Director Clay Weiner of Biscuit Filmworks juxtaposes quintessential Hollywood insincerity with wild natural beauty in PETA’s nine-spot “Agents in the Wild” campaign for Y&R New York which aims to end behind-the-scenes animal abuse in the entertainment industry through online commercials, a social media campaign and a website for Wild Animal Artist Representation, Inc.
In this week’s “Best Work You May Never See” entry entitled “Chimp Pitch,” the camera centers on talent agent Devon Dentler of Wild Animal Artist Representation. He looks straight at us as if talking to an off-camera chimp in the wilds of the jungle to try to gain the animal as a client.
He pitches the chimp on a movie/TV role as a cop, making him the ultimate PI, standing for “primate investigator.”
Interrupted briefly by a cell phone call from a studio exec, the fakery of agent talk continues, marked by a failed bribe of bananas, promises of the moon to the prospective chimp client replete with all the star trappings–a car, courtside tickets and “a nice cage.” That cage reference, an unintentional blurting out of the truth, is immediately amended by Dentler who describes the environment instead as being “a gated community.”
A series of messages then appears on screen, reading, “Hollywood is no place for wild animals.”/”They’re caged and abused behind the scenes.”/”Help us end it.” The latter message is accompanied by the PETA logo and website address.
Hwang Dong-hyuk On Season 2 of “Squid Game,” Wrapping Production on Season 3; What’s Next?
Viewers may gasp, cringe or cry out watching characters die on Netflix's "Squid Game," but those simulated deaths have a different effect on its creator, writer and director. Instead, Hwang Dong-hyuk feels happiness seeing them go.
The show has a huge cast and Hwang says it was "really difficult" to manage everyone on set.
As characters would die, Hwang recalls saying to the actors on their last day, "'Oh no! How sad! I won't see you tomorrow,' but I was always smiling inside."
"Squid Game" season two premieres Thursday. It once again stars Lee Jung-jae and centers around a secret competition in South Korea that targets people in debt and the winner gets a big cash prize. What they don't know is that losing the game is deadly.
Hwang originally conceived of the show 15 years ago as a two-hour film but it failed to gain traction with financiers or even interested actors. He put it aside and worked on other films instead. He then had the idea to make it a TV series instead and took the project to Netflix. There, it could reach a wide audience.
"I never in my wildest dream thought it was going to be this huge," said Hwang, who spoke about the show and what comes next. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What have you learned from "Squid Game"?
HWANG: I learned that I shouldn't give up. If you love something and if you want to create something, it might not work now, but the time might come later. Or that idea could be the source of inspiration for something else.
Q: You've already finished filming season three of "Squid Game." Have you thought about what your next project will be?
HWANG: I'm afraid to talk... Read More