When the great Mel Blanc passed away, Warner Bros. took out an ad in honor of the voice actor. It showed a spotlight beam cast down upon a microphone stand with nobody at the mike. Off to the side were Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn and Pepe Le Pew, their heads bowed in silence. Above them was the word “Speechless.” And below the microphone stand was “Mel Blanc 1908-1989.”
Because I’m an unabashed Looney Tunes fan, that “Speechless” tribute sticks in my mind to this day. And now, 18 years later, another series of “Speechless” ads–this time in the form of web spots–have struck a responsive chord. The campaign–some 30 spots and counting, ranging from 15 seconds to three minutes–shows support for striking Writers Guild of America (WGA) members (SHOOT, 11/30).
The genesis of the campaign came when director/writer George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl) and writer Alan Sereboff (The Red House) were walking a WGA picket line in Los Angeles. The two had a vision that they and their talented colleagues could do much more than picket in the strike offensive against the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
“We thought why not take our argument to the Internet, the very medium we’re fighting over, the medium which is the future of entertainment,” related Hickenlooper. “…So Alan and I decided to reach out to major celebrity SAG talent to tell the writers’ point of view. We came up with the idea to create informative and entertaining ads that will let the general public know our side.”
The original idea, which has been realized, was to simply have the celebs stand silently in front of the camera, underscoring the fact that they are “speechless” sans the contributions of writers. An A-list lineup of actors was assembled–and more continue to volunteer. Among the notables are Sean Penn, Woody Allen, Ethan Hawke, Charlize Theron, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Patricia Arquette, Susan Sarandon, Alan Cumming, Laura Linney, Matthew Perry, America Ferrera, Harvey Keitel and Ray Romano.
Once these performers became involved, several got their creative juices flowing with Hickenlooper and Sereboff, coming up with concepts that went beyond the “Speechless” scenario. For example Holly Hunter is seen having trouble with a script she’s performing so she seeks writing help on a hotline that’s outsourced to a scribe in India. Patricia Clarkson and Amy Ryan are reduced to reading from the Yellow Pages, trying to emote along the way. The response from high profile celebs has been overwhelming, so other directors–such as Paul Haggis (Crash), Wayne Kramer (The Cooler) and Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry)–have been brought in to accommodate the influx of on-camera talent.
Hickenlooper noted that there’s another implied message in the web ads that feature and TV studios should take to heart–namely that writers have been able to successfully liaison with big ticket performers and make a significant Internet splash without any corporate distribution arm.
This, said Hickenlooper, shows that writers can create content, directly package talent and gain meaningful exposure on the web, eliminating the studio as middleman.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More