At the beginning of the year, the British Heart Foundation’s “No Kissing” made SHOOT‘s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery, featuring actor Vinnie Jones as a gangster character somewhat reminiscent of his past role as Big Chris in the movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He then performs CPR on a passed-out man to the beat of the Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive” disco hit.
Fast forward to today and a sequel to that instructional video, again out of Grey London, has debuted, starring a lad in the Vinnie Jones role. This “Mini Vinnie” for the new generation also promotes hands-only CPR. The demo is accompanied by “Stayin’ Alive” which continues the Grey/British Heart Foundation strategy of “education through comedy.” At the end of the piece, Mini Vinnie is joined by the original Vinnie Jones who proudly affirms, “That’s my boy.”
Steve Bendelack of Hungry Man directed “Mini Vinnie” for a Grey London team that included executive creative director Nils Leonard, creative director Vicki Maguire, creatives Maguire and Jonathan Marlow, and producer Jacqueline Dobrin.
“Beatles ’64” Documentary Captures Intimate Moments From Landmark U.S. Visit
Likely most people have seen iconic footage of the Beatles performing on "The Ed Sullivan Show." But how many have seen Paul McCartney during that same U.S. trip feeding seagulls off his hotel balcony?
That moment — as well as George Harrison and John Lennon goofing around by exchanging their jackets — are part of the Disney+ documentary "Beatles '64," an intimate look at the English band's first trip to America that uses rare and newly restored footage. It streams Friday.
"It's so fun to be the fly on the wall in those really intimate moments," says Margaret Bodde, who produced alongside Martin Scorsese. "It's just this incredible gift of time and technology to be able to see it now with the decades of time stripped away so that you really feel like you're there."
"Beatles '64" leans into footage of the 14-day trip filmed by documentarians Albert and David Maysles, who left behind 11 hours of the Fab Four goofing around in New York's Plaza hotel or traveling. It was restored by Park Road Post in New Zealand.
"It's beautiful, although it's black and white and it's not widescreen," says director David Tedeschi. "It's like it was shot yesterday and it captures the youth of the four Beatles and the fans."
The footage is augmented by interviews with the two surviving members of the band and people whose lives were impacted, including some of the women who as teens stood outside their hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of the Beatles.
"It was like a crazy love," fan Vickie Brenna-Costa recalls in the documentary. "I can't really understand it now. But then, it was natural."
The film shows the four heartthrobs flirting and dancing at the Peppermint Lounge disco, Harrison noodling with a Woody Guthrie riff on his guitar... Read More