Werner Herzog's Heartbreaking Documentary for AT&T is No. 5 in Our Best of Film

AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon Join Forces for 'It Can Wait'

Published On
Aug 08, 2013

Editor's Pick

Werner Herzog, the eccentric director known for documenting the lives of unusual heroes (Grizzly Man) and antics like eating his shoe, has applied his skills to a new documentary "From One Second to the Next," a cautionary tale about the dangers of texting while driving from mobile providers AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon.

"I had my brother in my hand, and all of a sudden, my hand was empty," begins the harrowing documentary. The 35-minute tale hopes to reach people with the message of what exactly happens when you text and drive and puts a human face on the tragedies that have resulted from people's bad driving habits -- like Xzavier, a little boy whose mother dreamt of him becoming an athlete. It's sensitively handled, but provides plenty of shocks, like a particularly emotional scene where Xzavier's mom's monologue is interrupted by her son's arrival home -- the first image we get of him, and what has happened to him because of one driver's actions.

Featured in the film, along with Xzavier, is Reggie Shaw, who hit and killed two scientists in Utah in 2006, and spoke with lawmakers in the state after doing jail time to pass a new texting and driving law. There's also Vermont's Debbie Drewniak, who was put into a coma when a driver veered off the road while texting, and Chandler Gerber, who killed three children when he drove into a horse-drawn carriage carrying an Amish family.

The film is an expansion on the 30-second "It Can Wait" spots the wireless carriers launched earlier in the summer and which were also directed by Mr. Herzog. The campaign tries to show that nothing -- no message -- is important enough to put the lives' of others at risk. The documentary is available at ItCanWait.com, along with a place to pledge not to text and drive, a texting-and-driving simulator, statistics, and a chance to let viewers share their own stories.

The film will also be distributed into 40,000 high schools nationwide (according to the site, 75% of teens say texting and driving is "common" among their friends) and will also be available on the companies' YouTube sites and on AT&T's on-demand service, U-Verse.

Credits

Date
Aug 08, 2013
Brand :
AT&T
Client :
AT&T
Agency :
BBDO-New York
Chief Creative Officer :
David Lubars
Executive Creative Director/Production :
Eric Fahrenkopf
Executive Creative Director/Production :
LP Tremblay
Creative Director/ Copywriter :
Peter Albores
Creative Director, Art Director :
Hunter Fine
Group Executive Producer :
Julie Collins
Producer :
George Sholley
Music Producer :
Melissa Chester
Production Company :
Saville Productions
Executive Producer :
Rupert Maconick
Line Producer :
Cliff Schumacher
Director :
Werner Herzog
Director, Photography :
Peter Zeitlinger
Music Composer :
Mark Degli Antoni
Edit House :
Rock Paper Scissors
Executive Producer :
Eve Kornblum
Producer :
Melanie Gagliano
Producer :
Toby Louie
Editor :
Joe Bini
Visual Effects House :
Company 3
Colorist :
Stefan Sonnenfeld
Audio Producer :
POP Sound
Audio Engineer :
Zac Fisher
Executive Producer :
Susie Boyajan

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