Film duo spills blood on advertising
You would never guess a man named Park Bench would be shy.
At least I never thought so.
Instead of meeting someone I expected to be cocky and arrogant I came across a man who could give Tim Burton a run for his quirkiness.
The 20-something Bench is a sweet, quiet talker, who even during a recent interview, where he and business partner Alex Appel discussed their latest project, he remained inherently inward.
So much so, that I feared if I said “boo” he’d scamper away.
“I like vampires, I’ll admit it,” the writer/actor/director/producer says in a hushed voice of why their first feature film, The Death of Alice Blue, centres around vampires mixed in with a critical, funny look at the advertising industry.
“(Vampires) are a good metaphor for advertising people,” says the former North York resident, who once worked as a copywriter at an ad firm.
“(In advertising) you’re selling your art for commercial use … you’re selling your soul for money. It’s soul-sucking.”
Despite the shyness, Bench, whose given name is Robert Maynard but changed it to stand out, has created a name for himself in the avant-garde theatre and film world.
Through their six-year-old company, Toothin Theatre, the two have written, directed and produced everything from an award-winning public service announcement on the stigmas of mental health to music videos for Chris Tait, of Chalk Circle fame.
Death marks their first foray into feature films, as Bench and Appel both star in the dark comedy, with Bench writing and directing and Appel producing.
Shot in Toronto between 2005-2006, the film is a mix of a modern day vampire tale with a sarcastic look at the business of the advertising industry.
Edited by March 2008, Appel and Bench are currently shopping Death to several film festivals, including September’s Toronto International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival set for next February.
“We had a very ambitious first feature,” says Appel, who unlike Bench is bubbly and outgoing. “It’s something that I don’t think anyone would try to do for under one million, ours wasn’t even close to that.”
Best known for playing Special Agent Janey Cooper in Lifetime’s crime series, Missing, the Montreal-born actress plays protagonist Alice Blue in Death, transforming from a shy creative intern to discovering she’s genetically predisposed to being a vampire and taking on “evil” vampires.
“A female lead character seemed right for us,” says Bench, who now lives downtown. “ I wanted to have a role Alex could put her teeth into.”
The mix of vampires and advertising isn’t by mistake, as Bench and Appel has done their fair share of work on both sides – commercial and creative in the industry.
During Bench’s time as a copywriter he wrote, acted in and produced the previously mentioned PSA, Elevator. He still does corporate gigs every so often, and is the voice of Sportsnet.
Appel is also the face behind the McDonald’s “It doesn’t come with a toy”, spot.
“Those jobs fund our own projects,” she says, who like Bench sees the corporate, more commercial gigs more of a means to an end, rather than the reverse.
