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One of the key features of the upcoming Guitar Hero Live is the real-time reaction of a live-action crowd, who'll tell you pretty quickly if you suck at lead guitar. And both Lenny Kravitz and James Franco don't exactly rip it up—at least in the early scenes—in this new commercial for the Activision game from 72andSunny.
Kravitz, as you'd expect, pulls himself together. But Franco, amusingly enough, never looks very comfortable in the spot—apparently, playing guitar is the one cool thing this cool actor can't fake. (And surely being told to "Kravitz it up a little" doesn't help.)
Franco and Kravitz were both reportedly fans of Guitar Hero, which made it easier for their enthusiasm on set to seem authentic and genuine.
"Guitar Hero Live gives you the chance to live out your rock star fantasy in front of a real audience that reacts to how you play, so watching James Franco and Lenny Kravitz challenging each other to win the crowd in the game brought that excitement to life in a really cool way," says Tim Ellis, CMO of Activision Publishing. "Some of the best moments we captured on film were purely spontaneous between James and Lenny. They had great chemistry and had a lot of fun with the game. We just let them loose."
Guitar Hero Live rolls out Oct. 20, returning from a five-year absence for the franchise. Check out the reveal trailer, and lots more about the game, here.
CREDITS
Brand: Guitar Hero, Activision
Chief Executive Officer: Eric Hirshberg
Chief Marketing Officer: Tim Ellis
Vice President, Consumer Marketing: Ian Trombetta
Senior Manager, Consumer Marketing: Orlando Baeza
Coordinator, Consumer Marketing: Jared Castle
Project: "Win the Crowd" Guitar Hero Live Launch Trailer
Agency: 72andSunny
Chief Creative Officer: Glenn Cole
Executive Creative Director: Bryan Rowles
Group Creative Director: Frank Hahn
Creative Director, Designer: Peter Vattanatham
Creative Director, Writer: Tim Wolfe
Lead Writer: Evan Brown
Senior Designer: Jon Hall
Writer: Ryan Iverson
Group Strategy Directors: John Graham, Bryan Smith
Senior Strategist: Hamish Cameron
Strategist: Jake Watt
Group Brand Director: Mike Parseghian
Brand Director: Torie Gleicher
Brand Manager: Sarah Donze
Brand Coordinator: Mariam Al-Hooty
Chief Production Officer: Tom Dunlap
Director of Film Production: Sam Baerwald
Executive Producer: Dan Ruth
Senior Film Producers: Kara Fromhart, Zeynep Taslica, Dave Stephenson
Director of Business Affairs: Michelle McKinney
Business Affairs Director: Alex Lebosq
Business Affairs Coordinator: Ashley Pesses
Production Company: Caviar
Director: Jonathan Krisel
Executive Producer: Michael Sagol
Director of Photography: Damian Acevedo
Head of Production: Kelly Bowen
Line Producer: Jeff Tanner
Editing: Rock, Paper, Scissors
Editor, GH LIVE: David Brodie, Gabriel Britz
Editor, GHTV: Carlos Arias
Post Producer: Dina Ciccotello
Recording, Mixing: Lime Studios
Audio Mixer: Zac Fisher
Audio Assistant: Kevin McAlpine
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan
Visual Effects, Online: Method
Senior Flame Artist: Thomas Downs
Producer: Sumer Zuberi
Telecine: CO3
Colorist: Siggy Ferstl
Producer: Matt Moran