The Ten Commandments of Creativity
Summary
Dennis receiving the ten commandments
“The Ten Commandments of Creativity” is a provocative take on the state of creativity world-wide. Dennis Hopper is a creative director, the modern advertising man’s equivalent of Moses. Dennis is looking for the Holy Grail: the secret of creativity. God (Sir Peter Ustinov) gives him the 10 Commandments, written on two PC Notebooks. Dennis tries to interpret each commandment as it applies to media and creativity in the world today.
The filmmaker Hermann Vaske tries to find out about the meaning of the Ten Commandments in relation to media, creativity and advertising.
Top: Hermann and Sir Peter Ustinov
Left: Hermann with Sir Peter Ustinov during the shoot
Right:Sir Peter Ustinov and Hermann with “Ten Commandments” screenplay
Left: Dennis presenting the ten commandments
Right: On the set of “The Ten Commandments”
Left: Stairway to heaven: Paul Arden and Hermann
Right: Blasphemy doesn’t pay
Left: Dennis practicing the fine art of writing a letter
Right: Happy together: Dennis and Hermann shooting “The Ten Commandments”
Left: Hermann and Bill Pope, the Director of photography of the Los Angeles helicopter sequence
Right: Hermann Vaske, Dennis Hopper and DoP Bill Pope Downtown LA 1999
Dennis and Hermann enjoying a take
Amongst others the film features interviews with: Bono, Wim Wenders, Jeff Koons, David Bowie, Steven Spielberg, Roman Polanski, the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Sean Penn, Pedro Almodóvar, Milla Jovovic, Malcolm McLaren, Mel Gibson and many more.
Left: Hermann meeting the Dalai Lama for “The Ten Commandments”
Right: Bono during the filming of “The Ten Commandments”
Left: Milla Jovovich interpreting the Commandments
Right: Honor thy father and thy mother: Isabella Rossellini talking about her parents
Left: Malcolm McLaren’s eleventh commandment: Stay in bed!
Right: Sean Penn being interviewed for “The Ten Commandments”
Left: Chess with the champion: Roman Polanski in “The Ten Commandments”
Right: Steven Spielberg talking about the ten commandments
Left: New York artist Joe Coleman
Right: Tom Sachs and Kitty
Left: Hermann and Salman Rushdie during filming
Right: Hermann and Quentin Tarantino at the Independent Spirit Awards
Project Credits
A Hermann Vaske Film
Produced by Hermann Vaske’s Emotional Network, Das Werk and Neue Sentimental Film in cooperation with ZDF/ARTE
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper and Sir Peter Ustinov
- Director and Writer:
- Hermann Vaske
- Commissioning Editor:
- Sabine Bubeck-Paaz
- Executive Producer:
- Joachim Sturmes, Christian Leonhardt
- Producer:
- Marc Gläser, Stefan Jonas, Hermann Vaske
- Camera:
- Stefan Jonas, Bill Pope, Isabelle Furrer, Stephen Ley, Volker May.
- Dennis Hopper Sketches:
- Hermann Vaske, Dave Trott
- Music:
- Matthias Willvonseder, Carl Orff, Bono, Malcolm McLaren
- Editor:
- Nicky Ager, Vanessa Rossi, Nadine Fraczkowski
- Postproduction:
- Klaus Braumann, Ben Losch, Oliver Kähler
- Funded by Film Fund NRW
- Germany/ France 2000, 180 Min
Available on DVD (as part of “The Golden Years of Advertising”)