When the great Mel Blanc passed away, Warner Bros. took out an ad in honor of the voice actor. It showed a spotlight beam cast down upon a microphone stand with nobody at the mike. Off to the side were Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn and Pepe Le Pew, their heads bowed in silence. Above them was the word “Speechless.” And below the microphone stand was “Mel Blanc 1908-1989.”
Because I’m an unabashed Looney Tunes fan, that “Speechless” tribute sticks in my mind to this day. And now, 18 years later, another series of “Speechless” ads–this time in the form of web spots–have struck a responsive chord. The campaign–some 30 spots and counting, ranging from 15 seconds to three minutes–shows support for striking Writers Guild of America (WGA) members (SHOOT, 11/30).
The genesis of the campaign came when director/writer George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl) and writer Alan Sereboff (The Red House) were walking a WGA picket line in Los Angeles. The two had a vision that they and their talented colleagues could do much more than picket in the strike offensive against the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
“We thought why not take our argument to the Internet, the very medium we’re fighting over, the medium which is the future of entertainment,” related Hickenlooper. “…So Alan and I decided to reach out to major celebrity SAG talent to tell the writers’ point of view. We came up with the idea to create informative and entertaining ads that will let the general public know our side.”
The original idea, which has been realized, was to simply have the celebs stand silently in front of the camera, underscoring the fact that they are “speechless” sans the contributions of writers. An A-list lineup of actors was assembled–and more continue to volunteer. Among the notables are Sean Penn, Woody Allen, Ethan Hawke, Charlize Theron, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Patricia Arquette, Susan Sarandon, Alan Cumming, Laura Linney, Matthew Perry, America Ferrera, Harvey Keitel and Ray Romano.
Once these performers became involved, several got their creative juices flowing with Hickenlooper and Sereboff, coming up with concepts that went beyond the “Speechless” scenario. For example Holly Hunter is seen having trouble with a script she’s performing so she seeks writing help on a hotline that’s outsourced to a scribe in India. Patricia Clarkson and Amy Ryan are reduced to reading from the Yellow Pages, trying to emote along the way. The response from high profile celebs has been overwhelming, so other directors–such as Paul Haggis (Crash), Wayne Kramer (The Cooler) and Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry)–have been brought in to accommodate the influx of on-camera talent.
Hickenlooper noted that there’s another implied message in the web ads that feature and TV studios should take to heart–namely that writers have been able to successfully liaison with big ticket performers and make a significant Internet splash without any corporate distribution arm.
This, said Hickenlooper, shows that writers can create content, directly package talent and gain meaningful exposure on the web, eliminating the studio as middleman.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic 3” Rule Box Office For 1st Weekend Of 2025
The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.
The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn't far behind.
"Sonic 3" stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. "Mufasa's" running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.
In third place, Focus Features' "Nosferatu" remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable. "Nosferatu," which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).
No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, "Moana 2," claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.
The Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in... Read More