ed with all the changes going on."
Schaak has been talking with several production companies, but admits that at the moment he is "leaning" toward letting Twist represent him on a national basis. "The options are to go with a company that’s already established, or to take Twist and expand us to a national level. I’m leaning a little more toward Twist because I can have more control over what projects I can get through, and how they’re produced."
Schaak has already received a few national jobs via Twist. His is currently working on a spot for Diadora soccer shoes out of Hammerquist & Halverson, Seattle, and is bidding a Netscape 2001 commercial via Business Incentives, Minneapolis, and a Mothers Against Drunk Drivers commercial through Clarity Coverdale Fury.
With the demand for his directing talents accelerating, Schaak is a bit nonplussed that he almost backed away from his childhood dream of being a filmmaker. He graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo., and while interviewing for a job in marketing, found himself asked by a recruiter: "If you could be any kind of animal, what would you choose?"
"At first, I thought, ‘What does that have to do with anything?’ but then decided I could [become a director]. That was the turning point," says Schaak. He returned to St. Paul, Minn., "and started PA-ing" before directing through Northwest Teleproductions, Minneapolis, in ’95. "In the end, it was kind of my grad school and they paid me to go," says Schaak. A few spec commercials shot with a borrowed camera on weekends landed a representation deal with Passport Films (now New York-based Compass Films).
Schaak would eventually like to emulate idols Stanley Kubrick and John Carpenter and direct a feature, and is looking for scripts. "I know having [Carpenter] as a role model sounds goofy," Schaak admits. "I used to want to be a special effects makeup artist when I was a kid. Then I went and saw Halloween and that made me want to be a director. I saw how he manipulated people and got them to feel stuff, so that was pretty cool."c
Judge Upholds Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Charge Against Alec Baldwin In “Rust” Shooting
A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
In a ruling Thursday, state District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer stood by her July decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. She said prosecutors did not raise any factual or legal arguments that would justify reversing her decision.
"Because the state's amended motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the state elected not to raise earlier, the court does not find the amended motion well taken," the judge wrote, adding that the request was also untimely.
A spokesperson for Baldwin's lawyers said Friday that they had no immediate reaction to teh decision.
The case was thrown out halfway through trial on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
Baldwin's trial was upended by revelations that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammo unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers say investigators "buried" the evidence in a separate case file and filed a successful motion to dismiss.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey can now decide whether to appeal to a higher court.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for "Rust," was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer —... Read More