Peter Care

Former vid helmer locates 'Alter' ego

By DANA HARRIS

Peter Care is a director motivated less by ambition and more by his own quiet muse. After shooting videos for Depeche Mode ("Shake the Disease") and REM ("Drive," "Man on the Moon"), the 45-year-old helmer made his feature directorial debut with "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys," a coming-of-age drama that blends reality and fantasy courtesy of "Spawn" animator Todd MacFarland, who did the animation..

As he waits for the film's release, with Initial Entertainment Group negotiating for its distribution, he's biding his time (and paying the rent) by shooting commercials rather than having his AMG manager paw frantically for the next script.

"I'm starting to research my own projects, to tell my own stories," Care says. "I'll take it as it comes. If it takes a year or two, so be it. After 'Altar Boys,' I feel spoiled. It's a movie that's about something. Somehow, I've got to top this next time. But I am picky and I'll continue to be."

Besides, Care doesn't see shooting spots as a comedown.

"I'm burned out on musicvideos," he says. "With commercials, you already have a decent script and creative team, so you have a semblance of something to work with. It's a disciplined art."