Don’t Kill the Messenger welcomes the directing, producing, and writing team of Will Speck and Josh Gordon

Don’t Kill the Messenger welcomes the directing, producing, and writing team of Will Speck and Josh Gordon.

In this episode of Don’t Kill the Messenger, host Kevin Goetz interviews the directing, producing, and writing team of Will Speck and Josh Gordon. This talented duo has made their mark across various media, directing feature films such as Blades of Glory, Office Christmas Party, and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. They’ve also created iconic commercials, including the Geico caveman and gecko campaigns, and ventured into television with their animated series Hit Monkey on Hulu. The pair discusses their journey from film school to becoming successful filmmakers, their experiences with test screenings, and insights into their creative process across different mediums.

Will Speck on partnership with Josh Gordon:

I mean, I know this is going to sound corny. I think our relationship is something that’s the biggest success because I feel like we’ve evolved as people and we’ve gone through so much together and we still feel excited about working together. And I feel like that’s something that I’m really excited about and feels really good.

Film School and an Early Partnership

The duo’s partnership began at NYU film school. Josh recalls, “We became friends in our sort of second year. We were both transfer students into the film program.” Their collaboration started with writing and eventually led to co-directing their senior film. Will adds, “We seem to work so well together. A very strange choice. But we did it and the film was great and got a lot of attention.”

Blades of Glory and an Intense Audience Screening

Their first feature, Blades of Glory, also marked their introduction to test screenings. Josh describes the experience:

And then we went down and it was just the focus group and it was 20 people. And we went and sat right in the row right behind the focus group. And so I just remember the blood in my ears just throbbing. I was like, oh my God, I’m gonna get fired off my first movie. This is such a disaster. And you started with the first question, how many people liked the movie? And everybody’s hands wet up.

This screening taught them valuable lessons about audience reactions and the importance of a strong ending in comedies.

“Even a Caveman can do it” — Commercial Work

Speck and Gordon’s commercial work, including the famous Geico campaigns, has significantly influenced their filmmaking. Will explains, “We created the Geico gecko and like we had done like a lot of commercials that were really kind of seminal work.” Will goes on, “It’s a fun way to actually meet, as Josh said, the DPs, production designers, and costume designers that we’ve been afforded to work with as a consequence of commercials.”

Recent Projects and Creative Growth

Their animated series Hit Monkey on Hulu showcases their ability to work across different mediums. Josh shares the project’s origin: “We’d almost been hired by Marvel several times to do movies over the years… We sort of picked Hit Monkey out of the pile and it was something that just really spoke to us. It’s dark, emotional, comedic, but really kind of, it’s almost a Yakuza revenge saga.”

Will expresses pride in their recent musical film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile: “I’m really proud of the last movie we made just because we, I’d always wanted to make a musical and the process was so fun… It was so joyous. Like every day everybody was super into it and invested.”

Career Reflections and Advice to Young Filmmakers

Reflecting on their careers, Josh shares a particularly impactful project:

It was a PSA, which is a public service announcement that we did for organ donation. And it was called The World’s Biggest Asshole. And it kind of became a huge viral thing in 2017, 2018. And it was the same agency that we had done the Geico work with. And they came to us with this spec, which was basically that young men don’t sign up for organ donation. And the reason why is because the advertising is too soft and too kind of usually religious based. And they had this idea which was, you can be the world’s biggest asshole, it doesn’t matter who you are, if you just tick the box, you essentially resurrect yourself. And that was the only thing they gave us. And we kind of were able to write the script, cast it, shoot it, and we pulled in a huge number of favors from our commercial contacts and we shot it. And it was just an incredibly pure experience that still to this day I look at and go, I want to work in that way again. I want to do something like that.

Their advice to young filmmakers? Josh emphasizes, “Trust your gut more and just go with things and don’t try to self-analyze. Don’t try to outthink everything.”

Upcoming Projects and Industry Outlook

Looking ahead, Speck and Gordon are developing new projects, including an adaptation of “The Wedding People” with Nicole Holofcener. They remain optimistic about the industry’s future despite its challenges. Josh notes:

The industry is always perpetually in bad shape. And you look at some of the greatest movies were made during the worst periods… We now live in a time where there’s a plethora of these things. So yes, it’s hard and it will always be hard, but I think you just have to kind of carve your path and make the movies that you want to make in the best or worst of times.

Will Speck and Josh Gordon offer a unique perspective on navigating the film industry as a writing, directing, and producing duo. Their experience across different mediums – from commercials to feature films to streaming content – demonstrates the value of maintaining a varied portfolio of work while continually pushing creative boundaries and nurturing a productive partnership. For the full conversation, check out the podcast episode here. And let us know your thoughts on the episode in the comments!

Don’t Kill the Messenger, hosted by movie and entertainment research expert Kevin Goetz, brings his book Audienceology to life. This bi-monthly podcast takes a peek behind the filmmaking curtain as Kevin talks with famous filmmakers, studio executives, stars, and other creatives about movies, filmmaking, audience test screenings, and much more.