3. Tony Scott
Being courted by the Hallmark corporation was something Ridley's little brother Tony would never have to worry about. The dearly departed Tony Scott was a sound director in his own right, although not as highly regarded as his brother. The contrasting highs and lows of the brother's talent is often spoken of with Ridley usually emerging the victor, having mostly to do with his track record of directing acclaimed films in different genres. This isn't the case with Tony Scott, who was, and will forever be known as a "boys with toys" director. He directed movies about stereotypical male obsessions like speed (
Top Gun, Days of Thunder), revenge (
Revenge, Man on Fire), power (
Crimson Tide), technology (
Enemy of the State, Deja Vu) and machinery (
Unstoppable). Some would say he was limited in his abilities, which is why he stuck to the easy-to-please realm of the action genre. I choose to think that Tony Scott knew what he liked and choose to focus his abilities there. Either way, he was very successful and developed as a director right alongside his big bro. In fact, it was his brother Ridley who helped get him started in the film business by giving him a leg up in his commercial directing company Ridley Scott Associates (RSA). Surely after the success of Ridley, companies must have been willing to give anyone with the last name Scott a chance at directing commercials for them. Most likely, Tony had no problem finding work at RSA, or afterwards when he became a big Hollywood director. Unlike his brother, whose diverse genre offerings drew a wide variety of commercial suitors, the Tony Scott aesthetic tended to only draw the more masculine brands. A typical example is the series of spots Tony directed for Miller Genuine Draft. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5s6yyohI5I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efAhAPt1YpI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mUiSSkC_gY I can almost hear the advertisers telling Tony what they want: "Hey Tony, we really like what you did in
Top Gun and
Days of Thunder. Can you do that over again but make it all about beer?" Tony obliged and delivered a series of slick beer ads showcasing the unique hyper sense of American machismo. You take a look at these commercials and you can see the foundation laid for the later, more experimental work he did at the end of his career. When called upon, he could manage to reign in his experimental instincts. You see a more restrained Tony Scott in a commercial he directed for the British banking empire Barclay. It's a tight little gem of a spot featuring a quick talking Anthony Hopkins explaining his philosophy on what it means to be "big". While the spot is not the most indicative of Tony Scott's style it still has enough of his trademark quick cutting to show that Tony was still able to sneak in at least a little of his personality. At least there's more style than what would normally be seen in a stale old bank add. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_39b8e5PXWw Eventually, the opportunity to do car ads came for Tony Scott. First up, is a spot he made for the car manufacturer SAAB. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM3woO0AbCw If you didn't get a sense of Tony Scott's signature style from watching that spot, then you must not have seen the film
Top Gun (which he was hired to do based on this commercial). The tone and feel of his SAAB commercial (especially the early morning vibe) essentially lays the groundwork for the well-remembered opening of the film
Top Gun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4wRpxNmRQM Like Micheal Mann and Guy Richie (more about him later) Tony also got the chance to go long form for his spot with BMW. Length, however, is the only common factor connecting Tony's car commercial with Mann's and Richie's outings because the ad is truly insane. Every stylistic flourish synonymous with Tony Scott's late, experimental phase (everything from
Man on Fire through his death) is in full effect here. His insane style works very well in serving the insane story-line featuring an aging soul singer (James Brown) who seeks to modify a deal he made with the devil (Gary "refuse to be typecast" Oldman) many years ago, all with the help of his chauffeur played by Clive Owen. The commercial predates
Man on Fire by a year and you can almost get the sense that Tony was testing out a few of the tricks he wanted to implement in the forthcoming film. The result is a deliriously mad cap experience that helped introduce the world to the brand new Tony Scott aesthetic. And the world would never forget. May he rest in peace. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XcLbwZdO88