The directorial duo of Michel+Nico has joined Believe Media as their first venture into commercial representation outside their native France (where they are represented by Bandit.) Believe is handling the directing brothers in the U.S. and U.K.
The Honest Player, a short film for Gillette and Grey London featuring international rugby star George North, broke at the end of January to a flurry of press attention in the U.K. It was followed just two days later by the release of a three-minute web film produced directly for Mercedes starring a big wave surfer. Both feature the hallmarks of a Michel+Nico production: storytelling with documentary content, accompanied by inspired visuals.
“To have two such strong pieces to launch them with–this is like a total eclipse and that rarely happens,” said James Covill, executive producer of Believe’s London office, which produced the Gillette spot. “I just love their life stories, and they possess an energy and passion that is rarely seen,” he adds.
The brothers are notable for more than their directing talent. Both are former rugby players themselves. Michel also is a former social worker and Nico an architect–unique backgrounds for any commercial director. Their directing journey began just three years ago, when they taught themselves to film and edit short films and documentaries. They went on to work for such clients as Orange TV, Red Bull TV, Eurosport and several professional sports clubs, which has made up their reel until now.
“There is no more organic way of learning the language of film than our journey,” said Michel about their experience. “We were these guys with cameras in our hands, always in search of creativity. It took us a while before we realized that we really were directors.”
The duo joins a Believe roster long known for its standout work in commercials and music videos. Michel+Nico are the newest addition to Believe’s cadre of storytelling directors such as Bruno Aveillan, Floria Sigismondi and Zack Snyder.
“Michel+Nico have exploded on the scene in their own humble way,” said Believe co-founder Luke Thornton. “It’s an honor for us to play a part in growing their directing careers here in the US as well as in the U.K.”
Review: Director Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17” Starring Robert Pattinson
So you think YOUR job is bad?
Sorry if we seem to be lacking empathy here. But however crummy you think your 9-5 routine is, it'll never be as bad as Robert Pattinson's in Bong Joon Ho's "Mickey 17" — nor will any job, on Earth or any planet, approach this level of misery.
Mickey, you see, is an "Expendable," and by this we don't mean he's a cast member in yet another sequel to Sylvester Stallone's tired band of mercenaries ("Expend17ables"?). No, even worse! He's literally expendable, in that his job description requires that he die, over and over, in the worst possible ways, only to be "reprinted" once again as the next Mickey.
And from here stems the good news, besides the excellent Pattinson, whom we hope got hazard pay, about Bong's hotly anticipated follow-up to "Parasite." There's creativity to spare, and much of it surrounds the ways he finds for his lead character to expire — again and again.
The bad news, besides, well, all the death, is that much of this film devolves into narrative chaos, bloat and excess. In so many ways, the always inventive Bong just doesn't know where to stop. It hardly seems a surprise that the sci-fi novel, by Edward Ashton, he's adapting here is called "Mickey7" — Bong decided to add 10 more Mickeys.
The first act, though, is crackling. We begin with Mickey lying alone at the bottom of a crevasse, having barely survived a fall. It is the year 2058, and he's part of a colonizing expedition from Earth to a far-off planet. He's surely about to die. In fact, the outcome is so expected that his friend Timo (Steven Yeun), staring down the crevasse, asks casually: "Haven't you died yet?"
How did Mickey get here? We flash back to Earth, where Mickey and Timo ran afoul of a villainous loan... Read More