Buenos Aires-based director David Preizler, formerly of Reactor Films, Santa Monica, is now available...
Buenos Aires-based director David Preizler, formerly of Reactor Films, Santa Monica, is now available for U.S. general and Hispanic market work through his firm, Marlin Films, with production bases in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Los Angeles….. Bicoastal editorial house Lost Planet has added editor/director/cinematographer Jaime Valdueza to its roster. He comes over from Module Zero Media, a shop he has owned and operated since 2002. Valdueza’s work spans the spot, music video feature and documentary worlds. In the latter arena, he edited and co-produced Children Rise directed by Bill Raftery. Children Rise follows the turbulent, dangerous lives of children living on the streets of Durban, South Africa. Valdueza had the daunting task of editing over 200 hours of film footage compiled over a four-year period, a project he calls the most moving and thought-provoking of his life…..Lenora Cushing has joined Hill Holiday’s Boston office as senior VP: and director of broadcast business affairs. In this capacity, Cushing will oversee celebrity and talent contract negotiations, secure trademark and copyright requirements, and ensure the agency’s creative work adheres to proper licensing rules. She spent the last 22 years at Arnold Worldwide, Boston, where she served in several roles. Since 1997, she had been Arnold’s group director of broadcast business affairs.
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