Bicoastal Sandwick Films has signed noted feature film cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel to direct commercials. He joins the company after having wrapped lensing on director Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns for Warner Bros.
Sigel has shot several movies for Singer, including X-Men and its sequel X2, as well as The Usual Suspects. Among Sigel’s other cinematography credits are director Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm, helmer David O. Russell’s Three Kings, and George Clooney’s directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
On the spot front, Sigel has served as DP on automotive fare for Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. He also shot Ambush, the debut film in BMW series of films, “The Hire,” out of Fallon, Minneapolis. Ambush was directed by the late John Frankenheimer.
Sigel’s directorial experience spans spots, documentaries, shorts and features. He helmed commercials for BMW–and was earlier repped as a spot director via bicoastal Tool of North America. In 2002, Sigel directed the HBO feature Point of Origin. And he recently directed, produced, co-wrote and shot a short comic drama, The Big Empty, starring Selma Blair as a woman faced with an emotional and physical void in her life. This short was done through Sandwick Films, giving Sigel a hands-on feel for working with the company, which prompted his decision to join.
Executive producer Bill Sandwick said that Sigel has stepped up his commitment to directing commercials, meaning that he comes aboard the shop at an opportune time. Sigel said he hopes to work in a variety of spot genres, noting that while he’s known for visual storytelling and strong images, a number of his film endeavors have entailed strong character work.
Sigel joins a Sandwick Films’ directorial roster that includes Jeff Gorman, Steve Kessler, feature filmmaker John Curran (We Don’t Live Here Anymore), Dave Merhar and Rawson Thurber. The latter two joined Sandwick earlier this year. Merhar is a former DDB Chicago creative director and partner/co-founder of the creative boutique Fusion Idea Lab, Chicago. He came over from bicoastal HSI. Thurber, who wrote and directed the comedy Dodgeball, is the writer and director of the Terry Tate: Office Linebacker series of shorts that morphed into a successful ad campaign for Reebok from Arnell Group, New York.
Sandwick Films’ sales force consists of independent reps Mary Ford of Mary Ford & Co. on the East Coast, Nikki Weiss of Nikki Weiss & Co. in the Midwest, and Stacey Altman of Stacey & Co. on the West Coast.