NFIB

Hollywood Goes Flat Out
03/ 14/ 2002

by Kathleen Landis

Some Folks Are Cut Out for Hollywood. Literally.

In film and television production lingo, the stiff, cardboard cutouts, which double for actors in crowd scenes and distance shots, are called "gonzos." In 1997, Jeff Hamilton, Robert Platts and their former business partner took a risk on gonzos. With permission, they reproduced cardboard images of 4,000 of their nearest and dearest and set up shop as Gonzo Bros., at http://www.gonzobrothers.com.

Today, their company is Hollywood's major source of "flat people," which rent on a sliding scale, from $5 each per day. Credits include 200 commercials, touting products from Adidas to Dr. Pepper, and 40 feature films including Man on the Moon, and the upcoming remake of Ocean's Eleven.

Prior to founding Gonzo Bros., its three-dimensional owners acted, managed a studio and booked others' productions.

"We never aspired to being 'cutout kings,' " says Hamilton. "Our goal is to combine all of our talents to become a production company. Gonzo Bros. is part of this plan."

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This article originally appeared in the May/June 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.

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