On the strength of a spec reel, director Dan Rush has landed at Los Angeles-based Palomar Pictures. It’s his first spot roost and already he has been awarded two projects: a Bell Atlantic spot via Philadelphia-based Tierney & Partners, and two client-direct spots for Enforma, a health care company.
Palomar CEO/ chairman Joni Sighvatsson said that when he came across Rush’s comedic reel, he thought it was "probably the best spec reel I’ve seen." Palomar began talking to Rush last fall and, according to Sighvatsson, discovered the director was being heavily courted by a few other shops. "There was a fierce competition [over Rush]," said Sighvatsson. "We got into a heated pursuit of a director that had never done a commercial. It shows where our industry is—that people are willing to go to such lengths for an unproven talent."
Rush confirmed that he met with a "fair amount" of companies. He was ultimately enticed by Palomar’s track record of building up new talent, which, he said, is "extremely important especially nowadays because it has gotten so competitive. And [I was drawn to] the taste levels and the personalities: Joni and Jonathon [Ker, president/executive producer], who I met with extensively, are a great blend. The company is going through a tremendous creative surge. Everything seemed to mesh."
Over the past year, Rush concentrated on directing commercials for a spec reel, which includes spots named after Hard Candy cosmetics. Rush, who co-wrote the spec spots, explained that the eclectic names of the cosmetic products—i.e. "Chump" and "Funky Junky"—provided "a great leaping-off point" from which to create concepts. In "Chump," as a young woman paints her toenails, she asks her man for another diet soda. After he delivers it, she follows up with "Honey, did you bring me a lemon with that?"
"Funky Junky" is shot in the style of an anti-drug PSA, with its darkly lit, quick-cut, black-and-white segments. Tension builds as two women trade lines such as "She’s the one that got me hooked," "I never used to touch the stuff" and "It makes her feel good." After one woman says "Sometimes I’m afraid I won’t do it right, so I let her do it for me," we see the woman applying Funky Junky lip liner to her friend’s mouth.
Rush’s reel also includes a CIGNA Healthcare spot called "Simon Says," which is set in a doctor’s waiting room. After a nurse announces, "Mrs. Tate, the doctor will see you now," the old lady happily shuffles up to the desk, only to be told by the gleeful nurse, "I didn’t say ‘Simon says.’" The super reads, "Tired of playing games with your healthcare?" And in a Swatch spot "Irony," a man appears to be checking out another guy’s private parts at an airport bathroom urinal, but really just wants to see his watch.
"He’s not only very gifted as a young filmmaker; he’s very smart," said Ker. "He’s a wonderful combination for us. His comedy is smart and slightly dark—but not so dark that it’s too European for the marketplace."
After earning an undergraduate degree in fine arts from Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., in ’92, Rush moved to New York and worked for a year as an artist/printmaker. "I had known a group of people who worked in both commercials and features while I was working in the art world in New York," Rush said. "I started to get exposure to it, and realized it was something I really wanted to do."
Rush moved to Los Angeles to gain practical industry experience. He got a job at TriStar Pictures, working in the studio’s feature development division, where he read scripts and developed pitches. "[In that job,] you’re kind of a buyer," said Rush. "You get to learn everything. The great part about it—apart from really learning how stories work at their core—was that I met an unbelievable number of people."
One of those people was director Mikael Salomon, who was then repped for commercials by bicoastal GMS Productions (he is now at bicoastal Flying Tiger Films). At the time, Rush was working to develop the ’98 movie Hard Rain, which Salomon directed. "But the movie got delayed a bit, and I wound up spending a fair amount of time with [Salomon] when he was shooting commercials," Rush said. "I was completely enamored with … the ability to tell stories so simply and quickly."
Rush subsequently devoted himself to writing and directing spec spots, and assembled his reel. He related that he was drawn to comedic storytelling projects. "I just thought it was a great way to jump in and compete, especially with the budgets I was dealing with."
