MIKE ZARA

Walmart has done it again.

Last year’s Walmart Black Friday campaign brought the cult classic OFFICE SPACE back into the pop culture conversation with spots featuring the original cast.

This time, the original cast of MEAN GIRLS reunites for the next round, and the stakes are high. Die-hards will be watching us with eagle eyes, making sure we honor their precious original. Because to them, it’s not just a film. It’s a movement. A religion. An untouchable pop-culture masterpiece.

Do you want to be in the Burn Book? I don’t.

Confession time: I’m a Mean Girls superfan. Bethany Byrd-level. It’s one of the funniest films of the 2000s and had a huge influence on me as a young comedy director.

I’ve also had the joy of working with Tina Fey. Like her, I’m committed to a wry but accessible tone, with a ton of jokes and a fast pace. That’s part of what got me so excited to dive into this with you. So to all the other superfans out there, get ready for the ultimate in fan fiction. (Or should I say superfan-fiction?)

Unlike fetch, I promise we’re going to make it happen.

Finding Alex’s perfect co-star is key, and I envision a very relatable and naturally hilarious person. Our hero’s not dumb (like that fireworks family); in fact, they’re undercover smart, taking little everyday risks, like the ones we all gamble on at various points in our lives.

I see a character actor in their 30s with a face that not just a mother could love; everyone could. You know the one. A mug so unique, so expressive that at first sight, you say to yourself, “Man, I bet they grew up on an alpaca farm or backstage of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.” They also have an inherent quirk that can’t be forced and improv skills up the wazoo.

For comps, think someone like Lauren Lapkus or Oscar Montoya (I know, they could be twins, right?). John Reynolds or Melissa Villaseñor also come to mind (total twinsies, too). I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the best comedic talents, and I’m not just talking about the cast of SNL or Ziwe. On both coasts (and in between), I have developed relationships with hilarious improv folks from The Groundlings, UCB, Second City, etc. Even outside of my relationships with talent, I believe my experiences with so many comedic actors have helped me hone in on what to look for when I’m doing an audition. It isn’t just about whether they are funny or not, it’s about delivering a joke without being presentational about it. I want the humor to feel natural.

It would be ideal for casting a bilingual actor who could perform the spots in both the English and Spanish versions. However, we could always swap out our English-speaking and Spanish-speaking actors for each setup. I am sure the diamond in the rough exists, but maybe it’s a situation where we fall in love with two great actors, and we get to use both! The best of both worlds, as Miley Cyrus (as Hannah Montana) would say.

I’d love our camera also to define a playful tension between subjective and objective vantage points – times when the shot feels euphoric in the throws of our characters ‘wiggle' and other moments where we’re watching the wiggle from the outside (from a neighboring diner booth, or through a security camera). We can also explore a move from cinematic fluidity to a more handheld sway to underscore a shift from subjective to objective (i.e., smoothly orbiting Sophia in the Office as she wiggles with abandon- then cut to a handheld shot from across the office to contextualize the absurdity).

We’ll be leveraging state-of-the-art equipment, like a large format cinema camera, for that buttery movie magic. With a large sensor, these cameras capture tons of vivid pixels, helping us accommodate any VFX (green screen) work and reframing for various aspect ratios. Their large sensor will also enhance the saturation of our scenes. Color will be a useful tool in energizing our frames and directing the viewer's attention. So, let’s maintain a fresh separation of pigments in the color grade to further distinguish between our diverse characters and allow the food to pop. It all needs to be rich - and lit with that warm, optimistic California sun.

With his big, expressive eyes and a burnt, brick-shaped body, Charlie’s like a fun-sized WALL-E. He should feel physical and tangible as if he’s part of the everyday world–rather than the perfection of a Pixar-like animated character.

His exterior is full of literal texture, with tiny little fissures running across his charcoal-y body. It speaks to his history, his preferred environment, and his ultimate purpose. Charlie also reminds me of the wide-eyed, 4-inch Tarsier, a diminutive primate found only in a few islands in the Philippines, Borneo, and Indonesia. And just like that primate, while his mouth is tiny, he’s still enormously expressive. Even the smallest squint of the eye can tell us a lot about what’s going on in that sedimentary rock brain of his. When designing his briquette limbs, I like the idea that they could be made of matchsticks, a fiery (and accurate) support for his daily grill send-off. In terms of movement, even though he will be CG-animated, I envision Charlie almost with a stop-motion vibe, ala Marcel the Shell. Giving his walk a little texture and grounding will make us feel like Charlie’s really in The Habit, ready for his date with destiny.

Using live-action back plates, we’ll create a 3d character model of the Briquette. We’ll start with a 2D design exploration where we’ll define Charlie’s personality. Once we lock in the design, we’ll build him in 3D, modeling and texturing to bring him to life before making him moveable through rigging.

As someone who LOVES to eat, I’ve gotten to know many chefs around the country. Do you want to know what one fancy-pants French Chef de Cuisine recently told me? That every restaurant kitchen’s dirty little secret… is a MICROWAVE.

I also love to cook, especially Mexican food. I’ve been known to whip up some mouth-watering homemade carnitas. The key to the incredible flavors is that the meat must be slow-cooked in lard and braised with Mexican Coke. But how long does it take to prep and cook that dish? HOURS. And after a twelve-hour day shooting on a Friday night, the last thing I want to do is head to the stove.

That is why it’s so awesome that Herdez has a WAY easier option with slow-cooked carnitas in less than five minutes. You just gave me my whole night back, where I get to drink a Mexican Coke instead of braising with it. That’s some microwave magic right there. I think Herdez and that fancy-pants chef are onto something.

As I’m sure you have gleaned from my intro, I love dogs. But I also love working with dogs because they have so much personality that you can really nail comedic timings. A deadpan stare, a quick pant, an eye-roll… they can really deliver a full and nuanced performance that is nothing short of hilarious. We will cast for a breed of dog that often suffers from allergies, has a great personality, and, of course, can deliver on several key “tricks” on command. My (biased) preference would be to cast for a Labrador because they are equally adorable and incredibly intelligent, so they are often a trainer’s go-to breed (alongside Australian and German Shepherds). That said, we will put together a strong casting group of all the best animals in the area and get auditions of them staring deadpan, panting tongue out with joy, playing keep eye, and any other tricks or commands they want to show us. It will be adorable, and we will find that perfect pup.

Matching a voice to our dog is key — if the voice is too over the top or cartoonish, I think the tone of the spot will shift and take our audience out of it. It has to feel real, and that will make it funny. So if we cast a Lab (willing it to the universe), I’m thinking of someone with an easy-going vibe but a little younger in tone. If we cast a Bulldog, let’s look for someone with a lower register to really match their melancholy stare and demeanor. So long as it feels real, it will be hilarious.

THE EXPLORER
PILAR, 23
Echo Park, CA

Stylish and goofy Los Angeles native Pilar is finally getting her own place! After living with her parents and two high school-aged sisters, Pilar is now able to rent a home of her own. Working tirelessly at FIDM for four years paid off when one of her favorite LA-based brands offered her a full-time position as a junior accessories designer.

To celebrate this new career and new apartment, Pilar's having her friends and entire family over, including Abuela, who is missing her weekly Sunday bingo game for this shindig. So, everything's got to be perfect: the lighting, the margaritas, the appetizers, and Abuela's famous chicken tortilla soup. But when you try to do everything right and all at once, something always goes wrong. In this instance, it's Abuela's soup that is left on the stove too long, causing a volcano-like chicken tortilla disaster.

Thinking quickly on her feet, Pilar eyes the tomatoes that were going to be in the guacamole. She uses the Inspiron 14's AI hotkey to craft a quick, delicious gazpacho recipe that'll be ready before Abuela's even finished her first marg.

For NEPHEW’S WARDROBE, we will use his look to help differentiate his forward-thinking fashion from his uncle's. He goes out on a limb to push style without losing his “Brooklyn Pass.” He carries himself with confidence, and others respect it. For UNC, this mythical dude keeps his wardrobe fresh for someone who is always brushing hair off of it. He still adheres to the strict “Your kick’s colors match your outfit” philosophy that has been long gone for the younger generation. But on Unc, it’s OG cool, and everyone’s here for it.

The fashion moment is the literal showstopper of these spots. When the two Jennifers meet, the world literally shifts on its axis, and nothing else matters in the entire world. I want our audience to feel equally rocked by this moment as if they were experiencing this personal déjà vu for themselves and admire the fashion with the same intensity as our Jennifers.

And while the moment itself is magically serendipitous, I want the look of the encounter to feel totally natural, as if two Jennifers really did exist. For the effect in each spot, I’ll use a combination of practical and VFX techniques to accomplish this visual sleight-of-hand.

We begin with Jennifers. The timing of each Jennifers’ reactions also has to be in perfect sync. I’ll employ a movement coach or choreographer to both design and time out these reactions and movements so that Jennifer is aware of how it plays off her “other” self and how it relates to the camera.

To avoid photo doubles, we will shoot both Jennifers separately with plates and motion control, keeping a cohesive eye line. This ensures that the camera movements for the plates are identical. In these shots, we’ll keep background movement to a minimum. The lighting cues will be timed to the camera movements to keep everything in sync. We’ll then stitch these two scenes together so the end result is seamless. We will make sure our friends from Method are collaborating with us during prep and the shoot itself to ensure a smooth process. We have a lot to accomplish in fifteen seconds, and I’m here to make sure it goes off without a hitch. Treating these spots like they are their very own mini-movies, following a three-act structure, will help me (and the rest of the team) follow the length of each beat.