Feature filmmaker Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer, last year’s The Magnificent Seven) via production house Wondros directed “The Gift,” one in a series of three :60s making their broadcast debut during the Oscar telecast (2/26) on ABC. The other two :60s were helmed, respectively, by movie directors Marc Forster and the team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
The premise of each short film centers on “how every receipt tells a story,” with the directors being challenged to illustrate their vision for one receipt containing bananas, paper towels, batteries, scooter, wrapping paper and a video baby monitor. The three creative films are part of Walmart’s larger multi-year partnership with the Academy Awards that is aimed at highlighting Walmart’s commitment to the art of storytelling. Walmart is also be making a $250,000 donation to The Academy Grants Program for FilmCraft.
Fuqua directed “The Gift” which shows a scooter-riding youngster who prepares and then wraps a gift–consisting of several of the items on the Walmart receipt–for presentation to some unseen extraterrestrial beings. Their spacecraft beams up the gift from the lad–while also briefly elevating him towards the sky.
Agency is Saatchi & Saatchi NY.
Credits
Client Walmart Agency Saatchi & Saatchi NY Javier Campopiano, chief creative officer; Mike Pierantozzi, Wayne Best, executive creative directors; Blake Enting, head of design; Michael Craven, creative director/copywriter; Scott Bassen, creative director/art director; John Doris, head of production; Emily Green, executive producer; Danica Rosen, Zamile Vilakazi, producers; Aliaksandra Shvedava, digital producer. Production Wondros Antoine Fuqua, director; Astrid Downs, exec producer; Justin Diener, producer. Postproduction Wondros/Zero VFX Brian Drewes, exec producer, post; John Refoua, William Pasley, editors. VFX Zero VFX, Venice, Calif., and Boston Sean Devereaux, VFX creative director/partner; Mike Warner, CG supervisor; Brian Drewes, VFX exec producer; Stella Shalta, VFX coordinator. (Toolbox: Maya, Houdini, Nuke, 3DEqualizer, Mari, Zbrush) Color Company 3 Stefan Sonnenfeld, colorist. Post Sound Services Sony Pictures Studios Martin Schloemer, mix tech; Mandell Winter, MPSE, David Esparza, MPSE, supervising sound editors; Brian Smith, ADR mixer. Music GSA Music Simon Franglen, composer.
When dozens of Klick Health team members said they wouldn’t be able to hug loved ones over the festive season, the agency turned to AI and other magic to orchestrate a series of sentimental, surprise reunions captured in its “Holiday Hugs” video. The heartwarming four-minute video, benefitting the D.C.-based Foundation for Social Connection (F4SC), parallels recent findings from a Maru/Blue Public Opinion survey commissioned by Klick.
The poll found 74 percent of Americans and Canadians won’t be able to hug at least one person they wish they could over the holidays. And like those in the video, survey participants cited geographical distance and loved ones having passed away as the leading factors preventing their hugs.
“I just wish I could really squeeze her right now,” says teary-eyed New York Klickster Kari Bocassi watching her AI-generated hug with her sister Marlene, moments before she bursts onto the set for a long in-person embrace. The siblings have spent the past 14 years caring for their mother since her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but haven’t been together for the holidays since Marlene moved to Virginia. Similarly, Toronto’s Fred Duarte gets the bear hug of his life when his brother Rico, who lives in Brazil, walks into Klick’s production studio for their first holiday reunion in seven years.
Directed by James Cooper via Cooper Films, “Holiday Hugs” also taps into the fact that hugs don’t just make people feel better emotionally, they also have numerous health benefits. According to the National Institutes of Health, hugs can lower blood pressure and boost the immune system.
“There’s nothing quite like the warmth and reassurance of a heartfelt hug,” said Klick’s chief creative officer Rich Levy. “With ‘Holiday... Read More
