Tom Kuntz
Encyclopedia
Tom Kuntz is a filmmaker who is most known for his unique television commercials and music videos, which either have colorful settings, time-lapse photography or wildly eccentric humans. He has enjoyed multiple nominations for the honor of ‘Best Commercial Director of the Year’ by the DGA (Directors Guild of America
; 2007, 2009, 2010).
In January 2010, Kuntz won the DGA Award.
In August 2010, Kuntz's Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
" spot won the Emmy for '"Commercial of the Year."
His work can currently be seen on Kuntz Manor, his official website.
where he (and former creative partner Mike Maguire) created many noteworthy commercials promoting the channel, including a famous batch of commercials for the MTV music awards starring actor Ben Stiller
.
Kuntz quickly left MTV and began directing full-time through Propaganda Films
and then through MJZ where he has maintained solo representation since 2001.
Kuntz is also featured in the docu-short “Beez-lapse” which features a locked off camera showing him drawing on actors for ten hours in time lapse photography (in prep for the shooting of his Bumblebeez “Dr. Love” video.)
's feature film and shot initial footage for the project, but the two walked away from the project citing creative differences with the producers. Though numerous websites still cite Kuntz and Maguire as the directors of the released film, Kuntz and Maguire are officially not the directors of record.
As of 2009, Kuntz is currently working with Killer Films
on a film he penned himself with longtime friend Griffin Creech. The project is called “The 37th Dimension” and is rumored to be very much in keeping with Kuntz’s signature surreal/comedic style.
The first, Santasm.net features two strange-looking semi-nude men in a dark room with some Christmas lights strung up around them. What at first appears to be a still image, slowly begins to move as we see the slighter of the two men begin to suckle the teat of the larger man. The large man laughs manically and then the film is over.
The second, Warmandfuzzyfeeling.com features a Norman Rockwell
-esque, silver-haired couple seated by a Christmas tree. The woman opens a large, wrapped present and gleefully reveals a small puppy dog with an abnormally large human penis.
The third, Itstoastyinhere.com features two overweight, middle-aged men dressed in Dickensian attire, seated in front of an ornate fireplace. As the camera dollies-in on the burning fire, two chalices filled with (presumably) egg nog enter frame. As the camera then dollies-out, it becomes revealed that each man's long, snakelike penis clutch the chalices. They toast and laugh maniacally.
All three virals share a signature visual style of lens flares and extreme slow-motion camerawork as well as the same music track—a slowed down, warped version of the song "A Pied Piper (Petit Pierrot)" from "The Singing Nun
", accented by sleigh bells.
, who is also a film editor who has collaborated on numerous Kuntz-directed commercials and music videos.
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
; 2007, 2009, 2010).
In January 2010, Kuntz won the DGA Award.
In August 2010, Kuntz's Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Smell Like a Man, Man is a television advertising campaign created by ad agency Wieden+Kennedy for Old Spice. The campaign is also commonly referred to as The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, being the title of the campaign's initial 30-second commercial...
" spot won the Emmy for '"Commercial of the Year."
His work can currently be seen on Kuntz Manor, his official website.
Career
Kuntz began his directing career at MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
where he (and former creative partner Mike Maguire) created many noteworthy commercials promoting the channel, including a famous batch of commercials for the MTV music awards starring actor Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
.
Kuntz quickly left MTV and began directing full-time through Propaganda Films
Propaganda Films
Propaganda Films was a prolific and successful music video and film production company founded in 1983 by producers Steve Golin and Sigurjón Sighvatsson and directors David Fincher, Nigel Dick, Greg Gold and Dominic Sena...
and then through MJZ where he has maintained solo representation since 2001.
Music videos
- The AvalanchesThe AvalanchesThe Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in 1997 with mainstays Robbie Chater on keyboards, Tony Diblasi on keyboards, bass and backing vocals, and Darren Seltmann on vocals and keyboards. They are known for their live DJ sets and their debut album Since I Left You , which was...
“Frontier Psychiatrist” (2001) - Electric SixElectric SixElectric Six is a six-piece metro Detroit-based band that plays what has been described as a brand of rock music infused with elements of "garage, disco, punk, new wave, and metal." The band met recognition in 2003 with the singles "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar", and subsequently recorded...
– “Danger! High Voltage!” (2002) - Electric SixElectric SixElectric Six is a six-piece metro Detroit-based band that plays what has been described as a brand of rock music infused with elements of "garage, disco, punk, new wave, and metal." The band met recognition in 2003 with the singles "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar", and subsequently recorded...
– “Gay Bar” (2003) - Electric SixElectric SixElectric Six is a six-piece metro Detroit-based band that plays what has been described as a brand of rock music infused with elements of "garage, disco, punk, new wave, and metal." The band met recognition in 2003 with the singles "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar", and subsequently recorded...
– “Radio Gaga” (2004) - The Bumblebeez – “Dr. Love” (2007)
- LCD SoundsystemLCD SoundsystemLCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
– “All My Friends” (2007) - MGMTMGMTMGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
- "Congratulations" (2010)
Commercials
- Cadbury’s “Eyebrows”
- Skittles “Touch”
- Skittles “Beard”
- Skittles “Rabbit”
- Skittles “Leak”
- Skittles “Pinata Man”
- Skittles “Tailor”
- Career Builder “Tips”
- Fed Ex “Carrier Pigeons”
- Axe “Chocolate Man”
- Got Milk? “White Gold is”
- Got Milk? “One Gallon Axe”
- TNCC- “Bring on the Trumpets!”
- Starbucks “Hank”
- Altoids “Fruit Pants”
- Virgin Mobile “House of Paygoism”
- Old Spice “The Man Your Man Could Smell LikeThe Man Your Man Could Smell LikeSmell Like a Man, Man is a television advertising campaign created by ad agency Wieden+Kennedy for Old Spice. The campaign is also commonly referred to as The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, being the title of the campaign's initial 30-second commercial...
” - Hahn Super Dry “Pioneering Beering”
- Dairy Queen "Hiking"
- Dairy Queen "Guitar that Sounds Like Dolphins"
Early Noteworthy Collaborations with Maguire
- Fox Sports “Utah”
- Fox Sports “San Antonio”
- Fed Ex “Chameleons”
- Bifi “Break”
- Bifi “Nothing to talk about”
- Bifi “Future”
- Virgin Mobile “Chrismahanukwanzakah”
Short films
In 2000, Kuntz (and Maguire) released the 6-minute short film Tokyo Breakfast. The spoof sitcom is a parody of the Japanese perception of day-to-day doings of an American family, with an emphasis on the skewed emulation of a perceived black culture. Characters use the term "nigga" with unusual frequency and familiarity. The film appeared in numerous film festivals and also spread as an Internet phenomenon.Kuntz is also featured in the docu-short “Beez-lapse” which features a locked off camera showing him drawing on actors for ten hours in time lapse photography (in prep for the shooting of his Bumblebeez “Dr. Love” video.)
Feature films
Kuntz (and Maguire) were briefly involved with the satirical newspaper The OnionThe Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
's feature film and shot initial footage for the project, but the two walked away from the project citing creative differences with the producers. Though numerous websites still cite Kuntz and Maguire as the directors of the released film, Kuntz and Maguire are officially not the directors of record.
As of 2009, Kuntz is currently working with Killer Films
Killer Films
Killer Films is a New York City-based independent film production company founded by American movie producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler in 1995...
on a film he penned himself with longtime friend Griffin Creech. The project is called “The 37th Dimension” and is rumored to be very much in keeping with Kuntz’s signature surreal/comedic style.
Holiday Virals
Kuntz (along with friend and collaborator Matt Dilmore) is also the creator of three holiday viral films that spread throughout cyberspace in 2007, 2008 and 2010 respectively.The first, Santasm.net features two strange-looking semi-nude men in a dark room with some Christmas lights strung up around them. What at first appears to be a still image, slowly begins to move as we see the slighter of the two men begin to suckle the teat of the larger man. The large man laughs manically and then the film is over.
The second, Warmandfuzzyfeeling.com features a Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening...
-esque, silver-haired couple seated by a Christmas tree. The woman opens a large, wrapped present and gleefully reveals a small puppy dog with an abnormally large human penis.
The third, Itstoastyinhere.com features two overweight, middle-aged men dressed in Dickensian attire, seated in front of an ornate fireplace. As the camera dollies-in on the burning fire, two chalices filled with (presumably) egg nog enter frame. As the camera then dollies-out, it becomes revealed that each man's long, snakelike penis clutch the chalices. They toast and laugh maniacally.
All three virals share a signature visual style of lens flares and extreme slow-motion camerawork as well as the same music track—a slowed down, warped version of the song "A Pied Piper (Petit Pierrot)" from "The Singing Nun
The Singing Nun
Jeanine Deckers , known in English as The Singing Nun, was a Belgian nun, and a member of the Dominican Fichermont Convent in Belgium. She became internationally famous in 1963 as Sœur Sourire when she scored a hit with the song "Dominique"...
", accented by sleigh bells.
Record Cover Art
Kuntz created the record cover art for electronic artist Dr. Dunks and Godsy for NYC record label Whateverwewant Records. The label is owned and run by Carlos AriasCarlos Arias
Carlos Arias may refer to:*Carlos Federico Arias Ortiz, Mexican biochemist; winner of the Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology *Carlos Andrés Arias , Chilean football goalkeeper...
, who is also a film editor who has collaborated on numerous Kuntz-directed commercials and music videos.