Own the Night (Pall Mall)

Dir: Marco Brambilla/Straw Dogs

Yes, it's a cigarette commercial. But as the creative director said to me, "Someone's going to advertise these things. Might as well be us." So we shot this :60 for use in European cinemas where apparently, smoking was condoned and encouraged at the time. We filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. Very sketchy. I was never a big fan of the concept, but like it says on the masthead, I don't make the creative... I make the creative better. So I hooked us up with Marco Brambilla, who'd directed Demolition Man and really knew his way around action and explosions and effects, and R/GA because believe it or not, before R/GA was an ad agency they were the preeminent post effects house in New York. Throw in some sweet sound design, a thumping bass line and an exploding DJ booth, and there you have it. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em.