If the modern woman uttered these lines from her balcony, you can bet your bard Romeo would not be there to hear them. In fact, the modern Romeo would most likely be at his best friend Julian’s place having a few beers while watching `the game’. Sure, it is not the traditional plot of a romance, but stories of a man and woman falling in love are of little importance to cinema audiences these days. The new niche market is man and man love stories.
No, I’m not referring to Brokeback Mountain syndrome, rather the current cinema trend of bromantic comedies. Gone are the days when audiences would fork out their hard earned cash to see any film where Hugh Grant would stutter, twitch and be British for two hours before sweeping the girl off her feet. No longer do people turn to butter at the sight of Julia Roberts flashing her signature smile whilst wondering whether they can climb into her mouth. Instead, audiences now want their romantic comedies served with a large side of testosterone.
Coined in the nineties, the term bromance refers to a close but non-sexual relationship between straight men. The portrayal of this form of homosocial intimacy on the big screen isn’t a new phenomenon. One only has to look at films such as Wayne’s World and Dumb and Dumber for examples of early bromantic comedies, whilst themes of bromance are evident in movies like Good Will Hunting and Clerks. However, only recently has the bromantic comedy formula emerged as a stand-alone genre.
Why, you ask? Blame filmmaker Judd Apatow and his uber-successful films Talladega Nights: The Ballard of Ricky Bobby and Superbad which highlighted the box-office earning potential of the male love story. Initially the first two or three films were a clever twist on the formula of a tired genre; boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy back. Yet bromantic comedies are now as frequent as Lindsay Lohan at a bottle shop.
I guess you cannot blame Apatow for every entry into the never-ending stream of bromantic comedies. That would be like blaming George Clooney for Ocean’s Twelve, when really he was only partially responsible. Plus there have been some hilarious films under the bromantic comedy umbrella such as Pineapple Express, The Wedding Crashers and Role Models. But their entertainment value is dimmed under the sheer weight of unoriginal movies raining down.
It is ironic that given bromantic comedies were initially a fresh take on a spent genre, their greatest problem is the same as the original genre from which they were born. After just seven years of mainstream success, already this cinema trend has become generic. All it takes to make and sell one of these films is a blossoming bromance (obviously), two semi-appealing lead actors and a few penis jokes. Done. Before you can say `dude’, males in their teens to late twenties are queued up down the block to see the latest thing they have seen before.
The reality is that as long as the formula continues to create box-office revenue, Hollywood studios will keep pumping out bromantic comedies as often and fast as they can until audiences spontaneously self-combust under the sheer weight of onscreen homosocial intimacy. In the meantime, the success of the genre (within a genre) makes me wonder whether we will see the emergence of a bromantic comedy sub-genre. Perhaps fromantic comedies will be the next big earner. After all, who would not want to watch a love story between two people with Afros? Or perhaps toemantic comedies will take over. A price cannot be put on the entertainment value of seeing two kindred spirits’ united by their love for feet and toes in the manner to which Luis Bunuel was accustomed. It would have my ticket. Oh, what a grande take it would be on the notions of timeless romance.
“Romeo, Romeo, where are thou Romeo?”
Memo to Juliette: he is over at Julian’s placing playing footsy and sucking his toes.
Sony — Two Worlds ad, Director's Cut. Great new ad/cinema spot for Sony features an original poem, "That's What I Heard You Say", written and read by Leonard Cohen. The spot was directed by Arev Manoukian at Spy Films (lovin the work these guys do at Spy)
Sony — Two Worlds ad, 3D Version. Credits: Director: Arev Manoukian Cinematographer: Bojan Bazelli Music: Clint Mansell (Black Swan, Requiem For A Dream) Post Production: Digital Domain (LA) Executive Producer: Carlo Trulli & Marcus Trulli Producer: Marcus Trulli & Peter Oad Stereographer: William Reeve Editing Company: Will Cyr @ Creative Post Sound Design/Arrangement: Lime Studios (LA) Grand Central (London) Ad Agency: Grey London Executive Creative Director: Nils Leonard Creative Director: Dave Monk and Matt Waller Agency Producer: Jacqueline Dobrin Business Director: Anneliese St-Amour Account Manager: Suzi Napier
Check out the making of the Sony Two Worlds spot below.
In the plots created Volcano Advertising for a toy shop, it is easy to guess known films.
Without restraint popular thanks to the effective marketing policy the network of toy shops Toys R Us represents to the USA to attention of target audience the media department. Shops Toys R Us in which computer games, and entertaining DVD are on sale not only toys, but also, now has filled up the counters with cinema classics.
To promote the 2013 Canadian Film Fest ad agency JWT, Toronto created three ads that put a fun twist on some classic films by parodying Goodfellas with the "Mafia" ad, James Bond and Sin City with "CSIS Seduction" and "Sin Cinema".
Credits: Advertising Agency: JWT, Toronto CCO: Brent Choi Client: Canadian Film Fest Creative Chairman: Martin Shewchuk ACD: Jim Wortley ACD: Colin Winn Designer/Art Director: Craig Markou Agency Producer: Shelby Spigelman Prod. Co.: Industry Films Director: Jonathan Bensimon Producer: David Cranor DOP: Jonathan Bensimon Editing: Married To Giants Editor: Graham Chisholm Post Prod: Alter Ego EP: Greg Edgar Transfer: Trisha Hagoriles Flame Artist: Darren Achim Casting: Mann Casting Music and Sound Design: Tom Westin Music and Sound Design: Dave Sorbara Music and Sound Design: Grayson Matthews
The Flower Council of Holland, working with their creative agency Kingsday, has released ‘The Flower Effect’ a new online film to show the effect flowers have on people. The film is an initiative to promote fresh flowers from Holland in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
‘The Flower Effect’ is filmed by young Dutch talent Basha de Bruyn and evokes an archaic and romantic style of cinema. The film shows that walking around with a bunch of flowers provokes reactions from strangers, and effects people’s emotions. And ultimately how flowers can spread happiness. Only the two main characters, Sophie en Paul are acting, everyone else in the film are real people, their reactions are genuine.
“Switch on the news and you’ll agree it’s a pretty scary world that we live in today. With this film we wanted to return to a kinder, more naïve place with hints of French romantic cinema. ‘The Flower Effect’ is a fairy tale with a modern twist: all the reactions to the flowers in this film are real.” says Kingsday Creative Director Bram de Rooij,
The Netherlands is the world’s leading supplier of flowers; flowers from Holland make up over 50% of all sales of flowers in the UK, and 60% in Germany.
Credits Client: Flower Council of Holland Agency: Kingsday Media Agency: Universal Media Production Company: WeFilm Director: Basha de Bruijn Music: Helge Slikker
The Strategic Milk Alliance, a new joint venture created by proud dairy farmers across Canada, is pouring out a new communications campaign, titled ‘Milk Every Moment” that reconnects teens and adults to drinking milk. The evocative and heart-warming creative is an ode to childhood that highlights some of the fun yet nonsensical activities people seem to have outgrown, while revealing milk as a timeless pleasure that can be enjoyed at any age.
“Not everything we did when we were kids made sense, but one thing that did make sense was pairing milk with foods such as cookies and grilled cheese sandwiches,” says Dean Lee, executive creative director, DDB Canada. “This campaign is designed to remind people that drinking milk with their favourite foods was great during their childhood and it still tastes just as good now.”
Developed by the integrated groups of DDB Canada’s Vancouver office, the comprehensive national campaign kicks off with a 60-second cinema spot, “Fun” that portrays all the amusing and occasionally illogical activities children would do purely for enjoyment’s sake. The cinema spot depicts familiar moments from childhood when cardboard boxes became hideouts and frosted posts tempted tongues, all by way of reminding viewers of the time when ‘fun’ governed their decision-making. From the ad’s nostalgic illustration of a young girl wearing rubber gloves for shoes to young boys throwing wet paper balls to the ceiling, the ad’s evocative voice-over helps narrate each scene.
All of the young actors are filmed in scenes to portray eras of the 70s, 80s and 90s, which targets and prompts people of all ages to recall their own history of playful antics. Ending the spot is a universal yet calming reassurance: “While not everything we did when we were kids made sense, drinking milk did, and still does.”
“People, as they move into adulthood, are likely to replace milk with other beverages,” says Katherine Loughlin, Manager, Market Development with Alberta Milk. “With the goal of increasing adult and teen milk consumption across Canada, the new campaign reminds people how great milk pairs with certain foods – something they would have known as kids and may have forgotten over the years.”
Three 30-second TV spots, “Fun,” “Heart” and “Curiosity” help to underpin the message, reinforcing the idea that milk used to and can still be the perfect sidekick. Each spot ends with a call to visit www.MilkEveryMoment.ca, where people are encouraged to share content such as favourite milk pairings, recipes, photos and videos.
The website further ignites users’ passion and excitement for milk through contests and community engagement. The first social contest to launch on June 17 will invite Canadians to post and share content of themselves or their children engaging in memorable childhood moments, such as the ones portrayed in the broadcast spots. The content can be shared directly on the website or via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest. Through a series of public voting and editorial considerations, the six-week contest will determine four winners in total: three of them will take home a Polaroid digital camera and one grand prize winner will receive a DSLR digital camera.
Digital, social, print, outdoor, public relations, experiential and shopper marketing round out this integrated campaign by driving traffic to MilkEveryMoment.ca. Each program element creates conversation and interest surrounding milk. This campaign is the first for the Strategic Milk Alliance since forming and signing DDB Canada as its agency of record in July 2012.
Milk Every Moment was launched earlier this week and will run throughout the year with OMD Canada responsible for the media plan.
O2 has released a campaign to support its new brand position. The company wants its brand to be associated with positivity and unchecked enthusiasm in a bid to get consumers to embrace new technology. The first ad breaks online today ahead of a TV and cinema release on 6 July. The spot shows a cat that stops being aloof and adopts dog-like characteristics. The ad will be supported by social media, outdoor and in-store executions. The ad was created by VCCP. It was written by Nathaniel White and Ben Daly, and directed by Keith Schofield through Caviar.
Credits: Creative Advertising Agency: VCCP Director: Keith Schofield Production Company: Caviar Producer: Shirley O'Connor, Caviar Agency producer: Catherine Long Copywriters: Nathaniel White, Ben Daly Executive creative director: Darren Bailes Editor: Patric Ryan, Marshall Street Editors Sound: Factory Animation & SFX: Bevis Jones. MPC TK: George K. MPC via:
Wind Mobile Italy reminds us that it's good to put down our SuperPhones and communicate face to face in this heart warming new web film entitled "Papa".
Dad,
Technology has made us feel closer and closer. Communicating is easier and faster everyday. But still, there are and there will always be moments when men and women will have to meet face to face.
Wind has chosen a story, a short film by Giuseppe Capotondi, that with grace and poetry reminds us how important it is to feel close to someone, bypassing a technology that is becoming more and more pervasive in our lives and in our affections.
If you are thinking about truly getting in touch with someone really important, watch this short piece of cinema.
Creative Credits: Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Milan, Italy Chief Creative Officers: Giuseppe Mastromatteo, Paolo Iabichino Client creative director: Giordano Curreri, Marco Geranzani Art Director: Giordano Curreri Copywriter: Marco Geranzani Client Service Director: Silvia Sgarbi Account Director: Ethiopia Abiye Producer: Francesca Dagostino, CDP Danielle Joujou Video Post-Production: Corte 11 Audio Post Production: Top Digital Music: "To build a home" Cinematic Orchestra Production Company: Mercurio Cinematografica Executive Producer: Francesco Pistorio Director: Giuseppe Capotondi O.P.: Tat Radcliffe Editing: Guido Notari
"The more you watch Canal+, the more you love cinema."The Bear ad was developed at BETC Euro RSCG by exective team Raphaël de Andréis, Alexandre George, Guillaume Espinet, Sébastien Jauffret, global creative director Stéphane Xiberras, art director Eric Astorgue, assistant art director Julien Schmitt, copywriter Jean-Christophe Royer, strategic planner Clarisse Lacarau, traffic director Loren Hecker, agency producers Isabelle Ménard and David Green, working with Canal+ marketing team Maxime Saada, Samantha Etienne, Béatrice Roux, Mathieu Mazuel, Périne Long. Filming was shot by director Matthijs van Heijningen via Soixante Quinze, Paris. Special effects were produced at Mikros Image. Sound was produced at Gum. Music was by Éric Cervera (Near Deaf Experience).
To get women to make heart healthy choices and reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke, Becel and The Heart and Stroke Foundation invited moms to what they thought was a regular school play. Instead, each kid read their mom a personal, heartfelt letter explaining how well she takes care of them. Moms were then asked to take care of themselves too. Developed by DDB Canada's Toronto office, the integrated campaign encourages women to take better care of their health. Full press below.
Toronto, January 24, 2013 — Heart disease and stroke is a leading cause of death for women in Canada1, yet 80 per cent of the risks can be reduced through lifestyle changes. To encourage women to prioritize their own well-being, Becel® recently launched a heartwarming integrated advertising campaign encouraging moms to take action and take better care of their health.
Becel® is the founding sponsor of the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s The Heart Truth™ campaign, which calls on women to put their own health first by assessing their risk for heart disease and stroke, talking to their doctor, and making heart healthy lifestyle choices in order to enjoy a long and healthy life with their loved ones.
“Heart disease and stroke take one in three Canadian women before their time2, resulting in too many children losing their mothers,” says Margaret McKellar, senior marketing manager – Spreads Canada. “Becel wants to drive home the relevance of heart disease and stroke with women and provide them with the tools necessary to make positive changes in their lives.”
With moms more likely to listen to their children than a marketing message, Becel® enlisted the help of elementary school students of an Ottawa public school to surprise their moms by reading aloud heartfelt letters explaining, in their own words, how well their mothers take care of them. The emotional live event created in partnership with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, was filmed for the campaign.
“Women put too much pressure on themselves and sometimes are so focused on the health and happiness of their family that their own health is sacrificed,” says Denise Rossetto, mother of twins and creative director at DDB Canada. “If a woman doesn’t look after herself, she may not be around for her family.”
Developed by DDB Canada’s Toronto office, the national integrated campaign, includes English and French versions of the spot “Love Letters,” an online video, entitled “It’s OK Mom” that people can personalize to encourage a mom and share with their social networks, and digital advertising, which is being supported with public relations and a blogger outreach program. To learn heart healthy tips, get a behind-the-scenes look of the commercial and read the children’s love letters, consumers can visit the campaign site: Becel.ca/EncourageAMom.
The campaign is the result of collaboration between Becel’s agency partners, with DDB Canada’s Toronto office responsible for the strategy, mass, digital and social executions, working closely with DDB Canada Montreal (French adaptation), Edelman (public relations and social media), Mindshare (media), Integrated (shopper marketing) and Ariad Communications (eblast), in partnership with Sapient who is responsible for Becel.ca.
The “Love Letters” TV spot launched on January 21, 2013, followed by cinema and digital campaign elements in market the first week in February for Heart Month.
DDB Canada has partnered with Unilever Canada as Becel’s agency of record since 2009.
High in the Italian Alps, thousands of stick-like images of people and animals, carved into rock surfaces, offer a tantalising window into the past. Archaeologists believe that the earliest of these 150,000 images date from the Neolithic but that most originate from the Iron Age. The UNESCO-protected ‘Pitoti’ (little puppets) of the Valcamonica valley extend over an area of some three square kilometres and have been described as one of the world’s largest pieces of anonymous art.
An event taking place next Monday (18 January 2016) at Downing College, Cambridge, will give the public an opportunity to learn more about a fascinating project to explore and re-animate the Pitoti of Valcamonica. Displays and hands-on activities staged by seven of the institutions involved in the EU/European Research Council-funded ‘3D Pitoti’ digital heritage project will show visitors how archaeologists and film-makers have used the latest digital technology to explore an art form often portrayed as simplistic or primitive.
The exhibitors from Austria, Italy, Germany and the UK will show that the thousands of Pitoti can be seen as “one big picture” as dozens of artists, over a period of some 4,000 years, added narratives to the giant ‘canvases’ formed by sandstone rocks scraped clean by the movement of glaciers across the landscape. The images are etched into the rock surfaces so that, as the sun rises and then falls in the sky, the figures can be seen to gain a sense of movement.
Displays will introduce visitors to the scanning, machine learning and interactive 3D-visualisation technologies used by Bauhaus Weimar, Technical University Graz, and St Pölten University of Applied Sciences to record, analyse and breathe life into the Pitoti. Cambridge archaeologists Craig Alexander, Giovanna Bellandi and Christopher Chippindale have worked with Alberto Marretta and Markus Seidl to create Pitoti databases using Arctron’s Aspect 3D system.
The scanned images of the Pitoti are stored in the rock-art research institute in Valcamonica, Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici, and have given the project’s team an unprecedentedly rich resource to play with in exploring the power of graphic art in combination with other media.
The 3D Pitoti team members attending next week’s event will engage with visitors who will be given the chance to experience the scanner, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), computer sectioning, and the Pitoti ‘oculus rift’ virtual reality experience, made possible by using advanced imaging systems which are creating a new generation of ‘real’ images. The live demonstration of the interactive 3D Pitoti children’s app, developed by Archeocammuni and Nottingham University, is likely to prove popular with younger visitors who will have the chance to handle the technology and ask questions. Also taking part in the event will be the renowned craftsperson Lida Cardozo Kindersley who will demonstrate the art of letter cutting as an intensely physical process.
Eleanora Montinari [Credit: CCSP/3-D Pitoti with permission of Marc Steinmetz/VISUM]Archaeologists increasingly believe that the Valcamonica images may have been one element in a kind of ‘proto-cinema’ that might have involved other ‘special effects’. “When I first saw the Pitoti, my immediate thought was that these are frames for a film. Initially I envisaged an animated film but over time I’ve come to realise that the quality of colour, the play of light and shadow, and the texture of the rocks, make the Pitoti much more sophisticated than 2D animated graphics. That’s why we need to work in 3D,” says Cambridge archaeologist and film-maker Dr Frederick Baker, one of the founding participants in the project.
“Many of the images at Valcamonica are contemporary with classical Greek art but are an under appreciated form of art. I believe that the Pitoti are an example of minimalism, an early precursor to work by Alberto Giacometti and Pablo Picasso. They can be just as powerful as the classical art of Athens and Rome in their own way. By showcasing our project in the neo-classical setting of Downing College, we are highlighting this clash of visual cultures and using the digital to raise the appreciation of what has been seen as ‘barbarian’ or ‘tribal’ art.”
Members of the 3D Pitoti team captured thousands of images of people, sheep, deer, horses and dogs found on the Valamonica rocks. The digitised images gave the project a ‘casting directory’ of thousands of ‘characters’ in order to create imagined narratives. The creation of moving images using pixels, or dots, echoes the making of the Pitoti which were pecked out of the rock by people striking the surface with repeated blows to produce lines and shapes.
Dr Sue Cobb, from the University of Nottingham, who led the international team of scientists, said: “Thanks to the 3D Pitoti project, archaeological sites and artefacts can be rendered in stunningly realistic computer-generated models and even 3D printed for posterity. Our tools will give more people online access to culturally-important heritage sites and negate the need to travel to the locations, which can be inaccessible or vulnerable to damage.
“We overcame a number of technical challenges to innovate the technology, including developing weatherproof, portable laser scanner to take detailed images of the Pitoti in situ in harsh, rugged terrain; using both a UAV and glider to take aerial shots of the valley for the computer model and processing huge masses of data to recreate an immersive, film-quality version of the site in 3D.
Michael Holzapfel (left) and Martin Schaich (right) [Credit: ArcTron/3-D Pitoti with permission of Marc Steinmetz/VISUM)]“With our new story-telling app, users can scan and animate 3D Pitoti images to construct their own rock art stories from the thousands of fascinating human and animal figures discovered so far. The aim is to show to public audiences that with archaeology there isn’t a single answer to the art’s meaning –there are theories and interpretations — and to teach the importance of the rock art as a biographical record of European history.”
Next Monday’s event will include a test screening of a 15-minute 3D generated film called ‘Pitoti Prometheus’ which reimagines the story of Prometheus (who, according to legend, created men from clay) by animating digital images captured in Valcamonica. The fully finished film will be launched later in the year.
The film’s 3D engineer Marcel Karnapke and film-maker Fred Baker (contributing via Skype) will take part in a discussion at the end of the day, enabling the audience to ask questions about the film and the unfolding of an ambitious project which breaks new boundaries in terms of European cross-disciplinary collaboration.
“We use the word ‘pipeline’ to describe the process by which we’ve scanned and channelled the rock art images through time and space to bring them to mass audiences,” says Baker. “It’s a pipeline which stretches well beyond what we’ve produced and future technologies will undoubtedly open up new understandings of art forms that communicate so much about humanity and our relationships with each other, with the environment, and with imagined worlds.”
Next Tuesday morning (19 January 2016), a series of talks and workshops, aimed primarily at academics, will take place at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. The two days of events are the official culmination of the 3D Pitoti project. For details of Monday’s event, which is free of charge, go to http://3d-pitoti.eu/
Source: University of Cambridge [January 14, 2016]
While everyone is busy throwing their panties, sharpening their fangs and causing a ruckus about New Moon, there’s another monster movie worthy of your affection. Thankfully this one doesn’t focus on the sex appeal of an ethnic temptation werewolf and a broody vampire, but rather a zombie apocalypse.
Ahhh, zombies, though they might be an excellent source or eye-gouging, flesh-tearing horror, Shaun Of The Dead taught us the undead can also be bloody funny (pun intended). But like Paris Hilton and a recording studio, horror and comedy can be toxic mix unless executed properly. Zombieland follows a rag-tag group who are trying to survive in a world overrun by zombies. There’s the central character Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg in another amicable turn after Adventureland, Whicta (Emma Stone), Tallahasse (Woody Harrelson) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). While everyone cast is decent, Harrelson owns this movie as the Twinkie-addicted, bad ass that kills zombies with literally everything from a chainsaw to a banjo. Eisenberg’s wry, Michael Cera-esque comedic timing hits all the right spots and along with Harrelson, they make a highly watchable onscreen duo. There’s also an unforgettable cameo from Bill Murray, of which I can’t go in to too much detail without spoiling, but lets just say he’s awesome.
You’ll be laughing from the opening credits onwards and there’s plenty of gore here to satisfy horror fans and aficionados of the zombie sub genre. Director Ruben Fleischer has mad a slick and stylish film, utilising slow motion for some of the chase and attack scenes with impressive results. When Eisenberg explains the rules for surviving Zombieland (“the first rule of zombieland: cardio. When the zombie outbreak first hit, the first to go, for obvious reasons... were the fatties”) the rule appears in text on screen at some of the most unexpected moments, but rather than annoy it adds to what is a ridiculously hilarious ride. With a hasty running time, Zombieland is some of the most fun I’ve had in a cinema this year and I can’t fault it.
Everyone loves a good biff, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with The Footy Show. Here, I’m speaking about the one and only Brisbane International Film Festival also known as BIFF. The Gold Coast, being the cultural vacuum that it is, us film geeks eagerly await the annual BIFF where a selection of films from around the world are screened over the course of one and a bit weeks. This year I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the BIFF crew by putting together articles on various films for the website and daily newsletter. With dozens of movies crammed into the 11-day event it would be easy to miss some of the real gems. The good news is I’ve taken a look at the complete line-up of films screening at this year's festival and even watched some of them early. So, the following is my list of the films you MUST SEE or die at this year's BIFF.
For you international readers this can be a handy guide of limited release films you should keep an eye out for in the coming weeks/months.
An Education — the opening night film starring Peter Sarsgaard and set in the 60s. The Sars-man in a film with romance, drama and intrigue sounds like too rare an opportunity to miss.
BALIBO — the notorious tale of five young, Australian journalists who were executed while reporting on Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in 75. An impressive Aussie cast including Gyton Grantley, Nathan Phillips and Anthony LaPaglia expose the Australian and Indonesian governments shameless efforts to cover-up this important story.
Coraline — has been covered extensively on this blog given its beautiful visuals and dark storyline. Directed by Henry Selick, director of the classic Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline follows the adventures of a young girl who discovers a secret door leading to an alternative reality.
500 Days of Summer — a last minute addition to the festival line-up, this quirky, nontraditional love story deserves to be seen purely because it features the talents of my favourite Joseph Gordon Levitt. It also stars everyone’s favourite indie film star Zoey Deschanel.
CHE: Parts One & Two — director Steven Soderbergh’s stunning two-part opus based on the life Che Guevara and starring Benicio Del Toro in the title role. You’ll be hard pressed to catch this screened back to back anywhere else in Queensland.
Away We Go — highly peculiar, yet, interesting film which looks at the journey of two thirtsomethings who discover they’re going to have a baby. Instead of settling down and preparing, the couple take to the road to visit old friends. This is the latest thing from the amicable Sam Mendes and marks a return to his off-beat indie roots.
The September Issue — one of the most anticipated documentaries of the year, this film delves into the life of legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour in the lead-up to the massive September issue.
Jules And Jim — this French film from the 60s is a classic love-triangle with arguably the most recognisable face in French cinema — Jeanne Moreau.
Moon — one of the films I’m most looking forward to, this sci-fi thriller i
s the debut feature from David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones and stars Sam Rockwell in what is said to be the performance of his career.
The Missing Person — a private detective is hired to follow a missing person but what started as a simple job rapidly develops into a complex mystery. Full of double-crosses and classic noir moments, this is a film not to be missed by lovers of all things noir.
The Strength of Water (below) — having Maori parentage, I like to pay special attention to films from indigenous New Zealand filmmakers. The Strength of Water is definitely worth the gaze. A unique look at the complexity of grief through the eyes of a 10-year-old living in an isolated Maori community. Beautiful, naturalistic, creative and moving. A must-see.
Van Dieman’s Land — the infamous tale of Australia’s very own Hannibal Lecter gets the big screen treatment from a filmmaker heading for the stratosphere.Subdivison — Brisbanite Ash Bradman (from Nova radio fame) wrote and stars in this appealing comedy set in semirural Hervey Bay. Fans of Aussie films like Crackerjack, The Castle and Kenny are likely to enjoy this.
The Cove — along with Cathy Henkel’s The Burning Season, this has to be one of the most important documentaries of the year and looks at the culling of dolphins in the picturesque town of Tokyo, Japan. Part horror film, part espionage thriller and part environmental documentary, The Cove is all part's essential viewing.
It Might Get Loud — there’s no time for air guitar in this documentary which takes the audience on a candid trip into the world of three of rock’s most iconic electric guitarists; Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin), the Edge (U2), and Jack White (The White Stripes).
Black Dynamite — if I even have to explain to you the plot of this film, given the sheer volume of posts about it on this blog, then you deserve to be pimp-slapped into a China cabinet. Here’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about.
Dead Snow — Tarantino and Rodriguez fans, like myself, are likely to adore the work of the Norwegian lads behind this low-budget, horror slapstick about Nazi zombies. Writer/director Tommy Wirkola and writer/star Stig Frode Henriksen have been pipped for big things since their debut short Kill Buljo and their first feature doesn’t disappoint. Catch their work before it explodes as their next film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters has been picked up by The Weinstein Company (bada-boom).
Storage — a tense, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from Brisbane filmmaker Michael Craft and starring Gold Coast actor Matt Scully in the lead role. An impressively clever debut from Craft who shot the film in storage facilities in and around Brisvegas. Creepy.
The Horsemen — containing what is said to be one of the `most amazing fight scenes captured’ is there really any other reason to see this?
Ticket prices are cheap as chips compared to a normal outing at the movies and BIFF is running a series of workshops where you can meet the director, producer, writer and/or stars of some of the films.
I had the privilege of catching a screening of Lars Von Trier's Melancholia at last night's Talk Cinema event on campus. I'd been wanting to see this movie since I saw the trailer over the summer (and after hearing about all of the controversy at Cannes), and I thought I was going to have to wait until November to see it. Luckily, my friend saw the email for the event and we were able to grab some $5 tickets yesterday! Since movies tickets usually cost $11, this was a total steal.
The movie was great. The actors' performances were brilliant. The score was beautiful. The visuals were breathtaking. I also really fell in love with the style of the sisters, Justine (played by Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg). I loved the slouchy tees and sweaters, the fitted pants, the polished riding outfits. Of course, the wedding fashions were lovely, too. I especially loved the bare-faced, no-makeup look that both sisters sported throughout the majority of the film. Stunning. I wanted to leave you with a few stills so you can get a feel for the style!
Comedian Andy Samberg is the newest celebrity to star in a Microsoft Windows Phone ad. The spot, "Meet Andy" is Samberg telling us how he loves the cinema as the funny shots a film from his living that stars his feet.
It's easy to see how much Andy Samberg loves movies when you look at his Windows Phone. The live tiles he's pinned to his start screen make it easy for him to write scripts, make a soundtrack or find the latest movies playing in theaters.
Connecticut The police has no right to stop you for driving on a bicycle with a speed over 65 miles at an o'clock. The marinaded cucumber should be elastic to be recognised that officially.
Delaware It is illegal to try to pawn own artificial limb.
Indiana To open cans by means of fire-arms it is illegal. Citizens are forbidden to go to theatre or cinema, and also, to go in a tram within 4 hours after they ate garlic.
Iowa According to the law the kiss can last no more than 5 minutes. One-armed pianists under the law are obliged to play free of charge.
Massachusetts The people who are present on commemoration, have the right to eat no more than three sandwiches. The snore is law infringement, except for cases when all windows in a bedroom are corked properly.
Missouri Any city can impose the tax to wind band support if in this orchestra the mayor plays a small flute and each musician is able to eat peas by means of a knife.
New Jersey «Disapprovingly to look» at the officer of police it is considered illegal.
Oklahoma In Oklahoma illegal it is considered to bite off from another's hamburger. People who pull faces to dogs, can be subjected the penalty or imprisonment. Dogs should have the permission signed by the mayor to gather in groups on three or more individuals within a private property.
Pennsylvania The special decree about cleanliness forbids housewives to hide a dirt and a dust under a carpet in the house. Law infringement is residing more than 16 women in one house simultaneously as it assumes brothel existence. Nevertheless to 120 men can live together, and it is not considered illegal.
Tennessee Women are forbidden to drive the car, except for cases when in front of the car goes or the man swinging a red tag runs to warn pedestrians and other drivers about danger.
Washington The law, called to reduce number of crimes, says: «Any driver having criminal intentions, is obliged at entrance to a city to stop and by phone to inform on them to the chief of police». It is illegal to paint a flag of the USA a pattern in peas. It is illegal to pretend, that your parents are rich.
Belvedere According to the city council decree «dogs should not be in public places without the owner on a lead».
Glendale To show films of horrors it is authorised only on Monday, Tuesday and on Wednesday.
Hollywood According to the law to drive on the Hollywood parkway more than 200 sheep simultaneously it is forbidden.
Los Angeles It is forbidden to bathe simultaneously two children in one bath. It is not authorised to cry at a summer residence of a testimony in court. It is forbidden to lick toads. Toads allocate substance which some lick to achieve effect of narcotic influence.
Iowa According to the law the kiss can last no more than 5 minutes. One-armed pianists under the law are obliged to play free of charge.
Waterbury (Connecticut) Cosmeticians are forbidden to mutter, sing and whistle at work with the client.
Sterling (Colorado) Cats are authorised to run freely only in the event that they have back dimensional fires.
Lewis (Delaware) The introduction into marriage on a bet is the lawful basis for cancellation of similar marriage.
Portland (Maine) At the person going along the street, laces should be fastened
Minneapolis (Minnesota) The person guilty of a double parking, it is necessary to chain in shackles and to hold on bread and water.
Clevelend (Ohio) The law forbids to catch mice without the hunting licence.
Oxford (Ohio) For the woman illegal it is considered to remove clothes before a portrait of the man.
Allentown (Pennsylvania) All fire hydrants should be checked for an hour to a fire.
Richmond (Virginia) To throw a coin at restaurant, to find out, who will pay for coffee, illegally.
Racine (Wisconsin) It is forbidden to awake sleeping firemen.
2014 Kia Sorento Space Babies Super Bowl commercial teaser...The space babies of planet Babylandia are suited up to embark on an epic journey nine months in the making. So fasten your diapers this adventure will blow your mind into another dimension.
An extended version of "Space Babies" will be viewable at YouTube.com/Kia leading up to the Super Bowl Sunday. Kia returns as a Super Bowl advertiser for the fourth straight time. After becoming the first advertiser to debut a Super Bowl commercial in movie theaters before the big game last year, "Space Babies" will air on more than 33,000 screens nationwide beginning on February 1 as part of ScreenVision and National CineMedia's FirstLook. "It has an answer for everything" is a fully integrated marketing campaign incorporating TV, cinema, digital, print, social media and in-dealership components.
Created by creative agency David&Goliath, and directed by Jake Scott the KIA spot is scheduled to air in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVII.
Here is a sneak peek into The Perrier Secret Place campaign that brilliantly combines modern day marketing strategies. We received our preview invite kit today which included the stamp to get in, and we were also given a special invite code to share with our visitors here at Great-Ads, find it and the link after the campaign Q&A's and credits below.
Perrier Secret Place Premise: If you were at a Secret and Exclusive party and you wanted to party as long as possible, you’d make sure you were as refreshed as possible. And no one can throw a party and ensure you are refreshed to party as long as you can like Perrier.
Q. Tell us about this latest digital initiative for Perrier? Perrier Secret Place puts you in the shoes of a guest who goes to a very very special evening party. A hidden place in an alley in Paris, behind a laundry mat. An evening where all guests will have the opportunity to live their craziest fantasies. And you'll have the best seat in the house to enjoy since all the characters that you see on the screen are clickable. With one click you find yourself in their skin. Living their fantasy.
Q. How did you come up with this idea? We started from the following insight: drinking Perrier during the evening party is the best way to take full advantage of all the opportunities available to you… and until the end of the night. In Secret Place, not only are you at the Ultimate Party living out the experience of the Ultimate Party Guest from the beginning, but you also live out the ultimate evening of 60 other guests who are in the apartment.
Q. And there is something to win, right? Yes. At the ultimate party, we’ve hidden a very special bottle of Perrier. 5 clues are hidden in the rooms of the apartment. They will lead you to the bottle where you are entered into a drawing to win an exclusive invitation to the wildest night of the world party in St Tropez, New Year in Sydney, Miami Art Basel, Carnival in Rio and the closing of the season Ibiza. Only the most experienced gamers will succeed, believe me... Among thousands of different scenarios during the evening, only one leads to the bottle.
Q. So, it’s a game or an interactive film? Both! This project mixes Brand Entertainment and Gaming. We produced 1 hour and 20 minutes of content that allows all users to experience a unique evening scenario. We also used digital interactivity to inject this dimension of Gaming. This involves the quest of finding the bottle and the opportunity to live the lives of all guests by clicking on them.
Q. Why Secret Place? This was inspired by the emerging phenomenon of speak easy. A party venue at the rear façade that has absolutely nothing to do with the place. This is quite in line with Perrier. Completely unexpected.
Q. How are you using social networks to amplify this experience? In partnership with the agency Buzzman, we worked on a social strategy: Become a fan on Perrier Facebook and regularly you will get tips to find clues that will lead you to the secret Perrier bottle. We'll give you a little tip. Slip into the skin of the young man who looks through the keyhole and live out his fantasy. Or play a game of "Pillow Fight" (Sounds weird, but it is Perrier!)
Q. How will the experience function on the mobile? We have specifically developed an application that runs on iPhone / Android / iPad. This is not a replication of the desktop experience but a concept designed for specifically for the mobile device. By downloading the application you enter the rooms of the Perrier apartment and you can navigate through each room. The challenge: find the Secret hidden bottle of Perrier in the apartment.
Q. What was the biggest challenge to pull off this experience? This is the most ambitious project to carry. We spent 18 months writing lots and lots of different scenarios. Produced a film in which we choreographed each scene so that it is connecting with one another when the user clicks on the characters. Sound design work has also been a real challenge. Imagine having to reproduce the sound of a bottle on a bar as many times as there are people in the room who can hear it.
Q. Where will Secret Place be launched? The experience will be available worldwide but open to 20 countries to play in the major markets for Perrier France, United States and Canada. This is the first time that Perrier launches a project of this magnitude in the United States. The challenge is enormous. Positioning is also a little different there. Much more premium. We really hope that the French touch--its audacious content-- is embraced well there.
Q. What results do you expect? There is a counter on the site that counts the number of lives that all users worldwide will live on the site. 1 life = 1 click on a character. I want to hear from Perrier that this idea made 10 million lives by the end of week five of the experience’ launch.
Q. How is this truly innovative? We believe Secret Place is truly a digital first. Not because it’s the first time you can click on something and enter into his point of view. But, the ambition was really to say: Imagine you enter in any movie theater, have the quality screenwriting and the direction of cinema but also to have permanent control over the course of the story.
Q. What kind of partner did you work with to make this type of project? Fighting Fish is our production partner based in Paris. This is the first time that we’ve made a digital experience for Perrier conducted by the French. This is an opportunity to remind the world that France is in a good position on Digital Excellence.
Beyond the fact that Fighting Fish is based in Paris, it was able to fulfill the requirements demanded by this project. The team assembled to deliver this feature was made up of an interactive-hybrid. On the team was Lawrence King, the director of the experience and who is currently working on his own film. Arnaud XXX is the production designer and there were the script writers. Franck Marchal oversaw the sound design – having conducted several reputable orchestras before working with us. Fighting Fish puts digital at the heart of its "production thinking" and Ogilvy Paris thinks the same way. This allows a real synergy between the film's producers and those who are thinking through its interactivity.
Q. Why is Secret Place the right creative approach for Perrier now? Digital and social are playing an increasing role in Perrier's Communications strategy. They have an important, specific role: communicating the edgier, younger, hottest facet of the brand. Reaffirming that Perrier is a must have brand and product when it comes to partying and socialising. And proving, again and again, that the brand loooooves creativity, surprise and inventiveness. This is what Secret Place brilliantly does in my mind. – Benoit de Fleurian, Managing Director | Ogilvy&Mather Advertising. The digital space has opened up a new opportunity for brands. It's solved a contradiction that exists in the real world. Physically, you can't make an exclusive experience accessible to everybody. But with Secret Place, that's exactly what we've achieved. We give people the opportunity to live an experience they wouldn't normally live, but have always dreamed about. Like those exclusive parties you've always longed to be invited to. And thanks to Perrier, you can live it not once, but multiple times, through the eyes of multiple characters. This is an idea that is only possible thanks to the technology we have at our disposal today, and a bit of creative thinking. — Chris Garbutt, Chief Creative Officer | Ogilvy&Mather Paris, Group
Q. The Director is who? And why did you choose this director? Laurent King. We chose him because of his ability to manage this kind of project: half movie, half digital and interactive experience. It's really important to have this kind of new director that knows how to direct with all the constraints that a digital experience impose.
Q. Where did you shoot and tell me one challenge with organizing the shoot or a challenge that arrived at the shoot? How did you overcome the challenge? We filmed in an amazing appartement in Paris that was almost a piece of art by itself. We loved the parisian kind of architecture of it, with lovely rooms, very different to each other. It's very rare to find a place with different moods and atmosphere in it. Moreover, we were looking for a place where you can imagine secret parties happening in it. The biggest challenge was to choreograph all the action of the 60 guests. It was a real challenge because every character had a link to each other in terms of scenario.
Q. Is there a music track? The track of the experience is played live by the group called "TOYZ".
Q. Would love to hear from one of the party-go’ers at this Ultimate Party... The Host: All Secret Places have their secrets. You understand why I'll keep this one...
Credits: Secret Place, a campaign imagined by Ogilvy, produced by Fighting fish while Buzzman was in charge of the Social Media and PR strategy. Format: Digital/Brand Entertainement Chief Creative Officer: Chris Garbutt Creative Director: Frederic Levron, Thierry Chiumino Copywriter: Baptiste Clinet, Nicolas Lautier, Florian Bodet Art Director: Baptiste Clinet, Nicolas Lautier, Florian Bodet, Chris Rowson, Global Business Leader: Constance Capy Baudeau Account Supervisor: Stanislas Vert Film Producer: Diane de Bretteville Digital producer: Hugo Diaz, Cyril Duval, Sandra Petrus Production company: Fighting Fish, Olivier Dormerc, Cyril Couve de Murvil, Adrien Moisson, Benjamin Przelspolewski Sound Design: Le COMPTOIR DU SON / Franck MARCHAL & Alexandre POIRIER Film Director: Laurent King Story development: Olivier Domerc Story editor: Benjamin Bloch Production manager: Caroline Petruccelli Production designer: Arnaud Roth Director of Photography: Frédéric Martial Wetter Line Producer: Vincent RIVIER Location manager: Timothée TALANDIER Main title music: Toys Client: NWFB head of marketing and category, Muriel Koch. Sparkling Brand Director, Fabienne Bravard. Perrier International Brand Manager Armelle Roulland Social Media & ePR Strategy Buzzman: Georges Mohammed-Chérif (CEO & DC) Hubert Munyazikwiye (Head of Social Media & PR) Nicolas David (Social Media Manager)
Visit www.perriersecretplace.com and use the invite code "PE757 " enjoy the party.
Kiefer Sutherland stars in a new commercial for the Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook entitled "Bake It...An Acer story inspired by Intel." Sutherland doesn't just bake cupcakes...he bakes Dynamite Cupcakes. As Jack Bauer in the cult TV series ‘24,’ Kiefer Sutherland was shot, tortured, imprisoned and addicted to heroin. Over eight series he killed 267 people and used “any means necessary” to get what he needed. Every day was a bad day.
In a new ad campaign for computer company Acer’s Aspire S5 Ultrabook™ from Mother, Sutherland is back in a pastiche of his Bauer character but this time he’s showing his softer side – making cup cakes. But Bauer being Bauer, hasn’t donned a frilly apron and got out the icing bag – he’s reached for power drills and flame throwers to make his cakes. Along the way he uses his laptop to search for the perfect recipe, ruthlessly interrogates people about ingredients and blows up his own car to make the logo for his cup cake brand. The ad breaks on August 20 in the UK, Germany, France and Russia as a 90 second film for cinema and the web, a 20 second TV trailer and a series of print ads. Martin Schellekens, Acer’s Global Marketing Director says, “At Acer we’re interested in what people do with the technology we develop. The S5 Ultrabook is the first of many products that will help our users explore a different side of themselves, for Kiefer that was cupcake baking but over the coming year we’ll create more stories of characters exploring beyond their limits.” Mother said: “Kiefer makes a great tough guy – but instead of tackling terrorists or dirty bombs, we wanted to test his cake making skills to the limit. It was a great shoot to work on – Kiefer said that the explosions were as big as anything in 24. We’re really looking forward to the next episode in this series, where another celebrity will be exploring a very different side of themselves.”
Credits: Project: Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook™ Brief in one line: To launch the new Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook™ Acer's Global Brand Director: Maarten Schellekens Film credits Creative Agency: Mother Art Director: Mother Copywriter: Mother Planner: Mother Agency Producer: Mother Director: Ivan Zacharias Production Company: Stink Producer: Nick Landon Editor: Richard Orrick Post Production: The Mill Audio Post-Production: Jungle Sound Design: Jungle DoP: John Lynch
