Based strictly on the dewy-eyed puerility of Sony "Balls", you might assume that MJZ's Nicolai Fuglsig (pronounced 'fuel-see') is Denmark's closest equivalent to Wes Anderson. But while the 34-year-old director is the first to admit he likes to approach his spots from a similarly naďve perspective, Fuglsig's backstory belies his sunny outlook. Before stumbling into the commercial world in 2001, he lived another life as an award-winning photojournalist, logging serious hours on the ground during the Balkan War. Prior to that, he spent a year commandeering a tank for the Danish army. These days, Fuglsig combines the sum of those experiences with a childlike vitality to produce a sensibility and spirit that are nothing if not totally unique. Equal parts Dr. Seuss and Sun Tzu, we caught up with the relentlessly energetic Fuglsig on set in South Africa, where he waxed breathlessly on mortars, miniatures and why he always says no to drugs.

Do you consider yourself a disciplined person?
I'm ruthlessly disciplined. I always get my shit done and I work extremely fast. Because I come from a background of being a photojournalist, I always say to people that I can walk backwards into a room and instantly when I turn around I can shoot an object from the right angle, right away. That's how I used to photograph politicians, I'd walk backwards into a room following them, so I became very fast by going straight for what I think will be the best shot from the beginning and then experimenting.

How else does your background shape the way you work?
I always build models of all the sets I do with big battle plans - almost like if you were going to war. I draw every door on every house. I'm not fucking kidding you. I've been so surprised by how many crews around the world have really loved the idea that I'm giving them a complete 3D model with cars and houses and everything of the locations I'm shooting in. Then, all together, me and the DP, the art department, the agency, everybody - we try to find all the new angles and interesting perspectives that are sometimes hidden if you're not working with a 3D model.

What kind of reputation do you have?
I'm surprised by all the crews who say, 'We've never worked with someone who runs so fast or has as much energy as you - are you on crack or something?' I think I would die if I took drugs! I love to work very fast. And I always talk. I talk, I talk, I talk, I talk, I talk, I talk... I always correct and adjust by talking to the actors and the DPs. That's why I can have a lot of balls in the air at the same time, very much like when I was a commander of this tank in Denmark, directing the troops around.

Did you have a sense beforehand that "Balls" was going to be as big as it was?
I fucking loved that script to bits when I got it. Spike was up for it, Noam Murro was up for it, I think Mike Mills... I think I got it because I invented the idea of shooting all the balls out of cannons. The military freak that I am, I invented these mortars and got a special effects guy in Hollywood to build them out of my drawings. They just wanted to dump them out of trucks but I really think it helped them by making them airborne. I also wrote the thing about the frogs and the fact that it should be in San Francisco, but nobody can take away from the agency that it was a brilliant idea to start with. Brilliant. It really fit my mind a lot, because I was a very naughty boy when I was a kid. And we were like kids on that shoot. It was the most insane, artful, mind-blowing, spectacular, wonderful thing I've seen in my whole life.

Have you noticed a change in the quality of work you've been getting since that commercial?
No! I'm shocked! They keep sending fucking shit boards, you know. That's why I haven't really done much since. "Balls" was so artful, it was like a Christo art project... I wish there were more creatives and clients willing to take a leap.

Are you planning to go to Cannes this year?
Yeah. I don't know if you know, but last week I got 12 awards for "Balls" in 48 hours... I'm not a big awards guy, because I tend to do cinematic mini-movies, but I was so happy that these people acknowledged the hard work we did, and maybe we'll get a little bit at Cannes. It would be such an honor for me, I would be so happy if it got even a bronze.

VITALS
Production affiliations: Repped for commercials by MJZ worldwide.
Education: Fuglsig attended a local Danish college before being drafted into the army for a year. After that, he worked for various newspapers before making the transition to the ad world.
How he went from war photography to commercial work:
"I won the first prize in the environmental category at the World Press Photo for a story I did in Russia about a secret nuclear pollution accident, and after that, I got sent on assignment to Kosovo, and almost accidentally, I just decided to buy two video cameras. I attached them by Velcro to my bulletproof vest and I just started filming while I was shooting stills. It turned out to be crazy footage... it was shown and some agencies started calling and asking if I could do commercials."

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