Good Behavior, the independent comedy commercial production company founded by director Pete Marquis, is expanding into a full-service operation with postproduction capabilities by signing comedy editor Dick Gordon, who has edited with top ad agencies, creatives, directors and brands for over 25 years. His remit at Good Behavior is to edit with the company’s directors, supervise postproduction editorial services for all of the company’s jobs, and work with other directors and production companies. With Gordon onboard, Good Behavior now offers complete post, including sound, color, VFX, and finishing.
Gordon has been working freelance with Good Behavior since the company launched in June this year, cutting work such as the Pepsi “Chase Cars” campaign, which garnered 5 million views in a week, and their viral La-Z-Boy campaign that encouraged people to #BanReclining on airplanes. Gordon also edited Good Behavior’s Fruit by the Foot campaign, which simultaneously captures the awkwardness of teenagers and the fragility of old age.
“I’m fortunate to be joining such a good group of folks doing amazing work and keeping things simple and funny,” said Gordon. “Working with Good Behavior I’m having more fun than I’ve had in years. The clients they work with are great and very collaborative. Pete is the kind of director who really listens to what the clients are asking for and what they need and makes sure they get that and does it in a way that’s always refreshing. Our ultimate goal is to open up new doors for Good Behavior and its clients, to offer comprehensive production and post services, soup to nuts.”
“I’m not sure why we’re announcing this in a publication,” said Marquis. “Dick has been my secret weapon for years, and now we’re blowing the secret…But I suppose it’s worth it to officially have Dick Gordon on our team. He is a rare talent. He works fast but more importantly, he gets there fast. He’s got a knack for locking in on the best performances, showing a tightly structured, funny spot on his first cut. He’s cut some of the funniest commercials I know. Particularly, his VW ‘Toss’ ad–which is just a perfect edit. And like everyone else at Good Behavior, he’s a total pleasure to be around.”
Gordon began his career as the first in-house editor at RadicalMedia. He later worked for Mad River Post, Spot Welders, and was director of editorial at The Martin Agency’s SuperJoy. Before joining Good Behavior, Gordon had been editing freelance for three years. His resume includes work with groundbreaking comedy makers including Cliff Freeman, Buckley/Todaro, Hungry Man and Traktor, on campaigns such as the now classic SportsCenter spots for ESPN, the Miller Lite “Dick” campaign for Fallon and MTV’s unforgettable Jukka Brothers saga. His work has been recognized with awards including Gold Lions at Cannes, Clios, Pencils, D&AD, AICP, ANDY’s, Effies, an Academy Award nomination, and the Audience Award for “Best Mockumentary” at the Portland Comedy Film Festival.
“As all editors say, we can edit anything, but as an editor who started out cutting serious documentaries, I easily stumbled into comedy,” said Gordon. “The best comedy has to have some authenticity, like documentaries. It has to be grounded in reality even when it’s totally made up and outright fantastic. That’s what’s great about working with Pete, he gets performances from actors that feel real and genuine in a way that they’re relatable. He captures the reality of people’s everyday lives, even if he does it sometimes by going a bit wild. What I like most about editing comedy is distilling things down to the core, stripping the onion down, letting the idea breathe, allowing things to resonate. Humor is always important, especially today. The world is becoming an increasingly serious place. Ultimately, humor allows us to see the humanity in things. Comedy is universal. Everyone loves to laugh.”
Good Behavior is repped on the East Coast by Milktoast, in the Midwest by Sharon and Perry, and on the West Coast by Stephanie Stephens.
