BMW films

The Hire
Directed by	John Frankenheimer Ang Lee Wong Kar-wai Guy Ritchie Alejandro González Iñárritu John Woo Joe Carnahan Tony Scott Neill Blomkamp
Produced by	Robyn Boardman Robert Van de Weteringe Buys Tapas Blank Tony McGarry Leon Corcos David Mitchell Nicole Dionne Pelayo Gutiérrez Aristides McGarry David Fincher Dave Morrison Ridley Scott Tony Scott Jules Daly Skip Chaisson David Davies Kimberly Jacobs-Toeg
Written by	Andrew Kevin Walker David Carter Joe Sweet Guy Ritchie Alejandro González Iñárritu Guillermo Arriaga Greg Hahn Vincent Ngo Joe Carnahan Neill Blomkamp
Starring	Clive Owen Tomas Milian Mason Lee Forest Whitaker Mickey Rourke Adriana Lima Madonna Stellan Skarsgård Lois Smith Maury Chaykin Kathryn Morris Don Cheadle F. Murray Abraham Clifton Powell Gary Oldman James Brown Danny Trejo Marilyn Manson Dakota Fanning Jon Bernthal Vera Farmiga
Narrated by	Clive Owen
Music by	PrimalScream Music Michael Wandmacher Mychael Danna Joel Goodman Jeff Rona Harry Gregson-Williams Steve Jablonsky Clint Mansell Kristopher Pooley
Cinematography	Newton Thomas Sigel Frederick Elmes Harris Savides Christopher Soos Robert Richardson Jeffrey L. Kimball Mauro Fiore Paul Cameron Manoel Ferreira
Edited by	Robert Duffy Tim Squyres William Chang Tom Muldoon Luis Carballar Alejandro González Iñárritu Gabriel Rodríguez de la Mora Jeff Gullo Angus Wall John Gilroy Skip Chaisson Julian Clarke Austyn Daines Devin Mauer
Production company	BMW Films Anonymous Content Zeta Films RSA Films
Distributed by	BMW Films
Release date	2001–2016
Running time	64 minutes (total of all eight films)
Country	USA
Language	English Portuguese Spanish

The BMW film series The Hire is a series of eight short films (averaging about ten minutes each) produced for the Internet in 2001 and 2002. A form of branded content, the shorts were directed by popular filmmakers from around the globe and starred Clive Owen as "the Driver" while highlighting the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles. The series made a comeback in 2016, fifteen years after its original run ended.

The plots of each of the films differ, but one constant remains: Clive Owen plays "The Driver," a man who goes from place to place (in BMW automobiles), getting hired by various people to be a sort of transport for their vital needs.

On April 26, 2001, John Frankenheimer's Ambush premiered on the BMW Films website and, two weeks later, was followed by Ang Lee's Chosen. Soon after, director Wong Kar-Wai was tapped to make a third film entitled The Follow, a dramatic piece about a runaway wife being followed by "the Driver". The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and received rave reviews. It was followed by Guy Ritchie's Star and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Powder Keg.

After the series began, BMW saw their 2001 sales numbers go up 12% from the previous year. The movies were viewed over 11 million times in four months. Two million people registered with the website and a large majority of users, registered to the site, sent film links to their friends and family. The series was originally created by members of famed indie New York City film studio – Shooting Gallery – such as CJ Follini, Paul Speaker, and Eamonn Bowles.

The films were so popular that BMW produced a free DVD for customers who visited certain BMW dealerships. Due to demand, BMW ran out of DVDs. In September, BMW and Vanity Fair magazine collaborated to distribute a second DVD edition of The Hire in the magazine. The Vanity Fair disc did not include Wong Kar-Wai's The Follow. Forest Whitaker had an uncredited part in The Follow and had only agreed to be in the film if it were shown exclusively on the Internet. When the movie was released on DVD, Whitaker allegedly exercised an option in his contract which stipulated that the movie would not be released in any other format without authorization from the actor himself. The Vanity Fair disc, in lieu of carrying The Follow, contained a link to the website with instructions to the viewer to watch the movie online.