HOLLYWOOD-Feature director Roger Spottiswoode has signed with Orbit Productions, Hollywood, for exclusive commercial representation. A division of Orbit Entertainment Group, Orbit is the commercial production house under the aegis of president/executive producer Lee Nelson.
The signing marks the director’s first official spot affiliation. However, over the past year in exploring his production house options, Spottiswoode met with A Band Apart 35mm, bicoastal and Minneapolis, but a formal relationship never developed, according to the director. "They’re very nice people," Spottiswoode said, "but nothing ever came of it."
Already the director has wrapped two assignments under the Orbit banner, both for the European market. The first was for Opel’s Zafira minivan via Lowe Hoffmann Schnakenberg, Hamburg, Germany; the second was for Schwarzkopf hair care products out of TBWA in Düsseldorf, Germany. As SHOOT went to press, the director was bidding on his third assignment. The Zafira job was done prior to Spottiswoode’s signing with Orbit. Rainmaker Digital Pictures, Burbank, produced the visual effects for both the Zafira and Schwarzkopf projects.
Spottiswoode’s spot experience also includes his independently helming three BMW commercials via Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis. The three spots-"Holiday," "Stop & Go" and "Security Guard"-were tie-ins to the ’97 James Bond feature that Spottiswoode directed, Tomorrow Never Dies. The commercials contained footage from that film.
Spottiswoode said the commercial arena has always interested him, and after directing the Bond film, which involved special effects, his interest in spots grew. "I’ve always thought commercials were fun and an interesting puzzle," he said. "I’ve done a couple of things that have special effects, and [commercials are] an area that is very interesting for that. You get to explore lots of new technology and techniques. [Commercials are] kind of leading technology at the moment."
The director came to know Nelson after the exec. producer contacted him. "We were looking for a director who could work with effects," Nelson said. "So, we started rooting around and talking to agencies." He heard about Spottiswoode after the BMW work. "We had a meeting with him and he brought so much to the table," Nelson said. "He was very interesting, very articulate, and he really knows what he’s doing."
For his part, Spottiswoode said, "[Lee and I] share a taste in film, and we found that we got on very well. Out of that came the idea that I might start doing commercials." The pair spent about a year getting to know each other. Then three months ago they teamed up for the Zafira assignment. "It was such a great experience on all sides that we decided to formalize the relationship," Nelson said. "[Roger] is a really nice, easy-going guy who has a lot of experience, but still has a hip, edgy vibe. He brings a lot of professionalism to the job, and really delivers a cool product."
Spottiswoode is one of two recent developments at Orbit that, according to Nelson, underscore a growth phase at the company. Additionally, the production house has a new West Coast sales rep in Los Angeles-based Andrew Halpern. Orbit continues to be repped on the East Coast by Stenz & Miller, New York, and in the Midwest by Chicago-based Robin Pickett and Maureen Cronin.
Filmography
Spottiswoode has been working in various capacities in the feature film arena since the early ’70s. Starting out as an editor, he cut the ’71 feature Straw Dogs as well as The Getaway (’72), Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (’73), The Gambler (’74), and Hard Times (’75). Later, he associate-produced Who’ll Stop the Rain (’78), and wrote the screenplay for 48 Hours (’82). Spottiswoode segued into directing with Terror Train (’80). Additional directing credits include the feature films Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (’92), Air America (’90), Turner and Hooch (’89), and Under Fire (’83); the telefilms Murder Live! (’97), Hiroshima (’95) and And The Band Played On (’93); and the TV series Prince Street (’97).
Most recently, Spottiswoode directed a character piece, God’s Favorite, about the now-incarcerated former president of Panama, Manuel Noriega, for which he is looking for a distributor. Spottiswoode has two additional longform projects in development: The Bitter Sea, which is set in China, and a period piece called The Spire, which is based on the William Gerald Golding novel of the same name. The story of the building of the spire on top of Salisbury Cath-edral in 14th century England, the film, according to Spottiswoode, is "a drama about a man who believes God has chosen him to build the impossible."
At Orbit, Spottiswoode joins a directorial roster that also includes exec. producer/director Dror Soref and directors Danny Weisberg, Wim Wenders and Don Barnard. Spottiswoode is repped as a feature director by John Burnham of the Beverly Hills-based William Morris Agency.
