On My Radar: Gillian Robespierre
Gillian Robespierre, a director with m ss ng p eces, recalls 80s advertising with fondness and swears by a particular haircare product, as she reveals what's on her creative radar.
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What’s the most creative advertising idea you’ve seen recently?
My dad was an ad man back in the 80s, and nothing compares to the first time I stood on a commercial set and watched the action up close. It was a cigarette commercial shoot and there were horses and cowboys and mud everywhere. I must have been five- or six-years-old — watching it all come together was magical and unforgettable. I know the question was to list something recent, but I'm not very good at following directions.
What website(s) do you use most regularly?
The New Yorker, New York Times, and Cup of Jo (a lifestyle site based out of Brooklyn). I’m a born and raised New Yorker, but I swear I know how to drive and I like to leave the island.
What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought?
A nanny cam for my puppy which, of course, I call the Puppy Cam.
What product could you not live without?
Haircare products made by Roz. I promise I’m not being paid to write this because my hair still looks like the 'before' picture, but I swear her products have changed my life. I can air-dry my curls and not look like the Bride of Frankenstein.
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What’s the best film you’ve seen over the last year?
The Zone of Interest.
What film do you think everyone should have seen?
Broadcast News or Defending Your Life. Both of these films I watch once a year because they are not just hilarious, they have so much heart.
What’s your preferred social media platform?
Instagram; for all the Albert Brooks content.
What’s your favourite TV show?
I loved watching the show Jury Duty. I watched it last summer during the WGA/SAG strike, when I felt pretty disenchanted by the film and television business. The show was surprisingly uplifting and made me gut laugh while I was having an existential crisis.
What’s your favourite podcast?
I still love Marc Maron’s WTF. I'm also obsessed with Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This. I highly recommend the Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman episodes.
What show/exhibition has most inspired you recently?
The pop-up Balloon Museum at the South Street Seaport. My entire family went last winter, including my 80-year-old mother and teen nephews. Everyone had a great time.
If you could only listen to one music artist from now on, who would it be?
This is going to sound very momager, but it's my daughter’s music. She’s only eight-years-old but she has my favourite singing voice. She and my husband have been writing original music together since she was two-years-old. They are the sweetest little songs to me.
If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?
Bring back cigarette ads. JUST KIDDING! But I do have a bit of nostalgia for the way commercials in the past looked. They were cinematic and funny. They took more chances. Today everything looks so bright and feels so similar.
Who or what has most influenced your career?
Jane Campion's short film, Peel. I was in film school when I saw it and my focus was on editing. I wasn’t exposed to that many films directed by women. But, after watching Peel, I changed my focus to directing.
Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know.
I’ve never had chicken pox.
