Mono-monikered director Jaume owes much of his recent success to a mischievous cat and, of all things, a loveable airplane seat. The former was the subject of Jaume’s :30 MasterCard tie-in spot for Universal Studios’ Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat out of McCann-Erickson, New York, while the latter was featured in a Delta Air Lines ad ("The Seat") for BrightHouse, Atlanta.
In "Cat in the Hat," viewers get quick glimpses of the zany Dr. Seuss character’s back and striped hat as he darts in and out of vibrantly colored shops on a holiday shopping spree. Cartoon-like sound effects punctuate the action while a Seussian-speaking narrator recites the lines: "A teapot, toy robot, some gadget they have not got. Toolkit, oven mitt, a pink, polka-dotted dress you hope fits." The narrator, whose rhymes are backed by a lively chamber orchestra score, finishes with: "Grand total: three hundred dollars. The perfect present for one and all, for ones who are big and ones who are small: priceless." The ad easily overshadowed the film it was meant to plug while also encouraging the use of MasterCard during the holiday shopping season.
With Delta’s "The Seat," Jaume got a chance to show his sentimental side in a whimsical spot featuring a woman and her airplane seat. The commercial opens with the woman purchasing a plane ticket and choosing her seat on the flight via Delta’s Web site. When she clicks "Print Boarding Pass," an actual airplane seat (complete with a pair of legs) emerges from her printer.
The woman and her chair then leave the office, get into an elevator, hail a cab and make their way to their final destination, the airport. All the while, an original song with lyrics penned by BrightHouse chief creative officer Markham Cronin, explains: "We met on the Internet/ We’re gonna go cool places I bet/ We’re on our way just you and me/ You’ll go with me because I want you to." The final tag line, which leads to a shot of the Delta logo, reads: "Check in online, choose your seat, go straight to the gate."
The spots generated lots of great buzz for the Barcelona-born director, but the success clearly hasn’t gone to Jaume’s head. "It was just a cool year," he says modestly, and adds with a laugh, "I had jobs that were actually seen on TV and in theaters, and that’s rare for me."
Jaume’s fascination with directing began at the age of "six or seven," when he realized he could escape by watching movies. "Movies really helped me get out of my own head," he theorizes. "John Ford, John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski—I was fascinated with their work and with the idea of expressing myself visually."
Dark, almost surreal situations seem to be a common thread running through most of the films that made an impression on Jaume during his formative years. That darker-style has since become one of his trademarks. "There have been a lot of commercials that I’ve lost because the clients thought I was literally too dark," he says. " ‘Cat in the Hat’ is dark. We had to use the same brightly colored sets they built for the movie, but I lit it much darker and set it in the winter with snow because I wanted a more stylized look than the one they created for the film. I like to leave some things in the shadows—leaving them to the viewers’ imagination."
At the movies
Producer Joel Silver embraced that very quality and recently offered Jaume his first opportunity to direct a feature film, the upcoming horror movie House of Wax, which is being produced by Dark Castle Entertainment for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures. (The film is a remake of the 1953 House of Wax 3-D, starring Vincent Price; although the new version will not be in 3-D) "It came out of the blue, and it was something I didn’t expect," he says of Silver’s offer. "I’ve tried to get other movies off the ground and they never went anywhere so when this came up, I just jumped on it. I was like, ‘Let’s start tomorrow!’ "
Jaume reported for duty on the film’s Australian set in mid-January, and most likely will be kept busy with the project through July. "I know most people won’t think I’m telling the truth, but I am really a character-driven director," he shares. "My commercials are mostly visual, but I love characters. I think that’s my strong point, and I am having a blast dealing with them every day for this movie."
House of Wax is scheduled to hit theaters this Halloween and will sport the director’s full name—Jaume Collet-Serra—in its credits. "I had gotten so tired of people constantly misspelling my last name that I figured it would be better to just keep it to one," he explains of dropping his surname in the commercial world. "It made things easier but now, for the movie, I think it’s time to use my full name again."
Jaume hasn’t used his complete moniker professionally since 1996, when he graduated from Los Angeles’ Columbia Film School, and signed with now defunct The End with the intention of making a splash as a music video director. "I thought I would be this big shot director and it didn’t happen," he laments.
One year out of school, at the age of 22, he decided to try his luck in the commercial realm. He has since done spots for clients like Verizon, Rubbermaid, Coke, Woolite, Black & Decker and Sony PlayStation (including "Seals Online," out of TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles), to name a few. "I’ve been working fairly steadily since I got into this business," Jaume notes, "and the majority of the time, I’ve been lucky enough to do stuff that I really like regardless of whether or not it gets me attention or even more work."
