Not Your Average Joe

Not Your Average Joe

Talking with director James Mangold, one gets the idea that first, he’s a busy man, either directing or writing and second, he gives a damn what the average Joe in the movie theater is thinking. 

Signed at the beginning of the year by Santa Monica-based Aero Film, one of Hollywood’s most ecletic director/screenwriters is now enjoying his first conference calls with ad agencies, sometimes helping them with the nitty gritty of their spot campaigns. So much so that on a recent conference call with an undisclosed agency, Mangold listened to the creatives and their ideas, then restructured their storyboard to make it even more effective. After talking specifics he added, “You need to silence the smartass in the audience.  Wow him with a visual and storyline so strong that he doesn’t have a chance to get started.”  Aero executive producer Lance O’Connor beamed as the conference call concluded with the knowledge that the creatives were very excited about the possibilities of having their “board” executed by Mangold.  “Jim is going to do some iconic spots that, like a fine wine, will sit in the bottle and age well. I knew he would get creatives inspired on these conference calls. His work is just incredible.”

Mangold, born in New York City, has worked consistently as a screenwriter and director.  In 1995, his first film, the independently release Heavy, won Best Directing honors at the Sundace Film Festival.  Mangold then went on to write and direct Cop Land featuring the star-studded cast of Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta.  Mangold then co-wrote and directed Girl, Interrupted which garnered an Oscar for actress Angelina Jolie.  Then came Kate & Leopold, a charming romance that gave actor Hugh Jackman several major award nominations and instant notoriety working along side actress Meg Ryan.  In 2003, Mangold co-wrote and directed Indentity, a thriller starring John Cusack.  Arguably, his biggest film to date happened two years ago when he co-wrote and directed Walk The Line, chronicling the love story of singer Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.  Starring Joaquin  Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, Walk The Line garnered five Oscar nominations and won Witherspoon the “Best Actress” Oscar.  Last year, Mangold directed a remake of the Western classic 3:10 to Yuma, released last September to wide critical acclaim.

We sat down with Mangold last week and asked him about spots, about joining Aero Film, about features vs. spots and about avoiding being “pigeon-holed” as a director.  Here's how he weighed in...

Q: What prompted you to want to direct commercials?

A: I’m fascinated by film language and by storytelling.  Television spots are incredibly economical exercises in storytelling.  Very often, they’re more sophisticated than what you can do sometimes in a standard three-act storytelling situation.  Being a writer/director, spots are something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time.  In film, you keep moving every thirty seconds until you fill up two hours.  To, me this kind of attention to detail that directing spots requires is very natural and something I’m very excited about pursuing.

Q: Why Aero Film?

A: All filmmaking, including directing spots, is about the caliber of people you surround yourself with.  The directors here, Klaus (Obermeyer), Henrik (Hansen), Ken (Arlidge), Brent (Jones), and Nelson (McCormick) all do outstanding work.  I have a lot of confidence and respect for Lance as a producer and also consider him a trusted friend.  I couldn’t be more excited about signing with his company.

Q: Is there any difference in how you approach a feature film over a spot?

A: That’s the really beauty to spot-making. I get to experience a new world and a new set of aesthetics. The time commitment is shorter, it’s not like I’m devoting two plus years of my life to a spot, which is what happens on a feature.  I’m not leaving the feature world behind, I’m just adding spot directing. I’m very interested in doing adventurous spots.  I’m not like some others of my generation that are making gimmicky, ironic films.  I’m not a member of that club.  I prefer the classic lines of Hollywood filmmaking andI’m very interested in ways that I can bring my kind of storytelling into the world of commercials.

Q: How do you continue to avoid being pigeon-holed as a director?  3:10 To Yuma -- Walk The Line -- Kate & Leopold -- Girl Interrupted -- Cop Land

A: A lot of it is luck. People sometimes ask me why I did Kate & Leopold, but after doing an intense drama like Girl, Interrupted I just wanted to direct something a little less intense. It’s not about genre, the most important thing to me is the relationship between camera and actor.  It’s not about effects and explosions, it’s about capturing emotional moments using all this equipment and being under all this pressure.  It’s these moments that are the true special effects.