Back in 2001, BMW took the internet by storm, thanks to some of the worldâs first viral marketing videos with its series of BMW Films. The Hire, starring Clive Owen, was a series of dramatic shorts directed by a bunch of A-List names including Ang Lee, Guy Ritchie and the late Tony Scott. The one directed by Narcâs Joe Carnahan actually holds a special place as my favorite of the bunch:
The series was way ahead of its time, released before much of the world had evolved out of dial-up internet. But now, in todayâs land of fast-paced web series, it comes as no surprise that BMW has announced plans to create a new round of shorts for the web.
While the first round of shorts were produced with the help of David Fincher and Anonymous Content, there is currently no word on who is involved with the new series, or what it will be about. With any luck, the new round of films will be a fantastic blend of some returning directors, as well as some of Hollywoodâs most elite up-and-comers. It would be interesting to see names like Nicolas Winding Refn, Marc Webb, Kenneth Branagh, and Neill Blomkamp get thrown around in the coming months as the project enters pre-production.
Hereâs hoping this new series is just as good as The Hire and treated with the same amount of respect and care the original series was.
Clive Owen as the driver or GTFO!
^ I agree! The James Brown/Gary Oldman one was fantastic! A teacher showed us it in college years ago, I love it!
Tony Scott’s “Beat The Devil” with James Brown & Gary Oldman is my favourite of these. I’m just glad I got a copy of the DVD collection before it sold out.