A gamer is seated on the couch, transfixed on a video game. He tells his roommate, who’s just come home from work, that a package came for him. The roomie doesn’t look too pleased that the box–a delivery order from Frys.com (the online site of regional retailer Fry’s Electronics)–has been opened, but a smile comes to his face when he looks at the contents. He then exits out of sight into the adjoining room.
Suddenly all the power goes out and a bright light flashes from that next-door room. An instant later the power returns to the home and the gamer gets off the couch to see what the heck happened. He’s stunned to find no sign of his roommate–just a spinning swivel chair in the center of a technological labyrinth. “Steve,” he says sheepishly, realizing that his roommate is somewhere far away. Turns out the component from Frys.com was the missing piece to a time travel machine.
An end tag identifies the sponsor, Frys.com, accompanied by the slogan, “Welcome home, tech heads.”
“Pod” is one of three spots in a campaign directed by Simon West of Zoo Film, Hollywood, for Santa Ana, Calif.-based agency DGWB.
Gower Frost executive produced for Zoo, with Dawn Fanning serving as producer. The DP was Matthew Libatique. West has re-entered the spot arena via Zoo. He has extensive directorial credits in the ad discipline (Pepsi’s “Boy In A Bottle,” and the Cannes Gold Lion winner Little Caesar’s “Italian Feast”) and then diversified into feature helming (Con Air, The General’s Daughter, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider).
The DGWB team on the Frys.com package included partner/executive creative director Jon Gothold, creative directors Dave Swartz and John Zegowitz, associate creative director/art director Joe Cladis, associate creative director/copywriter Steve Harbour, designer Stan Chow and producer Scott Seltzer.
Editor was T.G. Herrington of Babbage Industries, Santa Monica. Colorist was Beau Leon of The Syndicate, Santa Monica. The Syndicate’s Verdi Sevenhuysen was Flame/visual effects artist, with Kim Evans producing for the company. Audio post mixer was Jeff Payne of Eleven, Santa Monica.
Sound designer was Reinhard Denke of stimmung, Santa Monica.
Principal actors were Joel Huggins and Jayk Gallagher.
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