The Hire

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The Hire (also BMW Films ) is a series of short films by the car manufacturer BMW , which were designed as advertising films for free distribution over the Internet . In 2001 and 2002, eight short films were made in two seasons. Another part followed in 2016 with The Escape .

concept

Various well-known "cult directors" such as John Frankenheimer and Tony Scott were to produce high-quality short films with the help of well-known scriptwriters such as Andrew Kevin Walker , in which various BMW models are staged. The only specifications from BMW were that the main actor was always Clive Owen and that a BMW had to appear in the short film. Everything else was the artistic freedom of the directors. Hollywood director David Fincher acted as producer. The leading role of the driver took over the then largely unknown Clive Owen and stars like Gary Oldman and Mickey Rourke were hired as supporting actors.

After the success of the series, BMW produced three more films in a second season in 2002, now produced by Ridley and Tony Scott. Another film was released in 2016 on the occasion of the 15th anniversary.

Movies

title Director BMW model actor
Season 1 (2001)
Ambush John Frankenheimer 740i Clive Owen , Tomás Milián
Chosen Ang Lee 540i Clive Owen
The Follow Wong Kar Wai 3 Series Coupé , Z3 Clive Owen , Mickey Rourke , Adriana Lima , Forest Whitaker
star Guy Ritchie M5 Clive Owen , Madonna
Powder keg Alejandro González Iñárritu X5 Clive Owen , Stellan Skarsgård
Season 2 (2002)
Hostage John Woo Z4 Clive Owen
ticker Joe Carnahan Clive Owen , Don Cheadle , Ray Liotta
Beat the Devil Tony Scott Clive Owen , Gary Oldman , James Brown , Marilyn Manson , Danny Trejo
Season 3 (2016)
The Escape Neill Blomkamp 540i Clive Owen , Jon Bernthal , Dakota Fanning , Vera Farmiga

BMW offered the films free of charge on the Internet. On October 21, 2005, the offer was discontinued via the original website.

DVD

The series enjoyed great popularity on the Internet and BMW was soon producing a free DVD in a small number of copies that contained "extras" in addition to the films. The first pressings of the DVD contained the five films of the first season released by then, but later the film The Follow was removed for legal reasons. Especially on eBay , the DVDs were sold at high prices.

BMW later sold a compilation DVD with all eight films for a worldwide price that covered shipping costs. Distribution was also discontinued on October 21, 2005.

comics

Dark Horse Comics began production of a six-part graphic novel series about the adventures of the driver in 2004 . Like the films, the various editions of the comics are created as works by different creative teams, including Katsuhiro Otomo ( Akira ) , Katsuya Terada ( Blood: The Last Vampire ) and actor Bruce Campbell .

literature