VCA contract director Joe Gallant plans to move his Black Mirror Productions to Los Angeles from his New York headquarters beginning in January.
“I just needed a change,” said Gallant, who last month signed a contract with VCA to direct features for the company after leaving there last year.
“The last time I was in L.A., I found that toughness and grittiness about L.A. that I like. It shows me that there isn’t this kind of phony attitude that people on the East Coast say there is. I think I realized that in my last trip there.”
Gallant is currently producing and directing the science-fiction-themed Ave. X for VCA, starring Kimberly Kane and Trina Michaels, set for release in the summer.
Gallant says the move allows him to cast top talent for his productions as well as take advantage of locations around the Los Angeles area that show the grittiness his productions are known for.
The move also means he will ramp up his production schedule to take advantage of local talent, both behind and in front of the camera.
“Everything is in L.A. The girls are the best and the hottest and the fact everyone works there makes it a lot of easier to get things done,” he said.
Gallant plans to buy a warehouse location close to downtown Los Angeles where he plans to headquarter his company. A television sound designer by trade, Gallant is also known for his music through various albums with his 18-piece Jazz orchestra Illuminati which he headed from 1982 until 2000.
He also won an Emmy Award in 1996 for his sound design work on the CBS soap opera “Guiding Light” and went on to make his directing debut in 2000 with Times Square Trash Vol. 1, when he founded Black Mirror Productions.
