When MLi first met with the producers of Expelled, filming was well underway. Premise Media was a new production company. They contracted MLi to develop their corporate image as well as the creative direction for the marketing of the film.
The subject matter was sensitive and bound to raise controversy so the marketing was going to need an edge… something gutsy… something outside the box.
With Ben Stein as the star and known mostly for his comedic rolls, MLi conceived a character cross between Ben and rebel musician Angus Young (AC-DC). Ben Stein, alias Rebel Ben… The schoolboy rebel with a cause… “EXPOSE ACADEMIC SUPPRESSION!”
MLi designed the concept of rebel Ben spray-painting the X in the title of EXPELLED, stamped on a brick wall. The wall represented the school Ben had been expelled from for daring to question the powers that be. It further represented the academic walls of suppression… A theme the producers developed further and became the hook in the final script of the film.