By BY ROBERT GOLDRICH
Director David McNally-a Toronto resident who signed last summer with bicoastal Omaha Pictures for U.S. representation (SHOOT, 7/24/98, p. 1)-spent every night for two weeks watching action movies upon being awarded his biggest American ad splash to date, Budweiser’s "Lobster," a :45 which debuted earlier this week on the Super Bowl via DDB Needham Chicago.
"I looked at the board and the concept was so well written that I knew I was in store for a real joy ride," he recalled. "It’s an idea that sort of begged for a cinematic execution, calling for the tongue-in-cheek nature of those big action movies with hostage situations like "Die Hard.’ "
The premise simply has a lobster being whisked out of his tank to seemingly inevitable doom in a restaurant kitchen. As the lobster draws closer to an ominous pot of boiling water, it facially and anatomically conveys a range of emotion, from fear to dread to desperation as he seeks a way out of his predicament. The means for escape suddenly appears as the lobster’s claw grabs a bottle of Budweiser from the tray of a passing waiter.
A restaurant employee signals an alert, noting that the lobster has a bottle of Bud and means business. Restaurant workers, including the chef, cautiously approach, trying to talk the lobster into releasing its innocent brew-hostage. Too crafty to be taken in by empty promises, the crustacean backs his way out of the restaurant through a revolving door to freedom.
A restaurant patron then changes his order from lobster to a top sirloin. And the restaurant special of the day-lobster-is erased from a blackboard and replaced by steak.
For McNally, there were a couple of keys to the spot beyond the foundation of an excellent concept: the animatronic lobster created by creature-maker, puppeteer, visual effects and makeup artist Rick Lazzarini of The Character Shop, Canoga Park, Calif.; and the decision-which the director advocated-to keep a dark edge to the story.
"Rick [Lazzarini] delivered big time," assessed McNally, noting that some liberties were taken with the creature design, most notably giving the lobster eyes that open. "Rick created a believable looking lobster with the ability to convey feelings and to react to its surroundings."
McNally added that the traditional route with this comedic concept would have been "to go high key … but we went for some contrast, a darker feeling which was unexpected and helped to heighten the humor." The director remembered years ago seeing Ghostbusters which he contended "broke the high-key comedy mold. The movie played up a dark and dramatic feel and proved effective in playing up the comedy."
DDB Needham exec. producer Greg Popp was drawn to McNally’s tongue-in-cheek, sometimes dark sense of humor. Popp cited an AT&T/Cineplex Odeon cinema spot, "Cell Block" via Gee Jeffrey & Partners, Toronto, which McNally directed via his Canadian production roost, The Players Film Company, Toronto. "We’re always on the lookout for young, up-and-coming directors who can deliver what the star directors provide," related Popp. "David fit that bill. That piece ["Cell Block’] exhibited great storytelling, a wonderful visual style, lighting, camera movement and a different kind of humor. It’s what made us think of him for this project."
"Cell Block" depicted an inmate in the electric chair confidently expecting a last-minute phone call reprieve from a bribed governor. The phone rings but it turns out to be coming from a cell phone in the theater audience. The spot requests that people turn off their cell phones when in the theater.
"Lobster" was shot on location at a Toronto restaurant; the job was produced by Omaha, with support from The Players Film Company. McNally worked with noted DP John Schwartzman (Armageddon, The Rock, the upcoming EdTV) on the spot. The two had built a rapport during an earlier collaboration on a Canadian assignment for Diet Pepsi.
Popp noted that the buying power of the U.S. dollar due to a favorable exchange rate is what brought the shoot to Toronto. A bonus, he continued, was being able to tap into a fresh vein of Canadian acting talent, "sort of a "Second City’-character feel."
Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. Explore Generations, Old School vs. New School, In “Poppa’s House”
Boundaries between work and family don't just blur in the new CBS sitcom "Poppa's House" starring father-and-son comedy duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. They shatter.
"It's wonderful to come to work every day and see him and some of his kids and my sister and my brother and nieces and nephews. They all work on this show. They all contribute," says the senior Wayans. "I don't think there are words to express how joyful I am."
Wayans plays the titular Poppa, a curmudgeonly radio DJ who's more than comfortable doing it his way, while Wayans Jr. plays his son, Damon, a budding filmmaker who's stuck in a job he hates.
"My character, Pop, is just an old school guy who's kind of stuck in his ways," says Wayans, who starred in "In Living Color" and "My Wife and Kids."
Pop yearns for the days when a handshake was a binding contract and Michael Jordan didn't complain if he got fouled on the court. Pop laughs at the younger generation's participation trophies.
"It's old school versus new school and them teaching each other lessons from both sides," says Wayans Jr., who played Coach in the Fox sitcom "New Girl."
"They (the characters) bring the best out in each other and they're resistant initially. But then throughout the episode they have revelations and these revelations help them become better people," he adds.
The two have worked together before — dad made an appearance on son's "Happy Endings" and "Happy Together," while son was a writer and guest star on dad's "My Wife and Kids." But this is the first time they have headlined a series together.
The half-hour comedy — premiering Monday and co-starring Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson — smartly leaves places in the script where father and son can let... Read More