Emmy win marks diversification into comedy
By Robert Goldrich
Miles Jay first graced the pages of SHOOT’s Directors Series in 2013 when he was included in our Up-and-Coming Directors feature largely on the strength of an interactive short film, Carly’s Cafe, that introduced us to Carly Fleishman, a 17 year old who was diagnosed with severe autism at the age of two. She communicated to her family for the first time by typing on a computer at the age of 11.
“In Carly’s Voice—Breaking Through Autism,” a book she co-authored with her father, Fleishman offered insights into and explanations for what the world sees as the strange behavior of those who have autism. Conceived by a creative team at Toronto ad agency john st., the web film Carly’s Cafe promoted further understanding by putting people in Carly’s shoes during a seemingly mundane outing at a coffee shop. Inspired by Fleishman’s writing (on page 362 of her book), Carly’s Cafe was an online experience through which viewers could navigate a virtual cafe with the same distractions and pressures that she encounters. The short earned Jay a Young Director Award at the 2012 Cannes Lions.
Fast forward to the present and Jay returns to SHOOT’s Directors Series with this stand-alone profile which reflects that circumstances for him have changed yet in some respects remain the same. On the “same” score, he’s still winning awards, the most recent being the primetime commercial Emmy for Squarespace’s “Calling John Malkovich.com” produced by his production company home, Smuggler, for NY agency John X Hannes.
As for what’s different, the Malkovich spot—which debuted during this year’s Super Bowl telecast—is comedy, a genre for which Jay hadn’t been widely known. The piece shows actor Malkovich in his fashion design studio talking to someone who has already claimed the domain name JohnMalkovich.com. This raises the question of who is being John Malkovich as the famous thespian tries to convince the other Malkovich to give him back his “rightful” domain name. The underlying sales pitch is that you better take care of business and get your domain name through Squarespace—or you could wind up being an angry Malkovich.
Another component of the Squarespace campaign was a Jay-helmed short titled Journey which captures a Malkovich different from his public persona. Even as compared to the Super Bowl ad, the short uncovers a softer yet determined side of Malkovich who’s launching a fashion line. Best known for his film work, Malkovich actually began his career in costume design. The Squarespace campaign explores the challenges Malkovich faces as he battles to break free from perceptions about him so that he can be thought of differently, in this case for his fashion sensibilities.
“This campaign was a passion project from the beginning,” related Jay. “Getting the chance to direct John Malkovich, being able to get involved early on from the script stage—what a great opportunity. John is really the opposite of his popular persona. He is a sweet, beautiful man. He was gracious and took my direction. And the experience of collaborating with the creatives at John X Hannes was very positive.”
Varied body of work
The high-profile Emmy win put the spotlight on Jay’s talent for comedy, extending his creative reach beyond the emotional, empathy-evoking fare for which he first earned his reputation.
This poignancy was perhaps best demonstrated in It Can Wait for ESPN and AT&T, which told the story of Fletcher Cleaves, a promising high school football player who shortly after being awarded an athletic scholarship to attend Lambuth University sustained serious injuries in an automobile accident which left him a paraplegic. Right before the tragic collision, it turns out the driver of the other vehicle was looking down at a text message on her cell phone. A 90-second version of the six-minute short landed Jay a DGA Award nomination in the commercials category last year. Jay blended elements of documentary and fiction, recreating the past and chronicling the present—which six years after the accident finds Cleaves moving into his own apartment to lead an independent life.
Shortly after becoming a DGA Award nominee, Jay discussed his approach to Cleaves’ story. The director noted that a key to It Can Wait was going initially with a misdirect. “We see this kid who is an underdog. We see him working so hard to better his life. At first it feels like a sports genre story about attaining a dream, in this case a college scholarship, through effort and perseverance. Then it’s all swiped from him in a brief moment. But we don’t center on that moment. A lot of these anti-texting while driving campaigns spend so much time on the crash. Things build toward the crash. What really means everything, though, is everything before and after the crash. That’s where you uncover the human story.”
For Jay the career storyline is simply to continue to broaden his creative horizons. For instance, earlier this year he received a Best Music Video Grammy Award nomination for his Leon Bridges’ clip titled “River.” And at press time, Jay was about to embark on a hip-hop music video set to shoot in New York. Not at liberty to publicly disclose the identity of the rap artist, Jay shared that this isn’t your typical hip-hop clip, adding that “a compelling story” is involved.
Additionally, Jay recently wrapped a Bose headphones campaign for Grey London, which is slated to soon debut.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More