Unstoppable direction.
By Art Smith
Brian Beletic’s career trajectory seemed unstoppable this past year, thanks in large part to the adidas spot–aptly titled “Unstoppable”–that he directed out of TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco.
The :60 features Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady–one of the NBA’s leading scorers–facing an army of surprisingly formidable foes as he torpedoes towards the basket. “Unstoppable” opens on a shot of McGrady on the practice court with his real-life trainer Wayne Hall, who stands on the sidelines. Hall tosses the ball to McGrady, who, dressed entirely in black, then begins to hurdle up the court. Suddenly, the action slows down and a Lilliputian-sized army clad in white and gold begins its mission to bring down “the giant” by any means possible.
The resourceful warriors attempt to ensnare McGrady in ropes. When that doesn’t do the trick, the mini-soldiers expand their attack, coming at McGrady from all angles. Reinforcements arrive on foot, from land vehicles and via helicopters that drop paratroopers from above. Soon there are hundreds of the determined fighters swarming McGrady. Still, he perseveres and jams the ball through the hoop despite the best efforts of his foes. Then, just as McGrady slam-dunks the ball, the troops vanish from sight. It’s then that the viewer realizes the tenacious masses existed only in the athlete’s head. McGrady then runs back down the court to get another pass from Hall as Adidas’ “Impossible is nothing” tagline is splashed across the screen.
Beletic, who directs via bicoastal Smuggler, is quick to share kudos for “Unstoppable” with Jeff Cronenweth, the director of photography on the spot; Brad Parker, the digital effects supervisor at Digital Domain, who supplied the necessary CG effects; Maury Loeb of PS 260, New York, who cut the spot; Ren Klyce of Mit Out Sound/M.O.S., Sausalito, Calif., who created the ad’s sound design, which included roaring land vehicles and the menacing hum of approaching chopper; Geoff Edwards, the art director at TBWA/Chiat/Day, and everyone else involved in the intricate shoot.
“Unstoppable” seemed tailor-made for Beletic–who despite describing himself as a pacifist, does possess quite an impressive knowledge of military maneuvers. Beletic believes his fascination with militaristic tactics definitely caught the attention of the TBWA/Chiat/Day honchos behind the spot. “I was sketching out elaborate battle plans in my treatment and so they were aware of how much energy and attention to detail I was pouring into it,” he explains.
I Want My MTV
Beletic was born in Dallas and knew from fairly early on what he wanted to do with his life. “By the time I was in college I knew I wanted to direct and I knew I wanted to be at MTV,” he explains. “Practically everything I did for a few years there was related to my getting a job at MTV.” In 1997, at 22, and having just graduated from Los Angeles’ Loyola Marymount University, Beletic achieved that goal, getting a job at the network.
He describes the gig as being an invaluable experience that offered him quite a prolific training ground. “There were times [at MTV] when you might write the script yourself, pitch it to your boss, get it approved, have it receive a budget and then you’d take it down to a line producer, shoot it in five days, and boom it was on air,” he says, still in awe of the rapid turnaround time. “You were responsible for almost everything and a year and a half in that environment, right out of film school, was an amazing opportunity.”
Beletic churned out countless :30 promos for the network, and also directed his first music videos. By 1999 Beletic signed with now defunct Satellite, where he helmed more spots for MTV via Modernista!, Boston, more music videos and a particularly memorable Reebock commercial titled “Defy” via Berlin Cameron/Red Cell, New York.
The “Defy” spot featured images of people defying convention, for instance dogs are shown escaping cages, a woman photocopies her posterior and a sumo wrestler tries to leap over a pommel horse. After each of the scenes the word “defy” is shown in front of “convention,” “expectations,” “physics” and “the media.” The spot is a favorite of the director’s, as is the music video for the new Fatboy Slim single “Don’t Let That Man Get You Down.”
“The Fatboy Slim video just came out and hasn’t really gotten any attention yet because it is only playing in Europe,” Beletic explains. “It’s about a guy named Don the Racist, who dies at the end of the video. He gets killed six different ways in six different endings–including getting run over by a car, drowning in a pool with Paris Hilton and getting stabbed by a Vietnamese bookie. MTV is airing all six versions, so the idea is that depending on what time of day you’re watching, you’ll see Don die a different way. It’s very cool.”
Beletic also earned kudos in 2004 for his directorial efforts on “Anthem,” a standout :60 for Sprint out of Publicis & Hal Riney, San Francisco. The commercial features a funky band performing a catchy musical tribute titled “Business Is Beautiful.” The song plays over scenes illustrating how integral Sprint and its products are to today’s businesses and ends with the onscreen statement: “96% of the Fortune 1000 use Sprint.”
It’s been a busy year for the affable director, who keeps the bulk of his “stuff” in New York City, but spends a lot of time shooting in Los Angeles. However, he managed to find time to continue working on what may be his most important project to date: A movie script. “It’s complex,” he explains of the in-the-works script. “It’s entertaining, funny, sophisticated and it is very personal to me because it encompasses exactly what my interests and style are into two hours. Over the last year I’ve gotten to do some great work with very creative, collaborative and receptive teams. I love that, but this movie represents so much to me because it is not my interpretation of someone else’s script, it is basically mine from beginning to end and that is just–awesome.”Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More