This spot thrusts us into the fast paced action of motorcycles speeding around a racetrack–except on the outskirts of the track are everyday surroundings such as a park bench and a tree; a bus kiosk; trash/recycling cans; even a bus.
As motorbikes careen out of control, they crash into these otherwise mundane slices of life. The force of one track accident propels a cyclist under a bus.
We then see champion motorbike rider Mick Doohan address the camera, observing, “If I faced the same obstacles on the racetrack that you do on the road, I’d probably be dead.”
An end tag carries the message, “The road’s no place to race,” accompanied by a website address (mac.sa.gov.au) for the Motor Accident Commission & SA Government/Motorcycle Safety agency.
Phil Meatchem of Filmgraphics Productions, Sydney, directed “Obstacles” for Down Under agency Clemenger.
Editor was Filmgraphics’ Sue Schweikert.
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