Director Jean-Baptiste Leonetti got his start in France making documentaries and TV programs for youngsters. “I was in my early twenties,” he recalled. “I was supposed to find the best solution to explain to an eight-year-old kid how to understand a classical poem or a classical novel. Believe me it was a big challenge. Maybe the biggest!”
Leonetti later showed these programs to several commercial production companies. “They liked them,” he noted. “Six months later I was shooting my first commercial.”
In France Leonetti’s commercialmaking carried a performance-driven, documentary style signature. After directing some 80 commercials for such brands as Canon, Sony PlayStation, Coca-Cola, Renault and France Telecom, Leonetti created his own production company in order to produce shorts and feature films. “My first short was a success and led me to my first feature film, Carré Blanc. Then I moved to the U.S.”
Leonetti signed with New York-based commercial production company Identity in the summer of 2012, an affiliation which is ongoing. Carré Blanc made its mark at the Toronto International Film Festival and the AFI Festival. In 2012 Carré Blanc won the Critics Award from the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics.
Fast forward to today and Leonetti will return to Toronto in September with his second feature, The Reach, which stars Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irvine, Hannah Mangan Lawrence and Ronny Cox. The film–which will screen as part of Toronto’s Special Presentations program–centers on a corporate shark and his impoverished young guide who wind up playing a sadistic cat-and-mouse game during a hunting trip in the Mojave Desert.
SHOOT caught up with Leonetti who discussed The Reach and his return to the Toronto International Film Festival.
SHOOT: What drew you to The Reach? What was the genesis of the project?
Leonetti: Robert Mitas the producer at Further Films, gave me the script of The Reach after he saw my first feature film, Carré Blanc. He loved my movie and was really interested to see what kind of approach might be mine. I told him, “OK, I made a very radical and dark movie but I’m also able to be much more accessible. I wanted to mix my visual style with an accessible and strong story.” The Reach was the perfect project for me. It was exactly the project I was looking for.
Then Robert Mitas showed Carré Blanc to Michael Douglas who is starring in and producing The Reach. He was interested. Both trusted me and supported me. Then Mitas, Stephen Susco the writer and myself worked on the script to get the things doable in the budget. It was a great creative moment. Nothing about frustration, just great teamwork.
SHOOT: What was the biggest creative challenge that The Reach posed to you as a director?
Leonetti: I think the biggest creative challenge for a director is always about the schedule. Getting the thing possible in a tight schedule. You have a lot of dreams and these dreams are fighting against the tough reality of a shooting. Classical situation.
But specifically for The Reach, working in the desert night and days in very tough conditions was a big challenge. I still remained demanding with my vision. I wanted to give to the audience a strong and realistic survival modern western. This was my biggest challenge.
SHOOT: What does the selection of The Reach for inclusion in the Toronto International Film Festival mean to you personally and professionally? Is this your first film at the Toronto Festival? If not, tell us of your prior experiences at the Toronto Fest.
Leonetti: Toronto is a great festival because it mixes a lot of different styles of movies in its selection. Three years ago I was in Toronto with Carré Blanc, my first feature film, which was very radical and dark. This year I’m back with an action movie led by a legend such as Michael Douglas. Both are very different. Both are in Toronto because this festival is very open. This is a honor to be here personally and professionally.
SHOOT: Why did you gravitate towards cinematographer Russell Carpenter for The Reach?
Leonetti: Russell Carpenter is as talented as experienced. It was so easy to work with him. He was always listening and helping me to get what I wanted. But with something else more because Russell is not only a strong technician, he’s also very artistic and sensitive.
I never heard, “That’s not possible. This is too difficult.” I would love to work with him again. He’s a real gentleman.
SHOOT: Tell us about your working relationship with Identity for commercials and branded content? What attracts you to spots and branded content?
Leonetti: After Carré Blanc, I wanted to move to the U.S. for my next feature film but also for commercials. I thought it was time to initiate a new experience. I met several production [companies], then I met Joe Masi [owner/executive producer of Identity] and Stephanie Bruni [producer]. The feeling has been really great immediately. They were very attentive to my previous work in general and were super confident for the future.
I think if you are capable to tell a story in 20 or 30 seconds, you are capable to tell a story in 90 minutes easier. Even if telling a story is never easy. That’s the director’s due.
