During his years in advertising and branding, Brett Weiner made mental notes all of the most absurd corporate jargon he encountered. He referred to that list a lot to make his award-winning new short, “Everything Is Brand.”
The film follows Lily Sullivan as an advertising executive who can’t stop spouting nonsensical jargon, even in the face of a family tragedy. It takes a meta turn at the end when Weiner films a real focus group to get their opinions on the movie he’s just made.
“Everything Is Brand,” which we first caught at the Waco Indie Film Festival, plays Saturday at the Coronado Island Film Festival. It represents the latest success for Weiner, an incredibly versatile artist who has previously worked in improv and as a co-creator of the internet sensation Honest Trailers.
Ahead of his Coronado screening, we asked him about his path to filmmaking, winning over the creators of movies he mocks, and protecting the next generation from excessive branding.
Brett Weiner on Making ‘Everything Is Brand’
MovieMaker: You’ve done so many things — directed a short that went to Sundance, worked in branding and advertising, and co-created the absolutely phenomenal Honest Trailers. What was the general order, and how do they feed into each other, or conflict?
Brett Weiner: I started off doing sketch comedy in Los Angeles and under-five-minute shorts for a live monthly screening series called Channel 101. From there, I got a job at a company called Defy where I worked on their original and branded content, so I was simultaneously making what was basically internet ads for brands while I co-created Honest Trailers. I was constantly writing, directing and editing short videos, and it really helped me feel prepared to take the leap into a bigger short film, which was “Verbatim.” And then it got into Sundance, and that was my introduction to the indie film world.
I think filmmaking is definitely cumulative. Each project sharpens skills in a different way and I find I can cross-pollinate, take a little something from sketch comedy and apply it to branded content, or take a workflow I learned on a big branded set and apply it to something smaller. At the end of the day, it’s all one thing: storytelling.
MovieMaker: Your experience in branding explains where you picked up the hilariously horrific but real-sounding phrases in this film, like “water product” and “We’ll smart-harvest the unique preferences of each individual and serve them dynamic, hyper-personalized ad tent.” Did you worry about biting the hand of an industry that feeds you, since branding pays well, and making shorts generally doesn’t? Or do people within the branding world also hate this jargon?
Brett Weiner: When I was writing “Everything Is Brand,” I made a giant list of ad and brand words which I culled both from my personal experience and directly from websites and LinkedIns of advertising agencies. It was a kind of corpo-speak dictionary for me that I referenced as I wrote the short.
Since all the dialogue is taken directly from actual brand-speak, the feedback I’ve gotten on the film from people that work in branding and advertising is that it’s pretty accurate to their jobs at these companies — one person told me I should have a trigger warning for ad executives, which I took as a huge compliment.
People in advertising are creatives, so in my experience, they have a sense of humor about it and don’t mind me poking fun. I think they appreciate that I got it right, and maybe feel a little bit seen?
MovieMaker: How has working on Honest Trailers helped your filmmaking? It is, in a way, very smart (and perhaps cyncial) film analysis.
Brett Weiner: Thanks! It was definitely useful, pulling apart major studio features and finding things that don’t make sense. It really made me think about the details in my own filmmaking, and I’ve tried to have a critical eye about the story and the details in my films. Basically, will an audience have an issue or start asking questions about the plausibility of something?
Working on it was a good training ground. Although it did a have a less good part, like when I had to binge the entire Twilight Saga in two days to write all those episodes.
MovieMaker: Have you had the experience yet of getting a meeting with someone whose movie you mocked?
Brett Weiner: We’ve found the people who make movies and also watch Honest Trailers seem to take it in stride. Ryan Reynolds narrated our Deadpool 2 Honest Trailer, so he was self-aware and knew it was all in good fun. It helps that at Honest Trailers we really try to point out storytelling flaws and not nitpick a movie to death. Okay, maybe we do a few nitpicks. But not to death, hopefully.
One piece of Honest Trailers lore was when we did The Avengers Honest Trailer, we wrote a joke about them talking to each other without earpieces. Then when Winter Solider came out, there’s a moment in the beginning where Chris Evans very clearly puts an earpiece in his ear. We were like, “Did they watch our stuff?”
Later, the Russo brothers were kind enough to come on our show and react live to our Honest Trailer. They said that in the writer’s room they frequently used the term “Honest Trailer-proof” while writing. They did watch us! It was extremely flattering.
MovieMaker: “Everything Is Brand” ends with a closing, add-on sequence where you host a real focus group to discuss the preceding story. They give you very weird feedback, like they wouldn’t pay to have watched your film, but would like to see it as a multi-season series. What’s your relationship with focus groups, especially with works of art? Are they of any value?
Brett Weiner: I went into the focus group part of the film with an open mind. I genuinely was curious what a random collection of people thought about my film. And yeah, they gave seemingly contradictory answers — they wouldn’t pay to watch the film, but they would love to see more of it. Huh? I think there’s a limit to the usefulness of feedback in these sorts of situations, which is darkly funny because everyone uses them for movies, TV and products.
I think the real focus group is watching a film with an audience. When do they laugh, when to they gasp, when do they lean forward? You can feel the energy in the room. An audience reaction in a theater is the best way to figure out what’s working and what’s not.
MovieMaker: We’re both parents, and at one point your lead in “Everything In Brand” describes all the times she and her dad enjoyed branded content together. I think many parents worry about this with our kids — are they associating good family memories with some intermediary IP? What do you do with that, as a parent and artist?
Brett Weiner: Part of the thesis of the film is that brands are inescapable — everything you watch, every toy, even food is all hyper branded. It’s the water we swim in. So I handle it a few different ways:
First, curation. Expose your kids to cool, interesting, age-appropriate stuff. There are wonderful creatives making amazing things within this branded system — I think Bluey is both a brand and a phenomenal piece of art.
Second, context. If my kids watch something that’s basically a commercial, I try to explain it best I can. I don’t know if it’s sticking yet, but getting kids from an early age to recognize when they are being marketed to can help them navigate the world when they get older. Let’s teach media literacy young!
And finally, I think there’s value in creating good memories even if there’s a brand involved. My kids love a family trip to In-N-Out. I just hope they remember the family part as the primary thing, instead of the brand.
MovieMaker: What’s next for you? Will this be, as the focus group suggested, a feature or series?
Brett Weiner: I’m so ready to direct a feature! I’m currently writing a film based on the “Everything is Brand” short, working on producing a horror script I wrote, and I have a comedy feature that went through the Sundance Labs that’s in development. Like I said earlier, each thing builds on another, and I think something long-form is the next step for me.
MovieMaker: Any special connection to Coronado Island or the festival?
Brett Weiner: Nope, it’s my first time in Coronado! It’s a lovely festival and I’m having a great time. Hopefully this weekend can be the start of a connection.
You can read more about the Coronado Island Film Festival here and read more of our film festival coverage here.
Main image: Lily Sullivan in “Everything Is Brand.” Courtesy of the filmmaker.
Editor’s note: Corrects spelling of Weiner.
