French directors Thierry and Didier Poiraud, otherwise known as Poiraud, have wrapped principal photography on their first feature film, The Return of James Bataille (Le Retour de James Bataille), a sci-fi comedy out of their Paris-based company, Entropie Films. The Poiraud brothers plan to start directing commercials again in the U.S. starting in September, via Paranoid Projects@Tool, a division of bicoastal Tool of North America. The division sprung from a cross-representational deal finalized last year between Tool of North America and Entropie Films….Maggie Klein and Diana Mandelare of Maggie Klein & Company, New York, will handle East Coast sales for Schofield Films, New York….Director Tom Lazarevich of High Road Productions, Chicago, has secured monaghan+halpine, Chicago, for Midwest sales….Swietlik Editorial, Santa Monica, has hired Marie Soto for representation on the West Coast. Soto had previously served as West Coast rep for now defunct Palomar Pictures….Ear to Ear music and sound design, Santa Monica, has signed independent rep Charlie Pomykal to oversee sales for the West Coast and Texas. Pomykal also reps Ear to Ear’s sister audio post facility, Santa Monica-based AudioBanks….Bicoastal Brand New School is being repped by West Hollywood-headquartered Shortlist on the West Coast and in Texas….Dallas-based independent rep Cathy Brittingham is handling Southwest representation for SBK Pictures, Ardmore, Pa….Tara Burtchaell, director of marketing at Pogo Pictures, Atlanta, has decided to exit the company after seven years to travel and take a relief trip to Honduras….
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