EARLY DAYS x PAUL McCARTNEY

In love with Paul McCartney’s “Early Days” – and the music video directed by Vincent Haycock that we had the pleasure of producing -

2014 CAMERIMAGE NOMINATION FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AND MUSIC VIDEO Paul McCartney and John Lennon's story at its core is a universal one, two young kids who form a bond through their passion for music. This video is about them, and every band, and every kid who has suffered the ups and downs of starting a band, whether or not they became successful. The universality of their story was a big inspiration for setting the film in Mississippi during the 50s. American Rock and Roll and the Mississippi Delta Blues is a time period that heavily inspired The Beatles. Early Days is about the spirit and inspiration young musicians find in each other. LOS ANGELES CAST Paul McCartney Johnny Depp Lil’ Poochie Del Atkins Roy Gaines Henry Hank Harris Al Williams Motown Maurice Misha Lindes MISSISSIPPI CAST Malik Peters Darious Marshall Dee Firley Ken Shell Hope Knight Faith Knight Anthony Jones Valencia Anderson Perraniqua Champ Dalvion Jackson Dezanique Credit Elbert Washington Ike Warner Jasmin Gregory Tema Larry Patrick Chapman Patina Sewell Cordrion Tucker Dominique Ishman Kasim Garner Curren Greene RJ Givens Jadarious Anderson Jaquann King Damien Henderson Lee Jackson Yolanda Smith Melody Radford Grace Knight Brentavian Green Stephen Bush PRODUCTION Commissioned by MPL Communications Commissioner :: Paul McKee Directed by Vincent Haycock Produced by Anna Rau & Corbett Jones Company :: Park Pictures Representation :: FreeAgentUK Director of Photography :: Evan Prosofsky Production Designer :: Jay Hougaard Stylist :: Natasha Newman-Thomas Casting Director :: Carmela Makela Additional LA Casting :: Lisa Roth @ HMH Casting New Orleans Casting :: Laurel Coyle @ The Cast Station Production Manager :: Josiah Bultema Production Coordinator :: Geoff Walker Assistant to Director :: Carmela Makela Assistant to Producers :: Sam Speiser LOS ANGELES CREW 1st AD :: Aaron Paulson 2nd AD :: Chris Gonzalez Steadicam :: Ari Robbins 1st AC :: David Edsall 2nd AC :: Gary Bevans Loader :: Dustin Miller Gaffer :: Robert Lowe Best Boy :: Craig Molsberry Electric Driver :: Juan Barroso and a special thanks to Bobby Wotherspoon Key Grip :: Bodie Hyman Best Boy :: Douglas Blagg Prop Master :: John Bakken Leadman :: Chris Miller Set Decorator :: Mandy Cheng Painter :: Jedediah C Voltz Wardrobe Assistant :: Tatiana Valentin Hair & Make Up :: Lauren Cohen Hair & Make Up :: Joel Harlow VTR :: Dave Schmalz Sound Mixer :: Durand Trench Assistant Sound Mixer :: Kent Vederico Audio Playback :: Justine Marine Location Manager :: Jonathan Lynch Craft Services :: Adam Berman Production Assistant :: Ben Westley Production Assistant :: Garret Ives Production Assistant :: Raphael Xexeo Production Assistant :: Bart Taylor Production Assistant :: Damien Lang Production Assistant :: Marcus Huerta MISSISSIPPI CREW 1st AD : Johnny Radcliff Steadicam :: Ari Robbins 1st AC :: Mike Valentine 2nd AC  :: Alicia Fischmeister Gaffer :: Mike McLaughlin Key Grip :: Gilly Charbonnett Art Director :: Everette Eglin Prop Master :: Will Eastin Set Dresser :: Keith Wall Car Wrangler :: Blane Bernard Hair & Make Up :: Tenia Hill Local Production Support :: Sally Durkin Production Assistant :: Andrew Baker Production Assistant :: Adam Sherman POST PRODUCTION Telecine from Ntropic Colorist :: Arnold Ramm Producer :: Jordan Freedman   Editorial Support from Whitehouse Post Editor :: Vincent Haycock & Shane Reid Producer :: Joanna Manning Sound Mixer & Designer :: Durand Trench Kodak film stock purchased from Reel Good
 Processing by Fotokem Special Thanks to the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau

The LA performance shoot was the single most surreal day ever spent on set.  A wonderful group of blues musicians from the Los Angeles area - with very special guest Lil’ Poochie straight from Natchez, Mississippi - joined Paul and Johnny for an old school, Delta Blues jam session.

We all thought we’d died and gone straight to heaven.

Early the next morning it was back to Natchez to wrap up the narrative portion.

We spent the first day with the core players grabbing quick pick up shots.  Corbett found himself on the receiving end of some mud as we wrapped up the first day.

Carmela, who brilliantly held down the fort in Natchez during our quick trip back to LA for the performance shoot, had the cast organized for the days ahead.  Never one to disappoint – the faces and personalities Carmela discovered during our short time in Natchez were absolutely perfect.  The kids were extraordinary with the most beautiful and polite demeanor.

Our Director of Photography Evan generously donated his camera package and lenses to the shoot, allowing us to have the now rare joy of shooting beautiful black and white 35mm film.  There’s something about working on film that makes this profession feel just a little extra wonderful.

Natasha brought industrial sized duffels filled to the brim with genuine vintage from studio costume houses.  The silhouettes, patterns, and textures evoke immediate nostalgia. Natasha never misses a beat and she had each actor styled down to the details - socks and pocket squares included.

She was also a wonderful sport and worked out of a church bus (affectionately christened ‘the wardrobe wagon’) throughout the weekend in order to be close by with all of her gear.  Adventures in the Southern wild…

Our production designer, Jay, created an entire world in each of the locations we found.  It was truly amazing how he transformed each of the spaces with resources pulled up from New Orleans and the most beautiful vintage cars you have ever seen.  Big thank you to the local teams that made sure the precious cargo made it to us.

We really went out with a bang and wrapped up the weekend with a fireworks show.

Thanks to everyone who joined us in LA and to those who joined us in Mississippi.  Huge thanks to the teams at MPL and Park for having us on this one, and big big thanks to Paul McKee for heading to Mississippi with us.

A shoot we will never forget.

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Enormous thank you to Mike Valentine for snapping the above shots on location.

For more of his work: www.mackayvalentine.com