How Jim Jenkins chased McConaughey through time
For its flagship Super Bowl spot, Uber Eats and agency Special Group enlisted Matthew McConaughey to explore a delicious conspiracy theory - that American Football was just a ruse invented to sell food. We sat down with O Positive director Jim Jenkins to get the skinny on how the era-jumping commercial was put together.
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When did you start working on the SB spot? What were you keen to get across in your pitch?
Dave and Matt (the CCOs at Special US) sent me their SB script in October, around the time our first Uber Eats spot with McConaughey was airing and gaining traction.
What was the first element you started working on? What was important to nail from the outset?
The story spans from the 1880s up until today, so the first thing I started thinking about was how to condense roughly 140 years into a coherent, comedic 60 seconds.
[McConaughey is] intense in all the right ways.
With celeb-filled spots like this, how does it work – is everyone carefully scripted into the piece, or is it more a case of “we’ve got these names, what shall we do with them”?
The choices were very intentional on the agency’s part. The jokes were written before they approached anyone.
Credits
powered by
- Agency Special Group/Los Angeles
- Production Company O Positive
- Director Jim Jenkins
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Credits
powered by
- Agency Special Group/Los Angeles
- Production Company O Positive
- Director Jim Jenkins
- Ad Agency Special Group/Sydney
- Executive Producer Marc Grill
- Executive Producer Ralph Laucella
- Editing EXILE Edit
- Post Managing Director Carol Lynn (CL) Kumpata
- Executive Post Producer Jennifer Locke
- Senior Post Producer Adam Parker
- Head of Post Production Taylor Rousseau
- Assistant Editor Melanie Newton
- Assistant Editor Jonathan Rogers
- Assistant Editor Chris Messier
- Editor Matthew Murphy
- VFX/Finishing Pariah VFX & Post
- VFX Managing Director Mark Tobin
- Executive VFX Producer Michael Steinmann
- Head of VFX Production Persis Reynolds
- VFX Producer Andrew Rosenberger
- VFX Supervisor Patrick Murphy
- VFX Supervisor Matthew Sousa
- CG Supervisor Mike Wynd
- Color Trafik/Los Angeles
- Color Producer Phoebe Torsilieri
- Senior Colorist Ricky Gausis
- Assistant Colorist Phillip Dystant
- Sound Eleven Sound
- Executive Audio Producer Whitney Morris
- Executive Audio Producer Paula Arnett
- Audio Producer Sean Kiely
- Audio Mixer/Sound Designer Jordan Meltzer
- Music Arrangement Endless Noise Music & Sound Design
- Music Founder Jeff Elmassian
- Music Creative Director Ben Roberts
- Music Engineer Dave Chapman
- Global Executive Creative Director Danielle Hawley
- Partner/Chief Creative Officer Matthew Woodhams-Roberts
- Partner/Chief Creative Officer Dave Horton
- Partner/CEO Kelsey Hodgkin
- Partner/Chief Production Officer Vic Palumbo
- Creative Director Toby Kennedy
- Creative Director Jordy Molloy
- Creative Director Phillip Fattore
- Creative Director Alyssa Cavanaugh
- Associate Creative Director Daniel Greener
- Associate Creative Director Shelby Lemons
- Associate Creative Director Natalie Seitz
- Associate Creative Director Scott Cleveland
- Senior Producer Nat Bricker
- Senior Producer Luke Franek
- Partner/Chief Creative Officer Julian Schreiber
- Partner/Chief Creative Officer Tom Martin
- Producer Tanya Stephens
- Production Designer Jason Edmonds
- DP Ellen Kuras
- Song "Green Onions" Booker T & the MG's
- Talent/VO Matthew McConaughey | (Talent)
- Talent Greta Gerwig
- Talent Kevin Bacon
- Talent Martha Stewart
- Talent Charli XCX
Credits
powered by
- Agency Special Group/Los Angeles
- Production Company O Positive
- Director Jim Jenkins
- Ad Agency Special Group/Sydney
- Executive Producer Marc Grill
- Executive Producer Ralph Laucella
- Editing EXILE Edit
- Post Managing Director Carol Lynn (CL) Kumpata
- Executive Post Producer Jennifer Locke
- Senior Post Producer Adam Parker
- Head of Post Production Taylor Rousseau
- Assistant Editor Melanie Newton
- Assistant Editor Jonathan Rogers
- Assistant Editor Chris Messier
- Editor Matthew Murphy
- VFX/Finishing Pariah VFX & Post
- VFX Managing Director Mark Tobin
- Executive VFX Producer Michael Steinmann
- Head of VFX Production Persis Reynolds
- VFX Producer Andrew Rosenberger
- VFX Supervisor Patrick Murphy
- VFX Supervisor Matthew Sousa
- CG Supervisor Mike Wynd
- Color Trafik/Los Angeles
- Color Producer Phoebe Torsilieri
- Senior Colorist Ricky Gausis
- Assistant Colorist Phillip Dystant
- Sound Eleven Sound
- Executive Audio Producer Whitney Morris
- Executive Audio Producer Paula Arnett
- Audio Producer Sean Kiely
- Audio Mixer/Sound Designer Jordan Meltzer
- Music Arrangement Endless Noise Music & Sound Design
- Music Founder Jeff Elmassian
- Music Creative Director Ben Roberts
- Music Engineer Dave Chapman
- Global Executive Creative Director Danielle Hawley
- Partner/Chief Creative Officer Matthew Woodhams-Roberts
- Partner/Chief Creative Officer Dave Horton
- Partner/CEO Kelsey Hodgkin
- Partner/Chief Production Officer Vic Palumbo
- Creative Director Toby Kennedy
- Creative Director Jordy Molloy
- Creative Director Phillip Fattore
- Creative Director Alyssa Cavanaugh
- Associate Creative Director Daniel Greener
- Associate Creative Director Shelby Lemons
- Associate Creative Director Natalie Seitz
- Associate Creative Director Scott Cleveland
- Senior Producer Nat Bricker
- Senior Producer Luke Franek
- Partner/Chief Creative Officer Julian Schreiber
- Partner/Chief Creative Officer Tom Martin
- Producer Tanya Stephens
- Production Designer Jason Edmonds
- DP Ellen Kuras
- Song "Green Onions" Booker T & the MG's
- Talent/VO Matthew McConaughey | (Talent)
- Talent Greta Gerwig
- Talent Kevin Bacon
- Talent Martha Stewart
- Talent Charli XCX
The film obviously jumps between locations and time periods. What were the logistics involved, and how were the shooting days set up?
There was obviously a lot of research and prep involved to stay true to the evolving eras, and it was a juicy opportunity for our production designer and wardrobe team in particular.
I love that the client went to all the trouble of securing Kevin Bacon, and then he only says four words in the spot.
Ellen Kuras was our DP, and she was meticulous about nailing the lighting and the look of all the disparate set-ups.
We have to talk about McConaughey. What direction did the superstar need?
He’s intense in all the right ways.
He enjoys getting into character and likes direction that’s specific and intentional, which I’m more than happy to provide.
Likewise, the film is chock-full of cameos. Is it fun being able to play with so many talents, or does it just add to the pressure?
It can be a little of both. It’s worth it when the cameos add to the comedy, rather than just increasing the celebrity volume of a spot.
For example, I love that the client went to all the trouble of securing Kevin Bacon, and then he only says four words in the spot.
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Super Bowl spots aren’t standalone entities anymore, with numerous teasers and additional content often involved in the production. Do you enjoy creating a wider universe of films on projects like this? How does it affect your process?
I enjoy it when the additional content is smart and comes out of the same core concept, which it did in this case.
Honestly, I’m not a fan when there’s so much content that it comes at the expense of the main commercial.
This is by no means your first Super Bowl experience, but does it get any easier? Do you feel the expectation of such huge viewership when you’re making the spot?
I shot the Groundhog Day spot with Bill Murray a few years ago. Three weeks before the Super Bowl, he unexpectedly said yes to the project, and we slapped together a script, got the movie’s other actors on board, scrambled to shoot the weekend before the game, and had a locked edit by Monday night.
Bacon seems more meme-able than if we had gone with Darryl Strawberry or Condoleezza Rice.
No Super Bowl spot seems overly stressful after that.
We're already campaigning for “Everybody Loves Bacon” to be Kevin Bacon’s new catchphrase. Do you ever consider that what you make might get extended life through memes and the like?
Possibly so. Bacon certainly seems more meme-able than if we had gone with Darryl Strawberry or Condoleezza Rice.
Too bad Meat Loaf is no longer with us.
Finally, the film deals with a VERY plausible conspiracy theory. What other conspiracy theory would you like to bring to screen?
Not sure.
Mel Gibson and I will have to put our heads together.
