Sean Sullivan of Sullivan Creative Management, Chicago, has been named to handle Midwest representation for Incubator Films, the Los Angeles-based shop featuring director Tom De Cerchio. Incubator continues to be repped by indie reps Siobhan McCafferty and Peter McCann on the West and East Coasts, respectively….The Directors Network, Encino, Calif., has signed fashion/beauty director Skott Snider and DP Billy Velten….Tim Hayes has shuttered his longstanding independent rep firm, Timothy Hayes & Company, New York, to open Hayes Is For Horses, East Hampton, N.Y. The unique career transition will find Hayes serving as a "natural horsemanship clinician" (horse whisperer), giving seminars and demonstrations in the art of horse/human communication….Blue Goose Productions, Los Angeles, has secured rep Marti Ski to handle sales on the West Coast….TeamHeavy, New York, has added Andrea Mergentime as director of sales…. Sales reps Sophie Edwards and Stephanie Naccari have joined New York-based post/effects shop Creative Bubble and its audio division, Burst@Creative Bubble. Edwards and Naccari will handle national sales for the companies….Crawford Post Production, Atlanta, has added Tim Cowling as senior account executive, and James Knight as account executive….Ty Van Huisen has been named director of marketing for the film and commercial division of Picture Mill, a Hollywood-based digital motion graphic design house. Picture Mill has also hired Dawn Clarke for representation on the West Coast and Nikki Weiss to handle the Midwest….DP Jonathan Taylor has just wrapped Spider-Man 2 and is again available exclusively through the Lyons• Sheldon•Prosnit Agency, Los Angeles….
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