Award-Winning Director Mike Maguire Launches New Production Company: Halligan
Mike Maguire is the patron saint of the-weird-little-script-that-could. And if that script happens to include four out of five Irish-American brothers being regurgitated by a shark? Even better.
After 20 years as an award-winning director and creative — Maguire has founded a one-man shop that views austerity and minimalism as the path to greater creativity. “I started Halligan because I wanted the freedom to do my particular brand of humour,” he says. In Mike’s view, less budget means fewer eyes and less pressure, which allows for greater creativity - and just being able to go for it. His approach is, “Let’s take whatever budget is there, and make something funny that people will dig.” That’s what he’s done for clients like Bundaberg, CBS, Cobra, Comcast, Fisherman’s Friend, Hyundai, Ikea, Lowe’s, ReMax, Stok, and Volkswagen.
The former Goodby, Silverstein & Partners copywriter knows first hand the heartbreak of writing a script that never gets produced because no one’s willing to champion it. From massive eagles that rip you off your couch to the rabid raccoon in your heating duct to garden gnomes attacking humans - Mike Maguire prides himself on being a champion of the odd, low-budget script that other directors aren’t lining up to shoot. “We do a lot of these projects on shoestring budgets, but for me, it isn’t about how much money can be made off of a job. It’s about going to set, and making myself and a group of people laugh. That’s the most rewarding thing of all.”
Why Halligan? “My Father was a NYC Fireman. For years, he preached the gospel of the tool that forever saved his ass. In his own words, ‘Simple. Efficient. Dependable. The Halligan is the quickest way to break down a door.’ My Dad was a get-shit-done kind of guy, and Halligan is a get-shit-done kind of company. So if you have something bizarre you want to do for next to nothing — if you have a lot of heart for it, but not all the cash in the world - give us a shout.”
