A spec reel showcasing his filmmaking prowess broke Warren Kushner into the spot directorial ranks, landing him on the roster of HSI Productions in March 2000, just a couple of months before the SAG/AFTRA strike against the advertising business began and went on ’til late into that calendar year. While the timing was hardly fortuitous, Kushner nonetheless began working and his stock built steadily as a director, first at HSI and then at Bedford Falls (which later morphed into Reactor Films for commercials), and now for the past nearly two years at bicoastal/international Partizan.
There were several pivotal projects in Kushner’s career along the way, including the Priceline campaign work featuring William Shatner for agency Gotham, N.Y., and a Bedford Falls-produced Mini Cooper ad, “Carbonation,” out of Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Miami, which won an ANDY Award in the television/automotive category in 2004. “Carbonation” showed a young man motoring about San Francisco, taking on the scenic city’s curves and inclines at a healthy speed in his Mini Cooper. He finally comes to a stop and decides to pop open a can of soda, which spews liquid all over. We view this carbonated explosion from outside the car, the visual highlight being the soda effervescence now covering the interior of his windshield. Not to worry, he wipes away just enough to get a view outside so he can keep on driving his Mini.
Kushner cited “Carbonation” as a turning point for him on a couple of fronts. For one, it represented the mix of visual and comedic performance work for which he has become known–avoiding being pigeonholed in one or the other. Secondly, it earmarks his penchant for repeat business in that he’s maintained an ongoing relationship with Crispin, a prime example being his “Kick’n Chicken” Burger King spot which started on television and then wound up extending its life virally, generating heavy YouTube traffic. The Partizan-produced job stars James Hong (whom Kushner brought into the project) as a martial arts mentor to a chicken whose kick is much too powerful. We see the chicken kick a pillar of a temple, causing the building to collapse. But after wreaking destruction in different scenarios with its kick, the chicken finally heeds Hong’s advice and gently taps his guru’s walking stick, cracking it ever so slightly. Hong proclaims that his pupil is finally ready and next we see an inviting shot of BK’s Spicy Chick’n Crisp sandwich which has “just a little kick.”
International business has also helped Kushner on the visual/comedic hybrid front, a relatively recent case in point being the Pepsi H2oh! bottled water commercial “H2oh!” out of BBDO Paris.
A man buys a Pepsi H2oh! from a vending machine and a nearby water fountain spurts angrily at him. He runs off only to have a huge truck transporting hundreds of multi-gallon water cooler bottles explode individually at him. Likewise a hydrant goes off on him–his only saving grace preventing him from being doused is that he’s standing in the shelter of a bus kiosk.
Finally he boards the bus and slips the Pepsi H2oh! into the backpack of an unsuspecting passenger getting off the bus. Sure enough, the backpack-toting victim walks only a few steps down the sidewalk before a torrent of water pours down on him from above. The tagline is that if you drink H2oh!, “Water’s going to be jealous.”
While Kushner has been active in international spotmaking for much of his career, he noted that Partizan’s global cache has helped him garner higher profile projects such as the Pepsi product launch for BBDO Paris.
He also feels that Partizan offers a comfort level to agency creatives and clients, making it easier to take a leap of faith with him into other genres. For example, Kushner recently wrapped an Allstate commercial, “Taillights,” for Leo Burnett, Chicago, in which we see a procession of cars, each one with teen drivers and their friends as passengers embarking on a fun activity–a weekend snowboarding trip, the high school prom, a party, a soccer game.
The :60 seems like a playful slice of life spot until a voiceover by actor Dennis Haysbert relates that every year, nearly 6,000 teenagers “go out for a drive–and never come back.”
The spot notes that parents talking to their kids about safe driving can make a positive difference. A website address provides information to help start that dialogue.
At press time, Kushner had wrapped jobs for California Tourism (featuring Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger) out of ad agency Mering Carson in Sacramento, and a humorous multi-television spot Swiffer campaign for The Kaplan Thaler Group, New York.
Review: Director Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked”
It's the ultimate celebrity redemption tour, two decades in the making. In the annals of pop culture, few characters have undergone an image makeover quite like the Wicked Witch of the West.
Oh, she may have been vengeful and scary in "The Wizard of Oz." But something changed — like, REALLY changed — on the way from the yellow brick road to the Great White Way. Since 2003, crowds have packed nightly into "Wicked" at Broadway's Gershwin Theatre to cheer as the green-skinned, misunderstood Elphaba rises up on her broomstick to belt "Defying Gravity," that enduring girl-power anthem.
How many people have seen "Wicked"? Rudimentary math suggests more than 15 million on Broadway alone. And now we have "Wicked" the movie, director Jon M. Chu's lavish, faithful, impeccably crafted (and nearly three-hour) ode to this origin story of Elphaba and her (eventual) bestie — Glinda, the very good and very blonde. Welcome to Hollywood, ladies.
Before we get to what this movie does well (Those big numbers! Those costumes!), just a couple thornier issues to ponder. Will this "Wicked," powered by a soulful Cynthia Erivo (owner of one of the best singing voices on the planet) and a sprightly, comedic, hair-tossing Ariana Grande, turn even musical theater haters into lovers?
Tricky question. Some people just don't buy into the musical thing, and they should be allowed to live freely amongst us. But if people breaking into song delights rather than flummoxes you, if elaborate dance numbers in village squares and fantastical nightclubs and emerald-hued cities make perfect sense to you, and especially if you already love "Wicked," well then, you will likely love this film. If it feels like they made the best "Wicked" movie money could buy — well, it's... Read More