Eli Manning / Toyota "Family" - Super Bowl XLVI

If you happened to watch last nights Super Bowl, in the greater New York area, you probably saw my latest Eli Manning/Toyota commercial (you can see the rest of them here). What's even more special about this one is that it also stars my son, Casey! So that makes it a Fusco Family Film, too! I didn't direct the main part of the spot (that was Richard Farmer), I just directed the part with Casey.

It kind of happened by chance. When we shot the package of spots we thought we'd save on talent payments by shooting still lifes for the Toyota dealers flashback (ie: a Toyota mobile attached to a crib, a Toyota teddy bear, a toy Toyota car), instead of filming an actual boy. I was against doing that from the beginning, but it was out of my hands. Of course when we began the edit process it was painfully obvious there was no life in the still lifes. It wasn't working. I had faith in the concept so I offered to film my son in a mock Toyota themed birthday scene. But by the time I filmed it the rest of the spots had been completed and approved by the client, and there was no interest in pursuing "Family". So it was shelved.

So when the Giants made it to the Super Bowl this year I suggested we bring it back. People expect to see new commercials during the Super Bowl, why run what we've been airing all season? (If we could've predicted the future and knew the Giants would be in the Super Bowl we would've held back "Catch", because that spot is a homage to the great David Tyree catch from Super Bowl XLII.) Everyone agreed on airing "Family" and Casey made Super Bowl history.

Oh yeah…the Giants won, too.

The Visitor (2011)

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©2011 FUSCO FAMILY FILMS

Night Hunter: Hunter Of The Night (2011)

When I was my son's age my favorite TV show was Sid and Marty Krofft's Land of the Lost. I now have the entire series on DVD and introduced the show to my kids (for a while it was the only show Chloe ever wanted to watch). In 2009 they remade Land of the Lost as a movie, starring Will Ferrell, and they began selling Sleestak masks. I, of course, bought one.

My Sleestak head now sits on a shelf in my basement staring at me while I work. Through some sort of mind control it commanded me to make a Fusco Family Film with it. My mind was week so I succumbed to it's demand.

My son, Casey, plays the Night Hunter. The Night Hunter hunts at night – hence the name – protecting civilization from the Night Creatures. It's like the song says…"The freaks come out at night". Only these freaks are not out to party…more like a dinner party.

To play the part of the Night Creatures I got Kim's cousin Michael. (I once shot a music video with him in 2004.) With a little editing trickery I gave the allusion that there are many Night Creatures. That's another similarity between Night Hunter and Land of the Lost. Did you know you'll never see more than three Sleestaks in any given scene from Land of the Lost? That's because the Krofft brothers only made three costumes – presumably for budgetary reasons. Now you know.

So say your prayers, let the sands of sleep embrace you and dream those pleasant dreams, because rest assured, the Night Hunter will not rest until mankind is off the menu.

©2011 FUSCO FAMILY FILMS

TEAM 12.2: The Double Double-Cross of the Dorchester Diamond (2011)

When I finished the first TEAM 12 movie (here) I had lots of people tell me I should make a sequel. I told them they were all nuts because doing it again might very well give me a heart attack – the process of directing 12 kids within a limited time frame is very stressful. Well a year went by and here I am premiering the sequel. Time heals all wounds. Obviously I love doing this stuff or I wouldn't be doing it.

We shot TEAM 12.2 on July 10th, exactly a year to the day we filmed the first TEAM 12 (Elaine – Fifi Von Vixen – brought that to my attention). Again, it was stressful wrangling the kids. Forget about continuity between shots, the order in which the kids are standing changes from scene to scene. But they were all into reprising their roles and I believe they had fun, even though the script I wrote was overly ambitious for a days shoot. I tend to do that.

There are a few surprises in this episode. Among them, you'll find out how Drop Kick and Death From Below got their names and we introduce a new villain. I hope you all enjoy it. I already have an idea for TEAM 12.3. Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment.

©2011 A FUSCO FAMILY (& FRIENDS) FILM

"That Old American Flag" (2011)

Happy Flag Day everyone! To celebrate this joyous occasion, children's music artist Billy Kelly and I made a very special video. It also stars my son, Casey, playing the role of a young Billy. So that makes it a Fusco Family Film, too!

This is the third video I shot for Billy (the other two can be seen here). When Billy sent me an advance copy of his new CD – The Family Garden – to see if any songs jumped out at me for a possible video, "That Old American Flag" was one of two. Maybe we'll get around to shooting the other one. We'll see.

In "That Old American Flag", Billy sings about the day he helped his dad plant a flag pole in front of his house, when he was a boy. I figured for the video we'll just recreate the memory and mimic the lyrics. Since a third of the song takes place in 1976, Billy had two roles to play: his dad in the flashback scenes and modern day Billy in the present day scenes. Billy's real-life dad would then play himself in the present day scenes and Billy's sister, Colleen, would also have two roles: playing Billy's mom and herself. For the role of young Billy I enlisted my son, Casey, because a.) I've worked with him before so I knew I could direct him, and b.) he was cheap – he got paid in wrestling action figures.

Luckily for me, and the production, Billy's parents never got around to remodeling the basement – perfect for a flashback scenario. And when I needed an authentic '70s car for a scene, my cousin Joe came through with his 1970 Chevy Nova. (Too bad I didn't need a shot of the exterior...it's sweet.) I think you can see in the video we had a lot of fun shooting "That Old American Flag". We even got the rest of Billy's family to join in and my friend Kevin's whole family, too. Special thanks to everyone who made this video happen, especially Billy and his dad.

USA! USA!!

Visit TheBillyKellyShow.com for more Billy Kelly info.

©2011 FUSCO FAMILY FILMS

Abominable (2011)

Here's the first FFF production of 2011. A real quickie. Took all of 3 minutes to shoot. A little longer to edit.

©2011 FUSCO FAMILY FILMS

TALKIN' WITH TED (2010)

I'm a huge fan of Sesame Street and one of my favorite skits was when a Muppet (Kermit, Grover, etc.) would talk one on one with a kid. Ever since I got my own Muppet Whatnot from FAO Schwarz in 2009, I wanted to do my own twisted version with my kids. I finally got around to doing it this past summer (above).

Here's some outtakes (below)...

"Ted on Dolphins" (TALKIN' WITH TED outtake)

"Ted on Curious George" (TALKIN' WITH TED outtake)

"Ted on Recreation" (TALKIN' WITH TED outtake)

"Ted on Bluetooth Headsets" (TALKIN' WITH TED outtake)

Jim Henson is rolling in his grave.

©2010 FUSCO FAMILY FILMS