NEW YORK CITY, February 19, 2008 - Directors Greg Olliver and John Park have signed with T.H.E.M. for exclusive US spot representation.

"Adding Greg Olliver to our roster just makes sense," says T.H.E.M. Partner/Executive Producer Tony Harding. "He is the perfect guy because he can do it all." Olliver, who has become something of a go-to multi-talent for music-oriented film and TV projects, has worked with Joan Jett, Snoop Dogg, O.A.R., Carmen Electra, Paul Oakenfold, and many others. Webcasting from South by Southwest this year, he co-directed, produced, and edited a series of online "SxSW Mini Docs" for Billboard.com and Hollywoodreporter.com. 

Harding likens his first viewing of John Park to "a fireworks display. I was astounded by his talent and got the impression I was privy to something very rare and captivating." Park's work is distinguished by its beautiful imagery and strong narrative. Educated in the US, and living in Korea, he has garnered numerous awards and accolades for his work. Two recent examples: Korean Air "Relaxation" was honored at the Korean National Broadcasting Commercial Awards, and "Show - Multiply" received top spot billing for more than a month on TVCF.com, which ranks popularity of Korean commercials.

Greg Olliver

"Greg offers so much to the advertising community - he is a great concept guy who shoots and edits," Harding explains. 

While Olliver (pic., r) has helmed projects outside the music biz, working successfully in comedy and other genres, the director acknowledges his tendency toward music-based material. "I am the rock-n-roll guy," he muses.

Harding recalls first meeting Olliver a little over two years ago, when he hired Greg to shoot development material for what eventually became the VH1 hit, Mission Manband. "Greg was a good fit for us, very hands on," he says. "Since then, we've been working with Greg informally, collaborating on the development of various projects. We're proud to officially have him on the roster."

Mission Man Band is one of T.H.E.M.'s recent long form successes, for which Olliver shot and co-directed a pilot presentation. The reality television show chronicles the formation of a boy band with various members of successful pop acts from the past. VH1 gave the show the greenlight, and Harding served as an Executive Producer on the project through his former company, Kandokid Films. Some of Olliver's work ended up in the first episode. "When we tried to recreate some of the back story footage Greg had shot," said Harding, "we found it lacked the raw, visceral quality of the footage he shot during the development process, so VH1 included much of his film in the first episode."

"My ongoing relationship with Tony and T.H.E.M. has been a natural and mutually rewarding one," Olliver says. "People respond to our collaborative efforts, and we're just going with the flow." 

Olliver's recent projects include a biographical documentary with Burning Spear, and work on Fuel TV's First Hand. He currently is co-directing the LEMMY/Motorhead life story, and pursuant to his SxSW project for Billboard.com is co-creating a series of Voodo Festival Mini Docs for the site.

John Park

Park almost didn't go to film school. "I didn't have the guts to enter film school as an undergrad at UCLA," he recalls, "but eventually I realized filmmaking was my true calling and went to Art Center College of Design for film in their MFA program." Still, Park gives on-the-job training in production and his near-obsessive study of DVD director commentaries equal weight with his film education.

Park moved to Korea following the success of a series ultra-low budget viral phone spots done in the US: LG "Evolution", "Chocolate Latte", and "Foreplay". All the spots were done through LGAD in Korea and produced by Dancing Toe in Los Angeles. "Evolution" is still playing on the main LG LCD display at Time Square.

Park acknowledges that making commercials in Korea comes with its own set of challenges. "Everything happens very quickly on a much lower budget in Korea," he explains. "It's a very demanding place to work with fierce competition. One has to be very precise in knowing what you want, and be able to work things out in very short time period. As a Korean-American, I get the benefit of being able to adapt to both cultures and languages." Korean clients are interested in Park, in part because he brings western visions to the commercials he directs, and communicates with English-speaking or overseas crews with ease.

That is not to say that cross-cultural communication is without its hiccups. "While most crews are eager to say 'yes' to my requests, so little gets transmitted during our conversations that only later on the set do I realize they didn't understand me correctly. It's really like the famous scene in Lost in Translation where the director asks Bill Murray for 'more intensity'. But we work through it," Park laughs, "and we get the job done." 

In addition to Greg Olliver and John Park, directors Elisson Burgos (Fred), Zoe Green, Jim Tozzi, Lawrence Jacomelli, and Michael Uys are also with T.H.E.M.