HOLLYWOOD-The Industry, the division of bicoastal Moxie Pictures that features an ensemble of filmmakers from other disciplines, has signed director Al Yankovic (a.k.a. "Weird Al") for commercial representation.
Since the early 1980s, Yankovic has established himself as a comedic musical artist and a pioneer of musical parody. He has amassed an extensive catalog of songs he’s written and performed, as well as the accompanying music videos he’s conceived. They include "Ricky" (spoofing Toni Basil’s song "Mickey"), "Eat It" (Michael Jackson’s "Beat It"), which won a Grammy for best comedy recording, and "Fat" (Michael Jackson’s "Bad"), which won a Grammy for best music video.
Among the videos Yankovic has also directed are "Smells Like Nirvana," a send-up of Nirvana’s "Smells Like Teen Spirit"; "Amish Paradise" (Coolio’s "Gangsta’s Paradise"); "Bedrock Anthem" (Red Hot Chili Peppers’ "Give It Away") and "Gump" (The Presidents of the United States’ "Lump").
Formerly affiliated with Wright-Banks Films, Los Angeles, Yankovic has since 1995 produced music videos through Daisy Force, another division of Moxie. Daisy Force executive producer Beth La Mure said she’d met the director through a friend. "I’d known his work, and then, as soon as I met him, I was 100 percent into it," said La Mure, who praised Yankovic as "the most prepared director" she’s ever worked with.
Moxie executive producer Gary Rose said he and Yankovic had discussed getting into commercials for the last couple of years. However, Yankovic’s busy schedule-which included concert touring and, from August 1997 to September ’98, performing in CBS Saturday morning’s The Weird Al Show-precluded him from pursuing spotwork until now.
"One of the things people really don’t know is that Al has been directing for quite a long time," said Rose. "I’ve been contacting a lot of advertising agencies about working with Al because I think he’ll be an amazing spot director. But most of the people I speak to have no idea that Al has ever directed anything, [although] everyone obviously knows his screen persona."
Yankovic broke into directing in 1986 with his music video "Christmas at Ground Zero," which he made with his own financing because his record label was reluctant to release the song-off his 1987 album Even Worse-as a single. "In the ’80s, I was always happy to let my manager or whoever direct the videos as long as I was the creative force," related Yankovic. "At the time, I thought it was too much work for me in front of the camera and behind it at the same time. But over the years, I became more and more of a control freak. Around 1991 or 1992, I decided I wanted to hold the reins all by myself, and I’ve been directing my own videos since then."
Apparently, added Yankovic, that wasn’t enough: He wanted to direct other artists’ videos as well. To that end, most notably, he directed the intro and end segments of a Hanson video, "River." The bookend pieces spoof Titanic, with the film’s Rose (played again by Gloria Stewart) cast as a huge Hanson fan. He also directed the clip "Wail" for blues/punk group The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion; the acclaimed video was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s Top Five videos of 1997.
It was during the prepro phase of "Wail," said Rose, that he observed the director’s "unbelievably" focused concentration. "I was thinking how ad agencies really want to board jobs out and know exactly what they’re doing, and I thought Al would really be amazing at [commercialmaking]. It really sparked my interest to see Al do some spots," Rose said.
While he probably won’t be doing heartfelt PacBell work, Yankovic noted with a laugh, he does think he’d do well with comedy in the :30 format. Acknowledging that, initially, he will likely be considered for parody projects, Yankovic emphasized that he doesn’t want to be confined to that genre. "I’m good at matching things, and I’m able to capture a look and a feel," said Yankovic. "But I am actively trying to expand a little more and be known for things other than just copying other people’s work."
Rose added that right after Moxie signed feature director Christopher Guest (SHOOT, 4/4/97, p. 7), the initial boards sent to him were all patterned after Guest’s films Waiting For Guffman (which he directed, wrote and starred in) and This Is Spinal Tap (which he co-wrote with the film’s director, Rob Reiner). Guest, however, managed to break out of this pigeonhole with a package of comedic spots he helmed for FOX Sports promoting its NHL broadcasts. The ads, created by New York-based Cliff Freeman and Partners, won awards from such major competitions as Cannes, the Clios and London’s D&AD.
"That agency said [Guest] is a smart man that knows timing and comedy," said Rose. "And that’s the way I feel about Al. He has the basic essentials to do this and do it really well."
The Industry is represented by New York-based Wendy Jacobson on the East Coast and by L.A.-based Janet Gilson on the West Coast and in the Midwest. Rose related the shop is seeking two more reps to cover the Northeast, Northern California and Texas.
