By MILLIE TAKAKI
We interrupt this commercial to give you an A/V show from yesteryear. That’s just part of the bizarre, humorous twist in "Overhead," a :30 for Chick fil-A restaurants out of Dallas agency The Richards Group.
The spot opens as if it’s peddling a cheesy shoe outlet called Leather Boot-A-Rama. Two gigantic cowboy boots-made of cowhide-extend skyward and fill the screen. Suddenly the message is broken up by static interference that gives way to a test pattern for "Cow TV," a guerrilla-style network that has seemingly taken unlawful control of the airwaves.
What follows is easily the most offbeat, makeshift overhead projector presentation imaginable. The silhouette of a cow’s hoof places an overlay on the projector that reads: "Know yer food groops." The hoof then removes that introductory sign and replaces it with a food pyramid diagram containing the words "chikin" and "dessurt." "Chikin" dominates the pyramid and while the cow’s spelling leaves much to be desired, the message is loud and clear. From stage left, another cow walks through the barn and knocks over the projector, temporarily disrupting the anything but state-of-the-art A-V show. But a cow-hoof silhouette enters the picture and rights the ship, continuing the overhead projector barn wall display with a sign that offers the bottom-line message, "Eat mor chikin." The spot then ends on the Chick fil-A logo and a humorous clucking sound.
"Overhead" was directed by Erich Joiner and Heavy International-a.k.a. Kate Flather and Jonas Morganstein-who are all represented via Santa Monica-based Tool of North America. Agency producer David Rucker explained that he’s been a long-time fan of Joiner who wound up overseeing the campaign while working closely with Heavy International. "I was really taken by Heavy International’s reel which showcased a lot of sensibilities we were looking for in this job," related Rucker. "Having Joiner team with them was ideal for us." Other Tool contributors were executive producer Dierdre Harrington, producer Joby Ochsner, head of production Jennifer Siegel and production manager Hoon Park. Andrzej Sekula was the DP.
The Richards Group ensemble of creative talent included agency principal Stan Richards, creative director/copywriter Doug Rucker, writer Tim Wood, art director Lynn Fredricksen and producer David Rucker.
Doug Bryan and the mono-monikered Gerlinda of Post Op, Dallas, served as offline editor and online editor, respectively. Post Op producer was Lisa Hill. Collyer Spreen of Post Op was audio mixer and sound designer. Colorist was Rob Lingelbach of The Filmworkers Club, Dallas.
“Smile 2” Tops Weekend Box Office; “Anora” Glitters In Limited Release
Horror movies topped the domestic box office charts and an Oscar contender got off to a sparkling start this weekend. "Smile 2," in its first weekend, and "Terrifier 3" in its second proved to be the big draws for general movie audiences in North America, while the Palme d'Or winner"Anora" got the best per-theater average in over a year.
"Smile 2" was the big newcomer, taking first place with a better than expected $23 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Parker Finn returned to write and direct the sequel to the supernatural horror "Smile," his debut. Originally intended for streaming, Paramount pivoted and sent the movie to theaters in the fall of 2022. "Smile" became a sleeper hit at the box office, earning some $217 million against a $17 million budget.
The sequel, starring Naomi Scott as a pop star, was rewarded with a bit of a bigger budget, and a theatrical commitment from the start. Playing on 3,619 screens, it opened slightly higher than the first's $22 million.
Second place went to Universal and DreamWorks Animation's "The Wild Robot" in its fourth weekend with $10.1 million, bumping it past $100 million in North America. Family films often have long lives in theaters, particularly ones as well reviewed as "The Wild Robot," and some have speculated that it got a bump this weekend from teenagers buying tickets for the PG-rated family film and then sneaking into "Terrifier 3," which is not rated, instead. Either way, Damien Leone's demon clown movie, which cost only $2 million to produce, is doing more than fine with legitimate ticket buyers. It added an estimated $9.3 million, bringing its total to $36.2 million.
"Rumors like that are PR gold," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "There's... Read More