In 2001, after The Anniversary Party was released, Joe Mantegna from the commercial company Zooma Zooma approached me about possibly joining his roster of directors with a view to directing commercials.
In November I shot my first (and only!) commercial, an anti-smoking PSA called It's Legal. I was able to change the setting of the story and shoot it on a boat that is moored in Chelsea, NYC to give the spot a more eerie ambience, and I was also happy to be able to use several of my friends in roles.