Bodega Imagines Violent Men For Hachette Book Group

11/05/2012

Bodega Studios

Production Company

New York, USA

ADD TO COLLECTION

11/05/2012

Creative director Adam Reid crafted the concept as well as producing the virals

New York/San Francisco-based Bodega Studios writer/producer/creative director Adam Reid imagines three unexpectedly violent men in a :60 viral film for the recently released book, Unholy Night, and two literary heavies in the 1:25 viral film for the anticipated Godfather prequel, The Family Corleone, both direct-to-client for Hachette Book Group, NY. Illustrated by Joey Salim—designer of Mad Men’s now-famed credit intro—“Unholy Night” depicts Seth Grahame-Smith’s twisted, revisionist tale of the three wise men as thieves who stumble across Joseph, Mary and their newborn son while fleeing from a murderous King Herod. “The Family Corleone,” edited by New York-based post boutique Northern Lights’ Chris Carson, features two mobsters persuading a nebbishy publisher to hand over an unreleased copy of The Family Corleone for ‘family review.’ Bodega creative director Adam Reid crafted the concept as well as produced both of the virals.

Click the link to see the virals http://bit.ly/INzYVu

Says Hachette Book Group creative director/broadcast producer Brad Negbaur, “This was a fantastic creative experience, working with Adam Reid and everyone at Bodega. Adam is a visionary writer/director and his enthusiasm and passion drove this project from beginning to end. We are thrilled with the results.”

“Unholy Night” opens on the traditional nativity scene with the three wise men traveling by camel, following the star of Bethlehem to the holy manger. We cut to Joseph and Mary holding their son, who then opens his bright blue eyes to the three dark shadows glaring at him in the night. The three thieves quickly become protectors of the child, guarding him from Herod’s soldiers who have been ordered by the malevolent King to slaughter the first born in Judea. The trio assumes their position in front of the family with swords brandished. A super follows, “The Bible said they were three wise men,” a shot of the vicious army flashes across the screen before the next super, “It didn’t say they were nice.” The leader of the three men, Balthazar, lets out a battle cry as they dive into the bloody battle with limbs and blades flashing artfully across the frame. The film closes on a coliseum in flames followed by the victorious three on the cover of the book.

Says writer/producer/creative director Adam Reid, who was also behind the viral book trailer (which received over 1 million hits on YouTube) for Grahame-Smith’s Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, "Creating the book trailer for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter was about as much fun as I have ever had on set. The nerd in me exploding with excitement. Now we're doing something very different for Unholy Night, merging the sensibility of Frank Miller with Seth's very unique and wicked sense of twisted storytelling. This will be what I call an ‘illustrated approach,’ and we're working with a designer I admire very much, Joey Salim.”

Author Seth Grahame-Smith’s Unholy Night will soon be brought to the silver screen by Warner Brothers Studios. Grahame-Smith also wrote the best-selling Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, both upcoming movies.

Spoofing the menacing mob bosses in The Godfather, “The Family Corleone” is a 1:25 viral film featuring two mobsters paying a visit to Grand Central Publishing where they’ve come for a yet-to-be-released copy of Ed Falco’s novel, The Family Corleone. “The Family Corleone” opens on two men talking in a car, one announcing to the other in Italian, “We have something to do. Something important.” The two heavies enter the publisher’s office, explaining that their boss would like a copy of the unreleased book, prompting the question, “And what happens if I say no?” The mobsters laugh hysterically along with the publisher until they stop suddenly, giving the publisher a ‘death stare.’ The film closes on the tag, “A book you can’t refuse. The prequel to The Godfather,” followed by an image of the book.

Adds Reid, "It's thrilling to work on anything related to The Godfather. But those characters are sacred to me. The challenge was appealing to fans of The Godfather books and films, without trying to imitate that world."

Ed Falco’s novel is based on pages extracted from Mario Puzo’s original Godfather screenplays.

Credits “Unholy Night” :60

Publishing Company: Hachette Book Group, NY

Senior Vice President Advertising & Promotion: Martha Otis

Creative Directors: Brad Negbaur, Oscar Stern

Author: Seth Grahame-Smith

Production Company: Bodega Studios, NY/San Francisco

Executive Creative Director/Partner: Adam Reid

Writer/Producer/Director: Adam Reid

Executive Producers: Robin Hall, David Gioiella, Mark Littman

Director of Animation: Christopher Harrison

Editor: Christopher Harrison