Bicoastal/international Propaganda Films has signed a deal to provide exclusive spot and music video representation for director Mark Pellington, who comes over from Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago, his roost since ’91.
Propaganda will also have a two-year, first-look deal with Pellington’s and producer/partner Tom Gorai’s independent production house, Pellington/Gorai, for all feature film, television and new media ventures.
Per the deal, Propaganda will finance the development and preproduction of all projects out of bicoastal Pellington/Gorai, whose feature credits include the Pellington-directed Arlington Road (’99) and Going All the Way (’97). In association with Propaganda, Pellington/Gorai will also have the opportunity to develop and executive produce television, feature, new media and animation projects for other artists.
Colin Hickson, VP of Propaganda Commercials, described Pellington as the embodiment of Propaganda’s philosophy, in that the director is a "consummate craftsman. At Propaganda, we’ve always prided ourselves on having a combination of fantastic craftsmen with exciting ideas," Hickson said. "Mark works across many mediums at such a high level, and that’s what makes him exciting to the commercial industry as well as to the other markets."
Relating that his Crossroads parting was bittersweet but amicable, Pellington said that spot representation wasn’t the reason for his shift. Rather, he felt that Propaganda offered the best opportunity for Pellington/Gorai to grow as a company, and for it to pursue projects in multiple disciplines, new media key among them. To that end, Pellington said that his company has had initial meetings with AtomFilms, a firm that maintains an entertainment-oriented Web site that features short films. Propaganda recently entered into a co-production and licensing distribution deal with AtomFilms (SHOOT, 3/31, p.7), and is now developing a slate of ideas for the site.
"We [Pellington/Gorai] realized that we wanted—and needed—to take a more proactive approach to authorship of material," said Pellington. "We had a lot of pieces we wanted to make in all different media. I’ve had a lot of ideas which would have been difficult to realize five years ago: ideas that were either too esoteric for TV, or that weren’t formatted in a traditional way. I believe the Internet has opened the door for some of these ideas to get made."
These projects aren’t confined to Pellington-helmed jobs. The director noted that over the years, he and Gorai have met a number of talented directors, animators and playwrights with whom they can now help produce projects vis à vis the Propaganda deal. "The hope is that we can serve as kind of a feeder system for artists to help their works get made."
Of his move to Propaganda, Pellington said, "It just felt like the right fit at this time for our company—especially regarding features." He added that Propaganda was particularly interested in producing two movie projects in development. "The great thing [about this deal] is that we will get a quick response; if they decide not to move forward on any one project, we’re able to go elsewhere with it."
Pellington has directed documentaries such as the acclaimed Father’s Daze, which chronicled his dad’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease; and "Single Video Theory," an hour-long music video documentary on the making of Pearl Jam’s Yield album. He has also directed music videos, including the Grammy-nominated "Beautiful Girl" for INXS and "Jeremy" for Pearl Jam, which won best video and best director honors at the ’93 MTV Video Music Awards.
His TV directorial credits include an episode of former NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street; and The United States of Poetry, a five-part anthology that explored America through the words of 72 poets. Pellington, who began his career as an intern and became a producer/ director at MTV, also helped develop Buzz, a non-linear magazine show which MTV commissioned. The 13-part series debuted in ’90 and was considered groundbreaking in its use of sound, images and text.
On the ad front, Pellington completed a black-and-white spot package for Encyclopedia Britannica.com via New York-based Deutsch, which features writer Norman Mailer, director Francis Ford Coppola and actor Lili Taylor. Other credits include ads for Maybelline via Gotham, New York, and Webstreet.com via TBWA/ Chiat/Day, Los Angeles.
Pellington, who is currently writing a script, said he would likely be available for commercial/music video work around mid-May. Since last fall, the director has only done one spot (for the aforementioned Webstreet.com), and hasn’t taken on any since then.
"I want to divide my focus among spots, writing and doing movies, and keep more of a balance of the things I do," said Pellington. "[I like] being able to execute a variety of different styles and ideas. This move is a commitment to that, with both commercials and other media—whether it’s producing an Internet series or a documentary for public television, or directing a movie. The ultimate goal is to create a body of work, and to be diversified and flexible."
Propaganda’s head of sales and West Coast rep is Dana Balkin. Chicago-based Dawn Rao covers the Midwest region, and New York-based Matt Factor and Tara Ford handle East Coast sales.
