I Smell Love.

Chris Cunningham, the king of creepy/pretty/genius/mind-bending video making has teamed up with Gucci to shoot a spot for their new fragrance, Flora. With Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" remixed to haunt the background, Cunningham has created a softened, glowing '70s look for the advert.



Of course, in true Cunningham fashion (see Madonna's Frozen, Bjork's All Is Full of Love, and Portishead's Only You for reference) there is some dark energy swooping in and out of the lush, petal-laden flower fields. In the longer version of the commercial, there are more than a few seconds where you aren't sure if the long-locked woman swaying in the strong breeze is going to explode or what. She winds up fine, and I assume smelling like flowers. Here's some video footage from behind the scenes on the set of the shoot. Youtube yanked the sound, but watch and be amazed by the light and floating petals and the wind machine.



I read their lips actually, and I think they saying "Blah, blah, blah, we wanted something pretty and flowery but powerful. Blah, blah, blah." My favorite part of this spot is the gorgeous lighting. Sunset? Sunrise? Glow.

Here's Donna Summer feelin' some love back in the day:



Great song and even better robot moves, Donna!

A Ray of Light

I've been pretty hard on Madonna here in my own little corner of the blogosphere recently but it's tough love, I swear. Madonna was my raison d'etre when I was a wee one and watching her morph into some anamatronic, ageless version of herself has been rough. That being said, I will never back down from the opportunity to give her a compliment. How gorgeous does she look in the photo above from the Gucci UNICEF Dinner the other night? Her hair! Her makeup! The return of her laugh lines and the deflation of her cheek bones! It's all so exciting.

And then I see the full length shot and...

"D'Oh!" is all that comes out of my mouth. What Jim Henson creature did she beat up to score that stunner? Something tells me Oscar the Grouch is in some strange state of muppet nakedness in a trash can on a corner somewhere. Wow. I think Louis Vuitton should be held liable for the emotional damages their dress has caused Madonna fans. Or her stylist should be called in for questioning. Someone needs to answer for this.

Ford Focus

Former Gucci Guy Tom Ford is making a foray into the film biz. He's announced plans to direct "A Single Man," an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel about a gay man who loses his partner of 16 years. Ford's either spending the big bucks, pulling some strings, or paying the cast in a lifetime of slick couture because he's managed to get Julianne Moore, Colin Firth, and Matthew Goode to sign on as stars. While Ford did some unbelievable work at the helm of Gucci, his ego has been overshadowing his talent for years, and I'm surprised this incredible cast has faith in his filmic ambitions. If his more recent work is any indication, we may be treated to a couple of self-directed Ford cameos in the film.

Remember when he was art director of the 2006 Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair? He worked himself into the cover, looking all creepy and nuzzley up against a nakey Keira Knightley. And then, he also made appearances in no less than four of the magazine's inside pages. I could just hear him saying, "You know who would be great in this shot? Me!" Then came Ford's self appointed starring role in an ad campaign for his men's cologne and most recently, a high end men's store based on the "Tom Ford Look". Now, he's a physically attractive man. He is; he's fit. But my God, doesn't he just know it!

That song is made for Mr. Ford. He should direct and star in a video for that song instead of the film. If I didn't have so much faith in the lovely and talented Julianne Moore, I'd think this was a crazy talk project along the lines of Mariah's Glitter. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Maybe he'll come through with brilliant results, just like he did for Gucci. Or maybe we'll just see his naked buns a lot (NSFW). Who knows?