We open on a wife spraying a scented air freshener in her home, as her dutiful husband stands nearby. Then out of the blue a typical product pitchman enters the living room and asks, “Is regular clean clean enough for your family? Not when you can have Clean Coal Clean!”
He puts a black canister in her hand. Dirty, toxic spray spews forth from the canister, blackening the room as husband and wife start choking on the fumes.
The pitchman, unfazed, continues, “Clean Coal Clean harnesses the awesome power of the word ‘clean’ to make it sound like the cleanest there is.”
As the family–including two children–fans themselves and coughs repeatedly, the pitchman, now seen on the house’s front lawn, assures the viewer, “Clean coal is supported by the coal industry. The most trusted name in coal!”
This slice of polluted life is then broken by a message on screen that reads, “In reality, there’s no such thing as clean coal.”
An end tag directs us to thisisreality.org, the website for the Reality Coalition, a joint project of the Alliance for Climate Protection, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation and Sierra Club.
“Clean Coal Clean–Air Freshener” is the first in a series of ads directed by Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, a.k.a. the Coen brothers, via Los Angeles-based production house Company for Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Boulder, Colo.
The Reality Coalition campaign is designed to debunk what it regards as the myth of “clean coal.”
“The coal industry has spent tens of millions of dollars selling the illusion of so-called ‘clean coal’,” said Brian Hardwick of the Alliance for Climate Protection. “Why? Because marketing and lobbying are much cheaper than actually making coal plants clean.”
Hardwick continued: “Coal companies would rather protect the status quo than actually do what is necessary for coal to be truly clean and be part of an energy future that doesn’t destroy the planet. We’re challenging them to stop the bogus marketing campaign, stop their delay tactics and support real progress toward climate solutions.”
The Crispin team on the Reality Coalition campaign included co-executive creative directors Andrew Keller and Rob Reilly, creative director Ryan Kutscher, associate creative director Paul Caiozzo, art director Santiago Escobar, integrated art director Javier Torok, copywriter Donnell Johnson, integrated head of video Matt Bonin, executive integrated producer Chris Kyriakos and executive integrated music producer Bill Meadows.
Robin Benson and Richard Goldstein exec produced for Company with Robert Nackman serving as head of production and Ron Neter as producer. The DP was Dan Hainey.
Editors were Paul Martinez and Christjan Jordan of Los Angeles-based Arcade Edit. Assistant editor was Greg Scruton. Damian Stevens and Alison Maldonado were exec producer and producer, respectively, for Arcade.
“Se7en” Turns 30, Gets A Special Restoration From David Fincher For Its Re-Release
For David Fincher, seeing “Se7en” in 4K was an experience he can only describe as harrowing. That or a high school reunion.
“There are definitely moments that you go, ‘What was I thinking?’ Or ‘Why did I let this person have that hairdo’?” Fincher said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
He’s OK with the film being a product of its time in most respects. But some things just could not stand in high-definition resolution.
“It was a little decrepit, to be honest,” said Fincher. “We needed to resuscitate it. There are things you can see in 4K HDR that you cannot see on a film print.”
Ever the perfectionist, he and a team got to work on a new restoration of the film for its 30th anniversary re-release. This weekend the restored “Se7en” will play on IMAX screens for the first time in the U.S. and Canada, and on Jan. 7, the 4K UHD home video version will be available as well.
The dark crime thriller written by Andrew Kevin Walker and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as a pair of detectives looking for a serial killer was somewhat of a career-reviver for Fincher, whose directorial debut “Alien 3” had not gone well. “Se7en” was not a sure thing: It was made for only $34 million (and only got that when Fincher managed to persuade studio execs to give up $3 million more). But it went on to earn more than $327 million, not accounting for inflation, and continues to influence the genre.
Fincher has over the years overseen several restorations of the film (including one for laser disc) but decided this needed to be the last. It’s why he insisted on an 8K scan that they could derive the 4K from. He wanted to ensure that it wouldn’t have to be repeated when screens get more... Read More