Boxers or briefs? An offbeat case is made for the former in this spec spot directed by Guido Verweyen. Perhaps best known for his reality TV work, directing such shows as America’s Next Top Model, The Bachelor and the Emmy-winning Starting Over), Verweyen was approached by Big Fish Films, Dallas, to diversify into commercials.
Part of that diversification is this spec spot which Verweyen not only directed but wrote. We open on a man accompanied by a mariachi standing in front of a house to serenade a woman who soon appears through a second story window. However, the lovely lass’ facial expression of delight turns to disdain upon hearing her aspiring beau’s “singing,” which sounds more like high-pitched, out-of-control soprano squealing to the able guitar playing of the mariachi.
She slams the window shut, at which point we see the “vocalist” trying to unbunch his pants from his backside, which explains his squeaky voice.
A super reads, “Feeling the bind,” and then we see a product shot of Joe Boxer shorts, with the slogan, “Be free.”
Verweyen directed “Be Free” via Big Fish Films, which is his new roost for commercials. Exec producer was Robert Latorre, The DP was Stephen Effendik.
Editor was Jack Douglas of Butcher Edit, Santa Monica. Rob Van exec produced for Butcher.
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