Hamish Hamilton has directed more than a dozen Super Bowls, the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, six Emmy Awards ceremonies, four Oscar events, and three Grammy shows, among other big events.He says none of these were as tough as the first-ever FIFA World Cup Finals Halftime Show he directed on Sunday.
Hamilton, who co-founded the production company Done + Dusted, told The Hollywood Reporter via Zoom from his hotel room in New Jersey the day after the event.
He called the show "challenging beyond challenging."
"Along with the Olympics, this was right up there," he said.
"I’m sure the first Super Bowl Halftime Show was really hard, but when I came in, they had already done over 40 of them.By the time you get to Super Bowl 47, the NFL had everything well organized.But this time, there were so many unanswered questions.There were lots of people who hadn’t done this before, a lot of nervousness, and we were doing it in daylight.There was grass, a huge number of big stars, and everything felt really scary because so many things could go wrong."
Luckily, Hamilton and FIFA didn’t face any technical issues during the event.
Months of preparation were all packed into just 11 minutes as artists like Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, a Gustavo Dudamel-led orchestra, Shakira, Burna Boy, the PS22 Choir, and the Muppets all performed on stage.
Hamilton says the show left him feeling exhausted, relieved, and happy.
"I’m very proud of what we did to help bring Chris Martin’s and Global Citizens’ vision to life," he said."They had this dream four years ago.It was a huge project, and they should be applauded for what they did."
Putting the show together with so many artists in such a short time was a challenge.
But, Hamilton says, the bigger problem was the massive set of logistical issues involved in the whole production.They had to deal with the strong daylight that kept showing up, which affected how they filmed the show.Also, the FIFA final was played on grass instead of artificial turf, which made a big difference for the halftime show.The softer surface influenced everything from the set design to the choice of cameras they used.
There was also a lot of pressure from outside the production team.
Soccer fans all over the world were skeptical about the halftime show, questioning the need for a concert during a game where halftime is usually a short break.Robert Smith of The Cure made headlines before the final by criticizing the show, saying "please just fuck off." The Guardian also referred to the concert as "the halftime show nobody asked for."
Hamilton, who is British and a lifelong fan of Arsenal F.C., acknowledged these feelings.
He said the resistance was more common in parts of the world outside the U.S., where people are more used to mixing music and sports through events like the Super Bowl.
"I’m a football fan, and I’ve been one my whole life," he says.
"Around the world, especially in Europe and the U.K., I saw people saying, 'We don’t want your halftime show.We don’t want the Americanization of the beautiful game.' I was aware of that resistance.In America, sports, entertainment, and music are much more connected than in other parts of the world.But I was aware of that, and also worried about what could happen if the grass caused any problems.It’s hard, it’s pressure."
Will any of the doubters now be convinced after the first show has passed and the rest of the tournament is over?
"I think that’s a very good question," Hamilton says.
"If someone else was directing and I was just watching from London, maybe I could take a different view.But as someone who was involved in creating the show within the game, I can say that on balance, I believe they should do another one."
