Pacino’s ‘Any Given Sunday’ speech gets new life in Jeep ad
Many actors are finding easy money in doing voice-over work for radio and television commercials.
But it is very unlikely that anyone landed an easier gig than Al Pacino, who didn’t lift a finger to get a plum voice-over spot with Chrysler Jeep.
The unmistakable voice of Pacino can be heard in the new television commercial touting the Jeep Grand Cherokee. In the spot, Pacino is giving an inspired speech about how life is a “game of inches.â€
If it sounds familiar, it is. The speech comes from a pivotal scene from the 1999 Oliver Stone movie “Any Given Sunday,†which stars Pacino as an aging football coach. In the speech, he’s trying to motivate his team before a big game.
To get the audio of Pacino, Jeep had to cut a deal with both the actor, for use of his voice, and from Warner Bros., which released the movie.
Kim Adams House, who heads Jeep’s brand advertising, said that the “Any Given Sunday†Pacino speech “really spoke to the spirit of the human endeavor†and the “grit that people have to go through every day to pursue greatness.â€
While Warner Bros. and Pacino probably didn’t mind getting some money for nothing, it’s unclear whether Stone has any problem with his movie being used to hawk Jeeps. A spokesperson for the director said he was not immediately available for comment.
Since Chrysler also owns Fiat, maybe they can get Pacino to sign off on using “say hello to my little friend†from “Scarface†(directed by Brian De Palma but written by Oliver Stone) in ads for its Fiat 500 model.
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Follow Joe Flint on Twitter @JBFlint.
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