EXCLUSIVEFeature helmers John Woo ("Face/Off"), Kevin Reynolds ("187"), Peter Segal ("Tommy Boy") and George Tillman Jr. ("Soul Food") have inked with A Band Apart Commercials to churn out TV ads in between feature assignments.
A Band Apart exec producers Michael Bodnarchek and Lawrence Bender announced on Wednesday the creation of its new A Band Apart.35mm division, which will work specifically with feature directors.
Robert Rodriguez ("Desperado") and Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction"), who were both repped by A Band Apart Commercials, will join Woo, Reynolds, Segal and Tillman in the .35mm unit, a subdivision of the company.
TV ads can be lucrative for helmers, with payments for a single spot going as high as $500,000 and well into the millions of dollars for a series of ads.
"As a director, you have down time for a few months," said Bender. "It's a way to roll film and keep your director juices flowing. You get to play with different ideas."
Woo recently wrapped a series of ads for Nike through Wieden & Kennedy/Portland. Woo's other major feature was "Broken Arrow."
Reynolds was behind such pics as "Fandango," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "Waterworld."
Segal's other pic was "Naked Gun 33a: The Final Insult."
Bender said the new division was part of a plan for A Band Apart to "synergize" with its commercials, features and record divisions.
A Band Apart Music Videos also signed directors Wayne Isham, Steve Carr and Todd Levin to helm musicvid clips for rec-ord labels and their artists.
Bender added that A Band Apart.35mm was still expanding and would seek out other feature directors to helm commercials.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com