LOS ANGELES—Executive producer Heidi Nolting—best known for her longstanding tenure as partner/executive producer at Bruce Dowad Associates, Los Angeles, a position she exited earlier this year—has launched newhouse, a satellite of Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago.
The new Los Angeles-headquartered venture opens with three directors: Gregory Maya, who was last affiliated with bicoastal The Artists Company; Laszlo Kadar, who most recently helmed spots via the Shoot New York and Shoot LA shops; and Marc Scholermann of Markenfilm, Hamburg, who now gains his first stateside representation.
Maya has directed commercials for such clients as Target, Toyota, International Paper and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. He has also been active in European ad fare, including work for Germany’s ARD Lottery. Maya’s directorial reputation is centered largely on actor performance-driven fare and people-based storytelling. At press time, he was about to embark on his first job under the newhouse banner: a Clairol assignment for Grey, New York.
Maya’s major career break came with a spec ad, "Open Your Heart," for the Fresh Air Fund. The spot wound up being honored in the spec category of the 1996 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show. Shot in black and white, "Open Your Heart" opened the door for Maya’s directorial career. Several months after the commercial was wrapped, The Artists Company, where he had been working as a producer since ’90, launched him as a director.
Director/cameraman Kadar first established himself as a DP before diversifying into directing, initially in Europe, and then in the United States. At newhouse, he will continue to work with longtime colleague, executive producer Anthony Vozza, formerly of Shoot New York. Nolting and Vozza will co-executive produce for Kadar at newhouse. Vozza and Kadar have worked on commercials and longform, including the ’01 feature Doe Boy, directed by Randy Redroad. Kadar was the film’s cinematographer, while Vozza served as a producer.
Kadar received his formal training at the Hungarian Film Academy, Budapest, a school that also helped shape the craft of such notable cinematographers as Vilmos Zsigmond and Laszlo Kovacs. Kadar later made his way to Germany, working his way up the ranks, eventually shooting commercials for German directors and occasionally serving as DP on longform theatrical projects.
In ’90, he made a successful transition to commercial director in Europe and then entered the American arena via now defunct Limelight Commercials in ’92. Among his European credits are ads for Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Opel. Kadar has directed for such American advertisers as Lexus automobiles and Yamaha motorcycles. Also for the American market, he helmed Lufthansa’s "New York," which won a Cannes Silver Lion.
Meanwhile, Scholermann has already established himself in the European ad community. His assorted spot endeavors there include work for Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. Plans are for him to divide his time between the U.S. and Europe. In fact, he recently directed a German job shot in Los Angeles-a Ferrero Chocolate spot featuring actor Pierce Brosnan. As SHOOT went to press, Scholermann was slated to direct another German market commercial for Mercedes’ S-Class line via Markenfilm.
Nolting said she was drawn to the newhouse situation on several levels, perhaps most notably the chance to maintain a boutique operation while still being able to tap into a major company like Crossroads, which maintains extensive production resources and partnerships worldwide. Among the latter are affiliations with The Gang Films, Paris; Cowboy Films, London; and Velocity Afrika, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Nolting said she was also attracted by the opportunity to work with Crossroads’ partners Cami Taylor and Dan Lindau.
Taylor cited Nolting’s "excellent reputation for managing directors" and the core of helmers assembled for newhouse as the prime factors leading to Crossroads’ decision to commit to the new shop.
Nolting’s alluded-to track record with directors includes her helping to nurture several careers, including that of Robert Logevall while he was at Bruce Dowad Associates. (Logevall is now at bicoastal Anonymous Content.) Also during Nolting’s stay at Bruce Dowad Associates, Bruce Dowad won the Directors Guild of America Award as best commercial director of ’97. Succeeding Nolting in the executive producer’s role at Bruce Dowad Associates earlier this year was Jessica Cooper Carlson (SHOOT, 4/18, p. 7).
Newhouse is repped on the West Coast by Stacey Altman of Stacey & Company, Santa Monica, in the Midwest by Helen O’Brien of O’Brien & Company, Chicago, and on the East Coast by Maria Stenz of Stenz & Company, New York.
