Gus Van Sant Gets Dramatic for BMW

When last we heard from director Gus Van Sant, he was winning Oscars for “Milk” and making guest appearances on “Portlandia.”

Today we learned that he’s also a fan of sleek sports cars and sleeker ad campaigns.

His latest series, created for Germany’s Serviceplan and production house Iconoclast, concerns the new hybrid BMW i8, an environmentally friendly ride which will soon “begin appearing on the streets of Beverly Hills and Greenwich ” (not to mention the streets of Gotham City).

The first spot reveals that he’s still friendly with Kurt Cobain:

The second expands on that previous point…

…and here’s a slight twist for the third and final ad in the series:

While we’re impressed by the design on display here, we also know how much better this ride would fare on the Autobahn than on the West Side Highway.

CREDITS:

Serviceplan International GmbH & Co KG

CCO: Alexander Schill

Executive Creative Director Worldwide: Maik Kaehler

Creative Director: Nikolaus Ronacher, Nina Puri

Head of Production: Sandra Niessen

Agency Producer: Anne Hoffmann

Managing Partner International: Markus Noder

Management Supervisor: Jens Hoffmann

Account Director: Melanie Blankenburg, Florian Klietz

Production Company: Iconoclast

Director: Gus Van Sant

Executive Producer: Charles-Marie Anthonioz, Nicolas Lhermitte

Producer: Julien Lemaitre

Director of Photography: Kasper Tuxen

Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors

Editors: Angus Wall, Jamie Foord, Grant Surmi, Austyn Daines

Assistant Editors: Lauren Dellara, austyn Daines

Executive Producer: Carol Lynn Weaver

Producer: Lauren Wilson

Head of Production: Angela Dorian

VFX Studio: a52

VFX Supervisor: Andy McKenna

2D VFX Artists: Andy Barrios, Richard Hirst, Steve Wolff, Stefan Gaillot, Matt Sousa, Cameron Coombs, Michael Plescia, Bruno Parenti

Flame assistants: Dan Ellis & Kevin Stokes

Color: a52

Colorist: Paul Yacono

Producer: Daughn Godd Ward

Executive Producer: Megan Meloth, Jennifer Sofio Hall