By Christine Champagne
Fallon, Minneapolis, and director Scott Hicks of Santa Monica-headquartered Independent Media pulled some strings to create a magical new spot for PBS. The :30 "Puppet," part of the second round of commercials in the "Be More" campaign for PBS, tells the tale of a marionette who chooses to free himself from the literal ties that bind him.
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CLIENT
PBS.
PRODUCTION CO.
Independent Media,
Santa Monica.
Scott Hicks, director; Dion Beebe, DP; Susanne Priessler, executive producer; Lindsay Skutch, line producer; Barbara Ling, production designer. Shot on location in Melbourne, Australia.
Macgowan Films, Surry Hills, Australia.
Jane Smith, line producer.
AGENCY
Fallon, Minneapolis.
David Lubars, executive creative director; Bruce Bildsten, creative director; Mike Gibbs, group head/copywriter; Gerard Caputo, art director; Mark Sitley, director of production/producer; Shannon Tearle, business affairs/associate producer.
EDITORIAL
The Whitehouse, Santa Monica.
Livio Sanchez, editor; Logan Hefflefinger, assistant editor; Melissa Thornley, producer.
The Assembly Line, Minneapolis.
Michael Aaron, post producer.
POST/VISUAL EFFECTS
The Mill, London.
Paul Harrison, colorist; Fi Kilroe, producer; Ant Walsham, Inferno artist; David Birkill, Floctane artist; Hitesh Patel, 3-D artist.
Pixel Farm, Minneapolis.
Doug Griess, Symphony editor; Kurt Angell, senior editor; Amanda Akerman, production manager.
AUDIO POST
Brahmstedt White Noise, Minneapolis.
Carl White, mixer.
MUSIC
Amber Music, New York.
Will Richter, composer; Michelle Curran president/executive
producer.
SOUND DESIGN
Brahmstedt White Noise.
Carl White, sound designer; Allison Swanson, producer.
Steve McQueen Shows Wartime London Through A Child’s Eyes In “Blitz”
It was a single photograph that started Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen on the journey to make "Blitz." As a Londoner, the German bombing raids on the city during World War II are never all that far from his mind. Reminders of it are everywhere. But the spark of inspiration came from an image of a small boy on a train platform with a large suitcase. Stories inspired by the evacuation are not rare, but this child was Black. Who was he, McQueen wondered, and what was his story? The film, in theaters Friday and streaming on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22, tells the tale of George, a 9-year-old biracial child in East London whose life with his mother, Rita ( Saoirse Ronan ), and grandfather is upended by the war. Like many children at the time, he's put on a train to the countryside for his safety. But he hops off and starts a long, dangerous journey back to his mom, encountering all sorts of people and situations that paint a revelatory and emotional picture of that moment. SEARCHING FOR GEORGE AND FINDING A STAR When McQueen finished the screenplay, he thought to himself: "Not bad." Then he started to worry: Does George exist? Is there a person out there who can play this role? Through an open casting call they found Elliott Heffernan, a 9-year-old living just outside of London whose only experience was a school play. He was the genie in "Aladdin." "There was a stillness about him, a real silent movie star quality," McQueen said. "You wanted to know what he was thinking, and you leant in. That's a movie star quality: A presence in his absence." Elliott is now 11. When he was cast, he'd not yet heard about the evacuation and imagined that a film set would be made up of "about 100 people." But he soon found his footing, cycling in and out of... Read More