Swan, Schwartz Enroll in Community Films
EPs Carl Swan and Lizzie Schwartz, from Hello! and Moxie respectively, have assembled a new class of directors and launched a new L.A.-based production company.
EPs Carl Swan and Lizzie Schwartz Launch Community Films
Executive Producers Carl Swan and Lizzie Schwartz have joined forces to start Community Films, a production company boasting a roster of directors from the feature, advertising, and television worlds.
The company opens with Seth Gordon,
Jared Hess,
Michael Patrick Jann, Matt Smukler and Pam Thomas.
"Carl and I have crossed paths many times in the past 15 years, and I'd only ever heard great things about him," says Schwartz, formerly an Executive Producer at Moxie Pictures. "So when this opportunity came up, he seemed like the perfect partner."
"The name came to us over one weekend, which was amazing because so many people we know struggled for months to come up with a name for their company," adds former Hello! Executive Producer Swan.
In Schwartz' view, "It was very important to all of us that our name conveyed our desire to be inclusive, not just with each other, but with the wider creative community as well."
Community's team includes prolific director Matt Smukler, commercial and TV director Pam Thomas (whose credits include "Sex and the City" and "Desperate Housewives"); "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Nacho Libre" Director Jared Hess; "King of Kong" and "Horrible Bosses" director Seth Gordon; and "Reno 911" and "Drop Dead Gorgeous" director Michael Patrick Jann. All of the Community directors have strong TV commercial reels as well.
The team has already had a busy summer. Recent Community projects include spots for such agencies such as Grey, Moroch, Cronin & Company and Cramer-Krasselt.
Together, Swan and Schwartz have more than 30 years experience producing commercials, web films, shorts, music videos, and features. Swan served as executive producer at Hello! for 10 years. Prior to that, he was head of production at Harmony Pictures. Schwartz worked with producer Cary Woods at Miramax on features like "Scream" and "Citizen Ruth," before going on to executive produce at Moxie Pictures for 15 years.
"Why did we come together? Really, it's about the relationships," says Swan. "We are all good people, and we believe in each other. We want that synergy to help make us all better and take our creativity even further."
Published 21 Sept., 2012
Membership
