"You're born alone, you die alone and, in between, you spend your life looking for something... a connection"
I had the great pleasure of directing Christopher Walken in this film for YT Industries to launch the new Jeffsy bike.
There are A-Listers and there are legends… and Christopher is certainly one of them. He’s the king of the cameo and responsible for such classic moments in film; the pocket watch scene in PULP FICTION, the Sicilian scene in TRUE ROMANCE… to name but a few. He has an amazing presence on screen and as soon as you lens him up you can see why he’s a movie star. And he’s so flippin’ cool. It was a pleasure working with him. I shot full takes of the monologue so Christopher could keep a flow and that’s no mean feat for any actor. To be that focused during long takes over multiple set-ups can be quite draining for anyone but Christopher kept it fresh and unique everytime.
I’m from a features background so it’s exactly how we approached making the film. And I call it a film. Everything about the way we shot, lit, edited, mixed, graded would be exactly what I would do for the big screen instead of compromising for online or mobile devices. People watch KZfaq on their phones and on 8K TV screens at home so it’s needed to work for all. It was a brave piece of creative for our client… although they probably don’t see it as brave but not many brands in my experience would have spent this kind of money on a three minute monologue, bring onboard an Oscar winner and only feature their product for a tiny section of it!
The landscape of the conventional commercial or 30 second spot has been changing in recent years. Content is becoming king so it was a pleasure to be invited to direct an actual piece of film rather than a 30 second spot. It’s an engaging, thought provoking monologue that works because it’s more about feeling rather than flogging something. It’s probably also why it attracted such an amazing actor to perform it. It’s a prime example of where I think advertising is going. We need to engage people on an emotional level - whether intellectually or through narrative storytelling - take them on a journey which is rewarding to watch but also portrays the values of a brand. It’s a two way street.
Exec Produced by Gary Cowen.
Produced by Laura Smith at Velvet with Jess Motler and Emily Kinder.
Shot by Dave Meadows. Graded by Dan Moran.
Casting by Martin Gibbons Casting.
Cut by me. Post by Boardwalk Studio.
Music by Rob Westwood. Mixed by Dean Covill.
Thanks to my amazing New York crew and Indigo Productions.
And a real pleasure to work with Shift Active Media, and of course, our amazing clients at YT Industries.
#christopherwalken #speech #freelancedirector