By Kristin Wilcha
NEW FACES
Maureen Phillips has joined Gotham, New York, as managing partner/director of broadcast production.
Ann Rubenstein and Becky Ruff have been named vice presidents at DDB Chicago. Rubenstein is an executive producer, while Ruff is manager of broadcast production.
Earl Repp has been promoted to senior VP/broadcast production and executive producer at Jay Advertising, Rochester, N.Y.
Vaughn Misail has been promoted to associate creative director at Via, Portland, Maine, where he was previously a copywriter.
Kelley Milligan has joined Inferno, Memphis, as a copywriter.
ACCOUNT MOVEMENT
Grey Worldwide, New York, has been selected to handle the $260 million ad account for Kmart. The account had previously been with TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York.
Doner, Southfield, Mich., has won the $90 million ad account for the Six Flags amusement park.
Leap Wireless has selected Butler, Shine & Stern, San Diego, to handle its ad account.
Jim Beam Brands has awarded advertising duties on its Jim Beam, Knob Creek bourbon, Vox Vodka, and DeKuyper cordials brands to BBDO Chicago.
Cadbury Schweppes has awarded its non-chocolate confectionary brands to McCann-Erickson, New York. The brands, which include Dentyne, Certs, and Clorets, had been with Bates Worldwide, New York.
Advertising for Clamato tomato cocktail juice will be handled by Del Rivero Messianu DDB, Coral Gables, Fla.
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