Paul McCarthy and Eric Calderon, partners/executive producers for the past year at New York-based Wall to Wall Films, have split from the company’s investment partner Multi-Video Group (MVG), New York, and launched a production house called MC2.
The core directorial talent from Wall to Wall—tabletop specialist J. Wesley Jones, Glen Owen, Tel Aviv, Israel-based Lior Har-Lev and recently signed director/cameraman Kevan Bean (SHOOT, 10/20, p.8)—have opted to stay with McCarthy and Calderon, and will form the foundation of New York-based MC2, according to McCarthy.
Wall to Wall was launched in August ’99 under the day-to-day aegis of McCarthy and Calderon, and as part of the MVG family of companies. Other companies owned and associated with MVG are New York-based Rhinoceros Editorial and Post, Rhinoceros Visual Effects and Design, Cool Beans Digital Audio and Wax Music and Sound Design. Associated international companies include Gravity Effects in Tel Aviv, and Digital Renaissance in Oberhausen, Germany.
David Binstock, founder/ CEO of MVG, claimed that while working out of the Wall to Wall offices, McCarthy and Calderon formed a new company with a d.b.a. ("doing business as") of Wall to Wall. "They created another company trading under the same name as ours and did two jobs through that new company," contended Binstock. "So they misrepresented who the company really was and did the jobs under what the clients knew as Wall to Wall and what the directors knew as Wall to Wall , so we closed down the office. They [McCarthy and Calderon] can make any allegations that they want—it is now in the hands of the attorneys."
McCarthy refuted Binstock’s allegations: "Everything that we have done is valid, lawful and above board and, besides, there is no controlling legal authority against anything that we have done," stated McCarthy. "I’m sorry he [Binstock] feels the way he does."
Binstock said that Wall to Wall Films would remain part of MVG and it is expected that MVG will re-staff Wall to Wall with a new line-up of directors.
McCarthy told SHOOT that he and Calderon had a different vision from Binstock regarding how the company should be run. According to McCarthy, MC2 is a continuation of what he and Calderon set out to do originally at Wall To Wall, namely to maintain "a level of excellence with a good variety of talented directors. We were going in that direction all along, but Binstock wanted to change this and go more B-level. He was more interested in the amount of money made on every single job whereas we weren’t doing jobs that way. Of course we wanted to make money, but we were more interested in establishing a level of first-rate quality which will net us the dollars in the end."
McCarthy added that he was also at odds with using the MVG associated companies on all jobs. "Even though the associated companies offer a lot of talent and quality, the one-stop shopping mentality can be limiting for our clients," he said.
Until MC2 finds its own quarters, the company is operating out of New York-based Rocket Films on an interim basis. McCarthy worked at Rocket Films from ’91-’96 and is a longtime friend with the company’s owner, Jeff Switzer.
McCarthy said that MC2’s permanent new digs will probably be in the same neighborhood as the former Wall to Wall office in midtown Manhattan. He explained that Binstock "was a cash partner [in Wall to Wall] and he signed off on the lease. So when a difference of opinion surfaced on how the company should be run, MVG took over the space."
According to McCarthy, MC2 will retain the same sales team he and Calderon had in place at Wall To Wall: New York-based Benson/Schafler Artists Management will handle the East Coast; Chicago-based Lauren McNamara will cover the Midwest; and Joanne Madden of Joanne Madden, Mill Valley, Calif., will take care of the West Coast.
