Earlier this week, election day (6/8) in California yielded a woefully low turnout–a far cry from November 2008 when the presidential election and a controversial ballot initiative had voters flocking to their polling places in the Golden State. The ballot initiative was California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as solely being between opposite-sex couples. Proposition 8 narrowly won, overturning a California Supreme Court ruling that same sex couples had the constitutional right to marry. Appeals were filed in state and federal court–the state appeal, heard by the California Supreme Court, upheld Proposition 8 but allowed existing same-sex marriages to stand. The federal lawsuits are pending.
But rather than wait for the next judicial shoe to drop, creatives from Saatchi & Saatchi New York, and the directing duo Speck/Gordon (Will Speck and Josh Gordon) of production house Furlined have teamed on Devin & Glenn, a short film which argues tongue-in-cheek that the boredom, complacency, petty bickering, and falling out of romance that plagues marriage shouldn’t be confined to heterosexual couples.
The short introduces us to the title characters, two gay men who fall in love. We see their initial meeting and attraction which escalates into passionate romance and eventually marriage. However, keeping the flames of love hot is a daunting proposition as Devin and Glenn–portrayed by Justin Long and Mike White, respectively–get a bit bored with one another, exhibiting the classic symptoms of a couple that gets too comfortable and complacent. Add in some meddling in-laws and married life clearly isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Among the slices of life shown are Devin getting in the mood for romance only to find Glenn dead asleep in bed with the TV on. We see Glenn ask Devin out to the gym, an invite which is taken as an insult with Devin interpreting it as implying that he’s gained weight and thus needs to work out. We even get to the point where Devin is secretly looking at Internet porn to satisfy himself since his love life leaves much to be desired–only to have Devin discover him in the act.
Finally our “old married couple” is seen loading groceries into their car when a pickup truck drives by in which two guys are full mouth kissing, obviously hot and heavy for one another. They’re exactly where our married folks once were in their relationship.
A voiceover then hits us with the pitch: “If you disagree with the homosexual lifestyle, support overturning Prop. 8 and make them get married–like the rest of us.” A super guides us to MakeHomosexualsMarry.org.
The lead creatives on the job have since exited Saatchi–chief creative officer/copywriter Gerry Graf who is reportedly launching his own venture, and creative director/writer Chris Beresford-Hill who has moved onto BBDO. Speck/Gordon were directors and writers on the job, with Tami Reiker serving as the DP.
Editor was Haines Hall of Spot Welders.
Music composers were Andrew Feltenstein and John Nau of Beacon Street Studios.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More