And because it should come back with a “bang”, there’s no shortage of talent here.
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Believe it or not, it’s now 15 years since BMW first kicked off its “The Hire” short film series with Clive Owen.
Trudy Hardy, vice president of marketing for BMW of North America, said the film will pay tribute to the original eight-film series that began airing in 2001. Owen, who was unknown at the time, got a break in acting as he was directed by some of the best men at the moment – for example late John Frankenheimer (ofGrand Prix fame) for the initial installment, Ambush. They also starred BMW cars, which were very capable co-stars when paired with Owen’s keen ability to whip vehicles around in ways that frustrate opponents and get hard jobs done with a maximum of cool. For those of you who only saw the Madonna film, “The Hire” series brought together a plethora of top directors and actors, including Ang Lee, Guy Ritchie, John Woo, Madonna, Gary Oldman, Mickey Rourke and James Brown.
Blomkamp co-wrote The Escape with creative consultant David Carter, one of three returning staffers along with creative director Bruce Bildsten and executive producer Brian DiLorenzo.
Released exclusively online at BMWFilms.com before the rise of YouTube and other streaming sites, The Hire received more than 100 million views over the course of its two seasons.
Blomkamp shot the The Escape this past summer and just wrapped visual effects this week.
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According to Hollywood Reporter, price-per-minute production costs near feature film territory. John Frankenheimer’s ended up being the director’s final film, and has a magnificent auto chase, building on the work he did in Ronin.
