| Former
Bobcat directs new Jackie Chan film by Carol Schmidt MSU
Communications Services The new Jackie Chan film, "The
Tuxedo," is about a man who puts on a suit and becomes
an action hero. MSU alumni reading the credits of the
film may know that it is really about a Bobcat who took
off a football uniform and became a feature film director.
|
| Kevin
Donovan, '81 BusFin, is the director of the action
comedy that stars both Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
It's Donovan's first feature film following a string of
highly successful commercials including Molson's "The
Rant: I am Canadian." That commercial has become an obsession
in Canada, spawning a five-minute commentary by Peter
Jennings' "World News Tonight." |
| This
might come as a surprise to professors and fellow students
who remember Donovan as a business major and a quick linebacker
from Helena Capital who played four years for the 'Cats. |
| "After
graduation I got a job in my field -- finance -- at Boeing
Co. in Seattle," Donovan recalls. "It took me only one
year to realize I had absolutely no interest in finance."
|
| Donovan
took a quick inventory of things he enjoyed and recalled
helping his former girlfriend develop story boards for
her MSU film classes. Soon, Donovan enrolled in the Art
Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., chosen because
it turns out commercial filmmakers with an emphasis that
they are immediately employable. |
| Armed
with a degree in advertising and film, Donovan worked
in an advertising firm for six or seven years before he
"weaned himself off advertising and into directing commercials."
That was nine years ago. In that time he has directed
scores of commercials for his producers, Mad Films, Inc.
in Toronto and Bedford Falls, Inc. His commercials are
acclaimed in Europe and Canada. His Molson commercial
is considered "the most famous commercial in Canada."
Other Donovan successes include a Salon Selectives ad
that won a London Film Festival award. An advertisement
he shot for University of California basketball won a
Cannes Lion Award. |
| Donovan's
work, recognized for its wit and for a clever turn in
the storyline, caught the eye of the CAA Agency, which
signed him. The agency passed a reel of Donovan's work
to a number of producers. |
| "I
was offered a lot of very bad movies," Donovan said. "Two
years ago my agent told me Dreamworks was interested in
me directing 'The Tuxedo." |
| Donovan
said directing the $60 million film, mostly shot in Toronto,
was challenging and exhausting. While he hopes that the
film is successful and he is offered other feature jobs,
he is also happy writing a screenplay rooted in his MSU
experience and directing commercials, which he calls "little
stories in themselves." |
| A
Montana native, Donovan recently bought a place outside
Bozeman. He cultivates his relationships with his Montana
friends, particularly his old teammates. In fact, if there
is a question of what happened to an old Bobcat player
from a few years ago, Donovan is the one who is sure to
know. |
| "I
get such a charge from my friendships with those guys
and from the football team," Donovan said. "I was there
on Aug. 31 at a Bobcat game. I've made some great friendships. |
|
"We all have an interest in something that gets in your
blood so deeply that you can't wrest yourself from it.
The Bobcats are that for me. There's nothing I enjoy more
than going back and showing up on a Saturday afternoon
and just taking it in." |
