James Rouse

I have had the good fortune to work with some amazing directors.
Many honoured by this award show.
Including the director who is being posthumously presented the chairman’s award this evening.
This Director is James Rouse.
James was special.
He was a remarkable talent that came to directing later than most.
He learned his trade in the early world of virals. Winning here with the Trojan sex Olympics.
That set him on the way to a commercials career.
He worked hard, studied his craft, spent hours and hours casting.
The results were brilliant ads.
He guarded the idea and let it breathe producing work such as Marmite and Harvey Nichols.
Content over style. Understated direction that delivered comedy gold. Little jewels.
He was also capable of heart wrenching drama. Red Cross is testimony to this.
He won lots of awards and was always busy, but he never let it go to his head.
He was a good person who cared about all the people he met along the way.
He was kind and endlessly encouraged the next generation.
He felt he’d worked hard but had been lucky and wanted to pass that luck on as it were.
It is for his body of great commercials work and his enviable character that he is awarded this honour.
Furthermore, the Board of the Arrows has decided to create
The James Rouse young directors award.
Which seems very fitting.
He would have been both delighted and humbled.
Sadly, he is here no more.
He will be greatly missed by many in this room and many outside of it.
But it was a privilege for us all to have had him for a moment.
TRIBUTE WRIT TEN BY
ROBERT CAMPBELL, FOUNDER, OUTSIDER