While coverage of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival understandably centers on the feature-length and short films making their debuts, another premiere under the radar is starting to gain attention–and it’s being screened multiple times throughout the proceedings as well as virally.
The until now overlooked debut is that of “Snack Dance,” a Tribeca trailer which at first hearkens back to a circa 1950s-style animation promo designed to lure movie-goers to the concession stand for popcorn, a soda, candy and the like. After all, as any movie theater owner will tell you, that’s where they make the real money.
However, the 21st Century iteration turns out quite differently in a classic misdirect. “Snack Dance” introduces us to four animated characters: a box of candy; a container of pop corn; a hot dog; and a soda in a cup with a straw. They prance through the theater singing, “Come with us to the snack stand…for something good to eat.”
But something happens that detours us from a Busby Berkeley song and dance routine extolling the virtues of snacking in the theater. Hot dog accidentally bumps into popcorn, and suddenly things get ugly.
“Watch where you’re going, pal,” affirms the popcorn character, setting off a street banter exchange that’s threatening and dotted with bleeps.
The popcorn guy is carrying a sign that reads, “Snacks.” He breaks off the sign’s stick to serve as a weapon which he brandishes in the direction of hot dog, who counters by grabbing the straw out of the nearby soda pop character. Hot dog also sheds his bun, as if it were a jacket, so that he can more freely do battle.
The duel begins and ends quickly with the popcorn character clocking hot dog with the stick, knocking him out cold.
Mr. Popcorn then asks, “Who else wants some?”
The screen then transitions to two supered messages against a dark backdrop–“It’s Movies. It’s New York”–as we hear the popcorn character continuing his rant. “You want a piece of this. I didn’t think so.”
End tag visuals include the Tribeca Film Festival logo, followed by a rundown of festival sponsors and their logos.
An ensemble of talent from Crew Cuts, New York, handled the animation and post for Ogilvy & Mather, New York.
The Ogilvy New York creative team included Steve Simpson, chief creative officer, North America; Lars Bastholm, chief creative officer, N.Y.; executive creative director Tommy Henvey; group creative director Terry Finley; copywriter Darius Alaie; executive producer Patti McConnell; and producer Dana Edelman.
The Crew Cuts contingent included lead animator Ian Glaum, animators Don Amatore and Nam Doan, executive producer Nancy Shames, producer Stephanie Norris and conform artist Josh Weiss.
Music was from JSM Music, New York. Audio post mixer was Philip Loeb of Sound Lounge, New York.
Voice actors were Tony Sirico, Vincent Pastore and John Scurti.
Here’s “Snack Dance”:
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More