Principal photography has concluded on all 6 spots for McDonalds. With a successful 3 day shoot coming to an end this week in LA, John had his director swag going, managing dozens of kids, video game characters, and dragons! He'd like to thank his amazing production crew, and all involved, for pulling off an unbelievable few days of filming. A special thanks to our DP Alex Disenhof for his Willis Reed performance in making this happen through injury. We couldn't have done it without you!
With 3 spots deep into visual effects finishing, and 3 more on deck, John will have his hands full through 2014 creating the magic and collaborating with all of the tie in partners. Look for these slick visual storytelling pieces to hit the national air come the new year!
Check out John's commercial for the Dorito's Crash the Superbowl contest. Co-written with Jake Taylor, directed by John, and starring Jake, this is the story of Dave. Dave likes to take selfie's and do other things with his smartphone. It finally has gotten him into a predicament. Check out the spot in the work section, and vote/rate it HERE.
John's been busy penning his first feature script. The film is called: Life Now, Life Then. What's it about, you ask?
Logline: Two brothers escape the harsh realities of their lives with imagination, friendship, and each other. Before the #hashtag.
Remember when you'd clean up before supper? Or laugh, cry, and play with the best friends a person could ask for, before the existence of social media? That's this. Friendships that last a lifetime.
It's Stand By Me meets The Sandlot and Social Media. A coming of age story of 6 friends and the summer of '94. Bonds that break the boundaries of social media. Stay tuned for updates on how the project is coming along.
Collaborating with the Leo Burnett Chicago team, John will be tapping into his directing and visual effects skills in order to complete 6 national commercials for McDonalds. Some of the spots will feature original animations from Dreamworks that will seamlessly integrate into the live action worlds John will be filming and creating. With principal photography concluding on the first 3, John is now deep into the edit, while simultaneously beginning pre-production and prep on the next round. Stay tuned for updates as production, animation, and visual effects all ramp up in coming months! In the meantime, here are some stills from the first shoot:
Marking the 100th anniversary of Prince Spaghetti, John took on the task of directing a re-imagined commercial based off of the original iconic ad from 1969. The ad ran for over 2 decades and had households all over the world calling for Wednesday night Prince Spaghetti! CBS picked up the story.
Paying homage to the original spot, John shot in many of the same locations. It is difficult getting anything past the locals in the North End of Boston, so they were quickly discovered.
Calls for "Anthony" could be heard all throughout the streets as the town shared memories of young Anthony's original run. Check out the new spot, and view the original ad in this North End Waterfront Article.
Check out John's director cut in the work section!
