New York-headquartered CatatoniaGiraldi--a multinational production house formed in 2006 by director Bob Giraldi
New York-headquartered CatatoniaGiraldi–a multinational production house formed in 2006 by director Bob Giraldi and Catatonia Films, Mexico City, for Hispanic and mainstream English-language spots–has brought directors Josh Marston and Sebastian Alfie on board. Marston's credits include Maria Full of Grace, a feature which won the Audience Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and episodes of primetime TV series Six Feet Under for HBO and the upcoming Swingtown, which is slated to debut on CBS. Alfie is a spotmaking veteran whose credits include campaigns for Mercedes-Benz, Movistar and PlayStation in Spain, shoots for Coca-Cola and Sprite in Argentina and recent stateside assignments for Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Miami and Boulder, Colo., and Grupo Gallegos in Long Beach, Calif….The directorial duo Peter Martin–Peter Livolsi and Martin Dix–has joined bicoastal Sleeper USA for U.S. representation. Livolsi is a graduate of the American Film Institute's directing program and Dix is a writer/creative director who has worked at agencies in the U.S. as well as in his native Australia. The Peter Martin directing team, formerly repped by harvest, Santa Monica, was among the helmers selected for SHOOT's 2006 New Directors Showcase….Meanwhile, another alumnus from that same year's SHOOT New Directors Showcase, Scott Corbett, has joined the roster of Identity, the New York shop headed by owner/exec producer Joe Masi. Corbett's past affiliations include Boy Genius and the now defunct commercial division of A Band Apart. He first established himself in the industry as an ad agency copywriter working on both coasts and then made a successful transition to the director's chair….
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