Annabel Jankel
Encyclopedia
Annabel Jankel is an award-winning British film and TV director who first came to prominence as a music video
director and the co-creator and director of the pioneering cyber-character Max Headroom
. She is the sister of musician and songwriter Chaz Jankel, who is best known as a member of the British New Wave
band Ian Dury & The Blockheads
.
. Jankel and Morton specialized in creating music videos, TV commercials and TV title sequences using a combination of live action, animation and the then emerging art of computer graphics. In this period the duo directed several music videos for performers including Elvis Costello
("Accidents Will Happen
"), Talking Heads
("Blind
"), Tom Tom Club
("Genius of Love
", "Pleasure of Love", "Don't Say No
"), Donald Fagen
and Miles Davis
("Decoy").
In 1985, Jankel and Morton won an Emmy Award
for their title sequence for the NBC
show Friday Night Videos
. In 2003, their 1978 music video for Elvis Costello
's "Accidents Will Happen
" was one of only 35 videos selected for inclusion in the Museum of Modern Art
's prestigious "Golden Oldies Of Music Video" exhibition. Their music videos are found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York
and at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London
.
In 1984, Jankel and Morton co-authored a book titled Creative Computer Graphics that detailed the history of the craft and essayed its future.
Jankel and Morton created and directed "The Enemy Within" music video for the Canadian trio Rush
.
, a cult cyberpunk
character that evolved into multiple TV productions and became very influential in science fiction TV and impacted popular culture in the 1980s. Jankel and Morton first created and directed The Max Talking Headroom Show - an entertainment program that featured comedic sequences, interviews conducted by the Headroom cyber-character and music videos. (Channel 4 - UK and HBO - US). This led to the TV film Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future
also directed by the duo. The TV film in turn inspired the ABC
Max Headroom
US TV series.
Subsequent to the success of Max Headroom, Jankel and Morton moved to Los Angeles and together directed a remake of the film noir thriller D.O.A
, starring Meg Ryan
and Dennis Quaid
. The film received critical acclaim in the Washington Post and from film writers such as Roger Ebert
who described it as "a witty and literate thriller". Despite the critic's claims, the film still ended up becoming a commercial and box office bomb.
Following D.O.A., Jankel and Morton directed the film, Super Mario Bros.
, starring Bob Hoskins
, John Leguizamo
and Dennis Hopper
. The film was set in a dark post-apocalyptic interpretation of the Mushroom Kingdom, as distinct from the colorful cartoonish setting of the game. "The film received largely negative reviews and is widely considered to be a flop; it lost a large amount of money at the box office." Actor Bob Hoskins stated that Super Mario Bros. was the worst movie of his career and that the directors "arrogance had been mistaken for talent." On the television show Siskel & Ebert, the film received two thumbs down. However, Hal Linson in the Washington Post described it as "sweet and funny and full of bright invention. In short, it's a blast." Other reviews such as the New York Times Janet Maslin
praised the film's direction but diagnosed flaws emanating from the script: "This film's two directors and three screenwriters have clearly tried hard to breathe life into their nonstory... ...its special effects are well executed even when their purpose is less than clear."
As one of the three owners of the company, Jankel was one of the triumvirate responsible for the growth of MJZ from a small unit in 1990 to becoming one of the world's largest and most successful commercial production houses. The company has produced multiple award-winning commercials - including recognition by Britain's D&AD Awards
, the Cannes Lions Awards, the Clio Awards
and the One Club Awards
for advertising. MJZ has been named Top Commercials Production Company for two consecutive years by Creativity Magazine
.
, Bud Light, AOL
, Bacardi
, Hallmark
and Greenpeace
winning multiple advertising awards. Her Kiss spot for Hallmark
was named “World’s Best-Humor Commercial”, “Best Directed Commercial" and "Best of Show” at the International Broadcast Awards. She was also awarded the Gold Award for “Best TV Commercial Campaign” at the Worldfest REMI Awards. http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/feed.rss/8422.html
In 2006, Jankel directed the 18-episode TV series Live From Abbey Road seen on Channel 4
in the UK and on the Sundance Channel in the US. http://www.sundancechannel.com/livefromabbeyroad - working with over 30 major musical artists including Paul Simon
, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews
, Nora Jones, Wynton Marsalis
John Mayer
and Dr. John
. http://www.sundancechannel.com/livefromabbeyroad#/episodes
In 2009 Jankel produced and directed an adaptation of the Carnegie and Whitbread award-winning novel Skellig by David Almond , a well received $5.3M Sky1 HD Easter Special feature length production for TV broadcast and subsequent international theatrical distribution, starring Tim Roth, John Simm, Kelly Macdonald, Bill Milner and Skye Bennett.
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
director and the co-creator and director of the pioneering cyber-character Max Headroom
Max Headroom (character)
Max Headroom is a fictional British artificial intelligence, known for his wit and stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled voice. The character was created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton in the mid nineteen eighties, and portrayed by Matt Frewer as "The World's first...
. She is the sister of musician and songwriter Chaz Jankel, who is best known as a member of the British New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band Ian Dury & The Blockheads
Ian Dury
Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
.
Early career
She started her career in the late 1970s at the UK-based film production company Cucumber Studios which she founded with her partner - fellow director Rocky MortonRocky Morton
Rocky Morton is a British director. He was one of the co-creators of Max Headroom and co-director on Super Mario Bros.. Various music videos by Rush, Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin, Orgy and Miles Davis are credited to Morton. He also directed the 1995 UK launch commercial of Sega...
. Jankel and Morton specialized in creating music videos, TV commercials and TV title sequences using a combination of live action, animation and the then emerging art of computer graphics. In this period the duo directed several music videos for performers including Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
("Accidents Will Happen
Accidents Will Happen
"Accidents Will Happen" is a song by Elvis Costello. It first appeared on the 1979 album Armed Forces, which he recorded with The Attractions. In reference to the song title, the cover of the single was printed inside-out...
"), Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
("Blind
Blind
Blind may refer to:* The state of blindness, being unable to see* A window blind, a covering for a windowBlind may also refer to:-Electronics, engineering, and science:...
"), Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
("Genius of Love
Genius of Love
"Genius of Love" is a 1981 song by Tom Tom Club from their eponymous debut album.-Song:"Genius of Love" was Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not been released in North America, over a hundred thousand copies of the single sold as imports from Island Records's UK, at which point...
", "Pleasure of Love", "Don't Say No
Don't Say No
-Personnel:*Billy Squier: Vocals, Guitars, Percussion, Piano*Cary Sharaf: Guitars*Alan St. Jon: Keyboards*Mark Clarke: Bass, Backing Vocals*Bobby Chouinard: Drums-Later Samples:*"The Stroke"**"Hip Hop Is Dead" by Nas from the album Hip Hop Is Dead...
"), Donald Fagen
Donald Fagen
Donald Jay Fagen is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan ....
and Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
("Decoy").
In 1985, Jankel and Morton won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for their title sequence for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
show Friday Night Videos
Friday Night Videos
Friday Night Videos is an American music video show broadcast on the NBC television network from July 29, 1983 to December 30, 2000, and was the network's attempt to capitalize on the emerging popularity of music videos as seen on MTV...
. In 2003, their 1978 music video for Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
's "Accidents Will Happen
Accidents Will Happen
"Accidents Will Happen" is a song by Elvis Costello. It first appeared on the 1979 album Armed Forces, which he recorded with The Attractions. In reference to the song title, the cover of the single was printed inside-out...
" was one of only 35 videos selected for inclusion in the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
's prestigious "Golden Oldies Of Music Video" exhibition. Their music videos are found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In 1984, Jankel and Morton co-authored a book titled Creative Computer Graphics that detailed the history of the craft and essayed its future.
Jankel and Morton created and directed "The Enemy Within" music video for the Canadian trio Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
.
Breakthrough
Jankel co-created Max HeadroomMax Headroom (character)
Max Headroom is a fictional British artificial intelligence, known for his wit and stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled voice. The character was created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton in the mid nineteen eighties, and portrayed by Matt Frewer as "The World's first...
, a cult cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
character that evolved into multiple TV productions and became very influential in science fiction TV and impacted popular culture in the 1980s. Jankel and Morton first created and directed The Max Talking Headroom Show - an entertainment program that featured comedic sequences, interviews conducted by the Headroom cyber-character and music videos. (Channel 4 - UK and HBO - US). This led to the TV film Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future
20 Minutes into the Future
Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future is a 1985 cyberpunk television movie created by Chrysalis Visual Programming Ltd. for Channel 4 in the UK to provide a back story for Max Headroom, a computer generated TV host...
also directed by the duo. The TV film in turn inspired the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Max Headroom
Max Headroom (TV series)
Max Headroom is a British-produced American science fiction television series by Chrysalis/Lakeside Productions that aired in the United States on ABC from March 1987 to May 1988. The series was based on the Channel 4 British TV pilot Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future...
US TV series.
Subsequent to the success of Max Headroom, Jankel and Morton moved to Los Angeles and together directed a remake of the film noir thriller D.O.A
D.O.A. (1988 film)
D.O.A. is a 1988 very loose remake of the 1950 film noir of the same name, sharing the same premise but otherwise having a different story and characters....
, starring Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Raised in Bethel, Connecticut, Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982...
and Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
. The film received critical acclaim in the Washington Post and from film writers such as Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
who described it as "a witty and literate thriller". Despite the critic's claims, the film still ended up becoming a commercial and box office bomb.
Following D.O.A., Jankel and Morton directed the film, Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. (film)
Super Mario Bros. is a 1993 American action film directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. Based on the Super Mario Bros.video game and its entire franchise, the film features Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper and Samantha Mathis. It tells the story of the Mario brothers, Mario and...
, starring Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
, John Leguizamo
John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
and Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
. The film was set in a dark post-apocalyptic interpretation of the Mushroom Kingdom, as distinct from the colorful cartoonish setting of the game. "The film received largely negative reviews and is widely considered to be a flop; it lost a large amount of money at the box office." Actor Bob Hoskins stated that Super Mario Bros. was the worst movie of his career and that the directors "arrogance had been mistaken for talent." On the television show Siskel & Ebert, the film received two thumbs down. However, Hal Linson in the Washington Post described it as "sweet and funny and full of bright invention. In short, it's a blast." Other reviews such as the New York Times Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
praised the film's direction but diagnosed flaws emanating from the script: "This film's two directors and three screenwriters have clearly tried hard to breathe life into their nonstory... ...its special effects are well executed even when their purpose is less than clear."
Creation of the MJZ production company
After directing a number of high-profile TV commercials in 1990, Jankel and Morton founded a production company Morton/Jankel/Zander (sometimes abbreviated to MJZ) with partner David Zander. Jankel and Morton were the company's first directors. The company's primary focus was in making TV commercials with some music video production. At this point, Jankel and Morton started to work as individual directors rather than as co-directors.As one of the three owners of the company, Jankel was one of the triumvirate responsible for the growth of MJZ from a small unit in 1990 to becoming one of the world's largest and most successful commercial production houses. The company has produced multiple award-winning commercials - including recognition by Britain's D&AD Awards
D&AD
Design and Art Direction is a British educational charity which exists to promote excellence in design and advertising...
, the Cannes Lions Awards, the Clio Awards
Clio Awards
The Clio Awards are annual awards bestowed to reward innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication. The categories include work in nearly all types of media, and the judges are advertising professionals from around the world....
and the One Club Awards
The One Club
Founded in New York City as The One Club for Art & Copy, The One Club produces three annual award competitions: One Show, One Show Design, and One Show Interactive...
for advertising. MJZ has been named Top Commercials Production Company for two consecutive years by Creativity Magazine
Creativity (magazine)
Creativity is a website, formerly a monthly magazine, covering all things creative in advertising and design. The magazine, launched in 1986, provides a showcase of the best ideas across all areas of consumer culture, an exploration of the talent and techniques behind the work and insight on the...
.
Solo career
Jankel became a director of TV commercials for clients such as Coca-ColaCoca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
, Bud Light, AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
, Bacardi
Bacardi
Bacardi is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums, including Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year in nearly 100 countries...
, Hallmark
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals — platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium...
and Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
winning multiple advertising awards. Her Kiss spot for Hallmark
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals — platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium...
was named “World’s Best-Humor Commercial”, “Best Directed Commercial" and "Best of Show” at the International Broadcast Awards. She was also awarded the Gold Award for “Best TV Commercial Campaign” at the Worldfest REMI Awards. http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/feed.rss/8422.html
In 2006, Jankel directed the 18-episode TV series Live From Abbey Road seen on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in the UK and on the Sundance Channel in the US. http://www.sundancechannel.com/livefromabbeyroad - working with over 30 major musical artists including Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
, Nora Jones, Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
and Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
. http://www.sundancechannel.com/livefromabbeyroad#/episodes
In 2009 Jankel produced and directed an adaptation of the Carnegie and Whitbread award-winning novel Skellig by David Almond , a well received $5.3M Sky1 HD Easter Special feature length production for TV broadcast and subsequent international theatrical distribution, starring Tim Roth, John Simm, Kelly Macdonald, Bill Milner and Skye Bennett.