What We Do In The Shadows ripped off by UK gambling ad – Stuff.co.nz

JACK VAN BEYNEN

Last updated05:00, April 23 2017

Stuff.co.nz

UK gambling ads have been accused of ripping off What We Do In The Shadows, a Kiwi vampire comedy directed by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement.

Vampires don't have reflections, but two Kiwi directors might be seeing shades of theirfanged flick in a series of copycat British ads.

Directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, 2014 mockumentaryWhat We Do In the Shadowstold the story of three vampires living in a Wellington flat.

UK online gambling site Virigin Games has been accused of plagiarising the film for a series of ads.

SUPPLIED

Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh and Jemaine Clement as vampires in What We Do In The Shadows.

The ads feature Vlad, a 21st century vampire who has learned to "live a little" by gambling on his smartphone.

READ MORE: *What We Do in the Shadows TV spinoff in the works *Plenty at stake in Taika's new film * IT guy turns accidental film star

CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX NZ

Actor and comedian Cori Gonzalez-Macuer says he thought the ad campaign's ideas were plagiarised from What We Do In The Shadows.

They appear to borrow several gags from the film, including issues over bloody dishes, disappearing reflections and a vampire dating an elderly woman.

The similarities were highlighted by English satire magazinePrivate Eye, which accused Virgin Games of "utter shamelessness".

Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, who plays reluctant vampire Nick in the Shadows, said after watching the ads he thoughtit was pretty obvious the idea had been borrowed.

SUPPLIED

What We Do In The Shadows was a mockumentary about vampires cohabiting in Wellington.

"I'm pretty sure they got the idea from What We Do In The Shadows. I mean it's not even like it's kind of like it, there's even exact lines from the movie in it." he said.

"I wasn't annoyed by it or anything, I think it's cute they tried to do it. It's not as funny, but good on them."

Gonzalez-Macuer said he failed to see the connection between the legendary denizens of the night and gambling.

"It's a weird, weird idea to put it into a gambling ad. When I think of vampires I don't really think of gambling."

Film critic James Croot said there was "no doubting" the ads were similar to Waititi and Clement's film but he wasn't convinced they were close enough to be considered plagiarism - "more of an homage or 'cheeky liberty'- as Richard Branson himself might say."

"They've deliberately chosen a contemporary looking bloke, rather than the vampiric archetypes of that film.

"Also, there were some, particularly in Britain, who saw Taika's film as borrowing liberally from the much-loved 1980s British sitcom The Young Ones, especially with its anarchic sense of humour and disparate flatmates."

He said ads riffing on popular movies was nothing new, pointing to a classic 1980s Kiwi-made commercial for Crunchie bars that was set in a world very derivative ofStar Wars.

This isn't even the first time Waititi's own work has been ripped off for an advertisement.

Earlier this year, a beer company made an ad that was almost a shot-for-shot copy of a section of Waititi's Team Thorshort,which he made to promote his latest filmThor: Ragnarok.

When a fan brought the ad to his attention on Twitter, Waititi said: "It makes me want a beer so I guess I can't be too annoyed."

Gamesys, the parent company of Virgin Games and VCCP, the Londonad agency that devised the Vlad campaign, was approached for comment, but didn't respond.

-Sunday Star Times

Original post:

What We Do In The Shadows ripped off by UK gambling ad - Stuff.co.nz