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The Woodies have a blog. It’s a kind of collective. Not sure we’re about to start a revolution baby, but we might kindle a small debate or two and perhaps raise a smile. Anyway, rather than just blogging corporate Woodreed by fielding our top Woodie (as so many other companies seem to do in a thinly veiled attempt at impressing with their profundity), we wanted all our individual voices to be heard. An agency’s most valuable assets are its people after all. Everyone’s got something to say here and with us everyone’s ideas and opinions matter.

Each week someone different will be blogging. It's mostly about stuff that rocks our world as well as the flipside – the things that just don't cut it with us. We'll blog about inside and outside – inside this glorious industry where we work and outside in the real world.
It's a bit of an experiment, so go with us on this one.

Hope you enjoy.

Monday 13 June 2011

Falling Down - and getting up laughing


I love a good music video! Video killed the radio star and all that. Well, MTV certainly helped create a new wave in film making, and there are some videos that make you smile, frown, yawn and sometimes even laugh. I’m not a fan of watching band members just dancing around in a line or just mime singing to camera….surely they can be more creative than that? But when you look outside of the realms of boy and girl bands, to something with some edge, you oft find a gem. And it’s a great skill in its own right – Sabotage by the Beastie Boys anyone?

A brilliant film of the 90’s, Falling Down, has just been given the Foo Fighters treatment. It’s actually a pretty accurate rip-off of Michael Douglas’s character, William Foster suffering a memorable mental breakdown spurred on by the ills of a decaying society – only funny. Attention to detail is key with these parodies, and the horn-rimmed glasses, short sleeved shirt and striped tie all fit perfectly on D.Grohl esq – as does the detail in the opening traffic-jam sequence focussing on bumper stickers and the virtual pressure cooker you feel building up inside the car.

If you’ve seen the film, this video will remind you of it, only perhaps from a funnier perspective.

If you haven’t seen it, try it – but don’t expect a barrel of laughs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PkcfQtibmU

3 comments:

  1. My God, one of my favourite films being parodied by one of my favourite artists.
    Falling Down is such a fantastic mix of drama, humour, and tension, but what really nails it for me is that we've all had experiences just like what William Foster has to endure.
    Being in a huge traffic jam because of minute roadworks but then seeing the appropriate workman idly sitting on a deck chair eating his lunch. Getting to a hamburger bar looking forward to tucking into a bacon breakfast burger only to be told that it's one minute past eleven and that breakfasts aren't served after 11.00am.
    The only difference is that we, being British, tolerate it. William Foster, being a total nutter, solves the problem by pulling out a bag of rocket launchers, machine guns and grenades!
    A truly brilliant film and can't wait to see the Foo Fighters version.

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  2. OK what about Queen's great parody of Shake 'n Vac - I want to break free?

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  3. Dave Grohl is better than Michael Douglas.

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