Bicoastal production house HeLo has signed director Jim Sheridan, a six-time Oscar nominee, for commercials and branded content. He was formerly represented in the ad arena by Moxie Pictures.
Sheridan earned two Best Director Oscar nominations–for My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown in 1990, and for In The Name of The Father in 1994. The latter also scored him noms for Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. Additionally My Left Foot garnered Sheridan a Best Writing nom for a Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. And in 2004 he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay on the strength of In America.
On the spotmaking front, Sheridan has directed for such brands as Cheerios, MasterCard and Weight Watchers, collaborating with agencies that include Saatchi & Saatchi, CP+B, and McCann. In addition to being on the HeLo roster, Sheridan will also leverage his extensive creative and industry contacts to serve as a strategic consultant to help the company attract and retain top-notch talent across the directorial and experiential spectrum.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Sheridan spent his early years in theater, working as a playwright and artistic director for numerous houses in Ireland before crossing the pond to New York City in 1982. He continued to work in the theater space before making his feature film directorial debut in 1989 with My Left Foot starring Daniel Day Lewis. Sheridan followed with the historical drama The Field, which he also wrote and directed. In 1993, he wrote, produced and directed In The Name of the Father, later writing, producing and directing The Boxer, also starring Daniel Day Lewis, in 1999. Sheridan’s other feature directorial credits include In America, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ starring 50 Cent, and Brothers starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire.
The signing of Sheridan comes on the heels of HeLo’s strong showing at Cannes. The shop’s Bud Light Super Bowl spot, “Ian Up For Whatever” earned a Gold Lion in Film Craft–Achievement in Production as well as a Silver Lion in Promotion & Activation and a Bronze Lion in Media. Additionally HeLo copped two Bronze Lions in Promo & Activation and Cyber for the Canal+ web film The Woman Who Can’t Watch Movies. The Bud Light spot also took home an AICP Show honor in the Production category earlier in June.
