shirley Schackmann on the West Coast; Chicago-based Richard Miller of Creative Management Partners in the Midwest, and New York-based Chris Messiter, Ann McKallagat and Barrie Isaacson on the East Coast.
