Vaughan & Anthea on Break-Ups, Patch-Ups and Getting Their Mojo Back

Just over 20 years ago the high-flying directing duo, Vaughan & Anthea, called it quits. The pair - who were partners both in directing and in life - had huge successes with work for brands such as Stella Artois, adidas, Levi's and for music artists including George Michael and Jamiroquai.

But then they split - both in directing and in life - and for two decades Vaughan Arnell and Anthea Benton worked separately, giving each other a "respectful distance". Now though, they're back together as a creative partnership and have helmed their first piece of work together since 1996, for House of Fraser [beow].

To mark that moment, the Moxie Pictures duo talk to shots.net about the break-up, what prompted it, how they coped and why they've decided to get the band back together.

Above: Vaughan & Anthea's first piece of work since reforming.

What was the last project you worked on as a directing team and what are your memories of that time?

Anthea: It was Stella Artois Nouvelles Chausssures, in 1996 [below]. It was our homage to Michael Powell’s Red Shoes and the Technicolor process. We had a hugely talented cast of French cinema actors and it was shot in and around the Gorge du Verdun.

Vaughan: The crew took over a whole village. Brilliant shoot… apart from when our cinematographer got into an ill-advised rugby tackle, fell in the mud with the pigs and broke three ribs.

Anthea: I think the most memorable thing was the most creatively insane; We took a telecine machine apart overnight and re-programmed it to achieve an authentic Technicolor look. Took days but it looked incredible.

Vaughan: Not sure that machine was ever the same though.

Above: Stella Artois Nouvelles Chausssures, the last spot Vaughan & Anthea worked on before splitting.

As a team you had been hugely successful, with many high-profile jobs; what was it that caused you to break that partnership?

Anthea: Handing Vaughan the mic on this one.

Vaughan: We began our career in music videos. By 1996 we had been working solidly for eleven years and we’d had an amazing time. It just came to a point where Anthea felt she wanted to be in control of her own destiny and although I thought she was mad and I didn’t want to break, we had an almost brother and sister relationship and always had one another’s backs so, reluctantly, I had to respect her decision. In a way though, her decision pushed me to find my own path and that’s been a great ride too.

"It was tough. The band had broken up and we both needed time to find our mojo."

Do you think that sharing your lives both professionally and personally made it hard to give each other breathing space?

Anthea: Yes, it was intense, but creating great work was more important. We learned early on that we needed to respect each other’s point of view. We are very different people, inspired by very different things but that is what makes it work; a kind of harmonious polarity.

Vaughan: In fact, our working partnership survived our personal relationship for another three years and, arguably, we created our best work during those years.

Above: Levi's Creek, directed by Vaughan and Anthea

Once the partnership had broken down, did you remain in contact and support each other’s careers?

Vaughan: It was tough. The band had broken up and we both needed time to find our mojo. So, we stayed at a sort of respectful distance.

Anthea: It wasn’t a Liam and Noel [Gallagher situation]. Our lives just took different paths. We had too much history to allow disrespect to creep in. Then one day you realise 20 years have passed.

After so many years apart, what prompted the reunion?

Vaughan: My mum brought us back together. Sadly, she lost her battle with cancer earlier this year and Anthea came to her funeral. It was like meeting up with a sister who’d been living on a different continent. I felt that the advertising industry needed a big shake up and I felt that we had the heritage to bring a completely new energy, so I asked Anthea to reform the band.

Anthea: It was a huge surprise when Vaughan suggested it, but it felt right and I think there is a fresh appetite out there for great, crafted storytelling and performance.

Above: Vaughan & Anthea, fighting for creativity

Did the previous elements that made your partnership so successful click back into place quite easily or was it something you had to work on?

Anthea: Vaughan has always been an infectiously optimistic guy, it is a huge part of his creative DNA. And he had no doubts at all which made it easier for me. Very quickly after re-forming we found ourselves walking in to WCRS and I was thinking, wow, we’ve had our own careers for 20 years, how is this going to work? The team were fresh and youthful and so when Vaughan strode straight in and opened with, “so what was the first track you ever bought?”, I just thought… Aaand, we’re back in the room.

"Right now, in our business, clients are nervous, so there is an appetite for a winning combination and that is our legacy." 

Conversely, has each of you had to be aware of any elements which may have caused friction in the past?

Vaughan: Of course, we always had creative disagreements. Anthea has an inherently creative mind which is full of detail and she has been watching movies since she was four-years-old, so she can sometimes get lost in her own cosmos. I pretty much grew up in the music business, where so much was about fluidity and gut-feeling, so my approach is very instinctive and I sometimes need to focus my energy.

Anthea: The enormous benefit of our comeback tour is that we are fearless and so creative disagreement gets thrashed out at the very beginning.

Have your individual approaches to directing changed in the years since you last worked together and, if so, how?

Anthea: Well, to quote Jerry Seinfeld ‘worlds collide’… To be honest it hasn’t really been too much of an issue yet. We just completed our first job together and had a great time, so we figure our worlds collided pretty well.

Above: Jerry and George discuss the 'worlds collide theory in Seinfeld.

Do you feel that, professionally, you’re both stronger together than apart?

Vaughan: I think that history is a massively powerful thing and, right now, in our business, clients are nervous, so there is an appetite for a winning combination and that is our legacy. Plus, we are happy to be fulfilled by our individual goals and that makes us stronger.

Anthea: There was always a pure alchemy in our working relationship and I think that the bold out there will always be intrigued by the inexplicable.

Will you continue to work as directors on an individual level, or are you now working as a team full-time?

Anthea: Dude! We just got back together! It’s a truly bitchin’ duet. Totally immersive. Not in the Scientology sense though. More Bowie and Jagger.

Vaughan: Oh my God. Which one am I?

What are you most looking forward to about working together again?

Vaughan: Excitement. Everything. Bring it on!

Anthea: Excitement. Everything. Bring it on!