This PSA opens on a father having what appears to be a safe-sex talk with his teenager, though we only see the parent on screen. The middle-aged dad is explaining the importance of safe sex amidst the setting of a typical teen’s bedroom. Clearly the father is a bit uncomfortable with the topic but he perseveres.
The camera then reveals that he’s not talking to a teenager but rather to the family dog. Alas, his talk hasn’t done much good as the canine is tirelessly humping his master’s leg.
A super reads, “Spay and neuter your pets. It’s the only form of birth control they understand.”
An end tag carries the U.S. Humane Society logo.
“The Talk” was directed by Dave Laden of Uber Content, Hollywood, for agency Erwin-Penland, Greenville, S.C.
The Erwin-Penland creative team consisted of executive creative director Andy Mendelsohn, group creative director Joe Gillman, senior art directors Jason Smith and Jason Locke, and copywriter Karen Walker.
Preston Lee and Phyllis Koenig executive produced for Uber Content. The DP was Doug Chamberlain.
Editor was Avi Oron of Bikini Edit, New York.
Does “Hundreds of Beavers” Reflect A New Path Forward In Cinema?
Hard as it may be to believe, changing the future of cinema was not on Mike Cheslik's mind when he was making "Hundreds of Beavers." Cheslik was in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with a crew of four, sometimes six, standing in snow and making his friend, Ryland Tews, fall down funny.
"When we were shooting, I kept thinking: It would be so stupid if this got mythologized," says Cheslik.
And yet, "Hundreds of Beavers" has accrued the stuff of, if not quite myth, then certainly lo-fi legend. Cheslik's film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels.
"Hundreds of Beavers" is a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman (Tews) at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes.
No one would call "Hundreds of Beavers" expensive looking, but it's far more inventive than much of what Hollywood produces. With some 1,500 effects shots Cheslik slaved over on his home computer, he crafted something like the human version of Donald Duck's snowball fight, and a low-budget heir to the waning tradition of Buster Keaton and "Naked Gun."
At a time when independent filmmaking is more challenged than ever, "Hundreds of Beavers" has, maybe, suggested a new path forward, albeit a particularly beaver-festooned path.
After no major distributor stepped forward, the filmmakers opted to launch the movie themselves, beginning with carnivalesque roadshow screenings. Since opening in January, "Hundreds of Beavers" has played in at least one theater every week of the year, though never more than 33 at once. (Blockbusters typically play in around 4,000 locations.)... Read More