David Weinstock of Hero Content, New York, directed this web video, which was later cut down to a :30 broadcast spot, for Trojan Condoms out of The Kaplan Thaler Group, New York.
The commercial opens on a young couple in a car. The driver, a bookish young man, nervously hands his girlfriend something off-screen. “Suzie, Happy 21st Birthday,” he says. Suzie beams, “Gonorrhea?! Oh, you shouldn’t have.” “Are you sure you’re good, because I was originally thinking syphilis or maybe herpes,” he bumbles. She takes his hand and assures him, “No. Trust me. I’m a gonorrhea girl.” He lets out a sigh of relief, “Good. Because, you know, herpes you can’t return.”
A super appears over black, “No one wants to get an STD, but 1/3 of sexually active people do by age 25.” We cut back to the scene as the girl chirps, “Wait ’till I show my mom!” The spot closes on the Trojan logo and tag, “Evolve. Use the most trusted condom every time.”
Kaplan Thaler creatives were Linda Kaplan Thaler, Whitney Pillsbury, Jason Graff, Josh Comers, Greg Meyers, Nader Mikhall, Leroy Tellez and Andy Green. Agency producers were Lisa Bifulco and Hadleight Arnst.
Mike Downey executive produced for Hero Content with Matt Slater serving as production manager. The DP was Joe Arcidiacona.
Editor was Andy Jennison of Breathe, New York. Kenny Pedini exec produced for Breathe. Assistant editor was Ian Mayer.
Audio mixer was Steve Rosen of Sonic Union, 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