By Christine Champagne
Based in Paris, the French-government owned AREVA Group, the largest nuclear energy company in the world with 75,000 employees in more than 100 countries, provides its clients with technological solutions for nuclear energy production and electricity transmission and distribution. The company is made up of a nuclear power division, which includes fuel cycle unit COGEMA and leading power plant builder Framatome ANP, and a connectors division, which consists of Framatome Connectors International, a leading manufacturer of electrical connectors.
Are you lost yet? If so, imagine being charged with the task of explaining the complexities of AREVA’s operations to a worldwide audience in a commercial. The creative team at Euro RSCG C&O, Paris, had to worry about whether a) they could actually do this in under :60, and if b) they could relate this technical information to laypeople without boring them.
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CLIENT
AREVA Group.
PRODUCTION CO.
Addict, Paris.
H5, director; Stephane Kooshmanian, executive producer; Charlotte Camille, line producer.
AGENCY
Euro RSCG C&O, Paris.
Olivier Moulierac and Jerome Galina, creative directors; Marie Tapie,
copywriter; Catherine Labro, art director; Annie Moizan, producer.
EDITORIAL
Machine Molle, Paris.
Jean Francois, editor.
POST
Mikros Image, Paris.
Guillaume Pondard, Flame artist.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Machine Molle.
Vincent Dupuis, CGI producer/coordinator.
AUDIO POST
O’ the Bahamas, Levallois-Perret, France.
Philippe Tutin, mixer/engineer.
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