CANADIAN DISTRIBUTION CONTACT Films We Like, Mike Boyuk, mike@filmswelike.com, 416.971-9131 Filmfestspiele Canadian Publicity 64 Berlin .Generation Films We Like, Jasmine Pauk, jasmine@filmswelike.com, 416.971-9131 Int er na tio na le God Help The Girl ,••••••••,\.• , , 'V•<;i NN 1 I N1/4S, N. filmswelike 6\ \ \, N • •;,N.._ <*Vs4 ! GODGOD HELPHELP THETHE GIRLGIRL Overview One side of modernmodern Glasgow has been portrayed onon film:film: postpost-industrial-industrial lifelife inin aa city fallen on hard times. Poverty, violence, alcoholism and drugs. But Glasgow is also filled with warmthwarmth and humorhumor andand has aa vibrantvibrant musicmusic scenescene from which iconoclastic bands have been emerging forfor thethe past 3030 years. As a result, young people from all over converge here and delve. IntoInto the arts, thethe parks and gardens, the cafes, spilling into the venues, where sincesince the 70’s,70's, new bands and iconsicons alike —– Blondie, Blondie, The Smiths and any other bandband that’sthat's meant somethingsomething –— have have been playing to one ofof thethe most raucous yet discerning audiences inin the world.world. Here amidst the pubs, clubs, dance halls, cafes, tenements, gardens and lanes isis set Stuart MurdMurdoch'soch’s musical film, God HelpHelp The GirlGirl.. He aspired in his words to tell the story ofof “a"a betterbetter summer,summer, oror atat leastleast aa summersummer when something happened.”happened." “It"It happened to a boyboy and a girlgirl and a girl,girl, inin a citycity roughlyroughly the same size and populationpopulation ofof Glasgow.Glasgow. PerhapsPerhaps the canalscanals werewere aa bitbit grimier,grimier, thethe highhigh-- rise buildings taller. The streets emptier whenwhen youyou neededneeded themthem toto be, and thethe beatbeat clubsclubs busier than the ones around here. But on the whole the citycity was this one.”one." According to Producer Barry Mendel, “It’s"It's a ssimpleimple storystory ---- about thethe briefbrief moment after you’veyou've realized what you want to do withwith youryour lifelife but before itit settlessettles intointo a job, when you’reyou're filled with enthusiasm, meeting likelike-minded-minded friendsfriends andand thethe possibilities are endless.”endless." When we first meet Eve (EM(EMILYILY BROWNING),BROWNING), she’sshe's inin aa badbad way.way. Fighting depression, not eating, and a long way from home. In the hospital, she begins to write. Songs begin to materialize, and they become her purpose, a pathpath forward.forward. James (OLLY ALEXANDER) and his music student Cassie (HANNAH(HANNAH MURRAY) are English emigrants each at a crossroads ofof theirtheir own.own. James hasn’thasn't yetyet found the right collaborators and Cassie is only beginning to stir, feeling thethe firstfirst inklingsinklings of a yen to write, playplay,, and sing. The threethree exex-pats-pats converge and form a friendshipfriendship inin music.music. WithWith James as guide,guide, ! ! they tour the town. Songs continue to pour outout ofof Eve,Eve, and thethe threethree becomebecome seriousserious about playing together. The question is: will music be enoughenough to pullpull EveEve through?through? WillWill she sink or emerge as the singing, songwriting leader ofof theirtheir honesthonest toto goodness newnew band. Genesis In 2003, Stuart Murdoch was out forfor aa runrun whenwhen a tunetune came intointo hishis head. “I"I could hear the whole thing. I always have a littlelittle bitbit ofof paperpaper andand pencilpencil withwith meme whenever I go out, so I jotted down the tune and I went back andand wrotewrote the wordswords downdown fast.”fast." He immediately knew itit wasn’twasn't a song forfor BelleBelle && Sebastian. “[It"[It was]was] thethe completeness in which it hit me,”me," Murdoch describes, “I"I thouthought,ght, ‘Nah,'Nah, this isn't forfor thethe group, this is something else.’else.' It's almost likelike [I’d][I'd] been givengiven thisthis littlelittle present and II thought, ‘OK,'OK, I'm going to get this, I'm goinggoing to go afterafter this.this. This isis goinggoing toto bebe something new and fun.’”fun." One tune led to another and before longlong the charactercharacter ofof EveEve emerged and started to talk. James came next, then Cassie, and as allall theirtheir thoughtsthoughts evolved, so did a girlgirl group soundsound,, a storystory and a sense that itit wanted to be a film,film, a musical. Murdoch had toyed with the idea ofof filfilmmakingmmaking before. InIn 2000,2000, he andand thethe guitarist of BelleBelle && Sebastian, Stevie Jackson, discussed developing a moviemovie for thethe band.band. “[I’d]"[I'd] becamebecame entranced with filmfilm the wayway II used toto be entrancedentranced withwith music,music, andand tooktook great comfort in watching favourite filmsfilms over and over.”over." HeHe recalled,recalled, “I"I alwaysalways wantedwanted to basebase a story round the ‘Grosvenor'Grosvenor Cafe’Cafe' which closedclosed aroundaround thatthat time.time. II couldn’tcouldn't stand that it closed, so that was a surrogacysurrogacy thing. I wanted to keep allall thethe characters withwith me. But I got busy with music again and never tooktook itit forward.”forward." After Belle & Sebastian'sSebastian’s Life Pursuit Tour inin 2006, MurdochMurdoch beganbegan writingwriting thethe screenplay, calling it God HelpHelp The GirlGirl,, after that firstfirst songsong thatthat camecame toto himhim threethree yearsyears earlier on an afternoon run. ! ! The SongSongs SSoonoon after he began workingworking on the script, Murdoch placedplaced anan openopen callcall forfor singers in The ListList,, a UKUK eventevent-listing-listing magazine: GirlGirl singers needed fortbr autumnalautumnal recordingrecording project.project. Must havehave aa wayway withwith aa tune.tune. CelineCeline Dion wannabes, save your breath. Ballpark, RonRonettes, ettes, Friend andand Lover,Lover, Twinkle.Twinkle. PhonePhone Neil: 0141 227 2751. “"InIn the initial round, II placed a smallsmall advertisement inin aa locallocal newspaper,newspaper, anan anonymous ad. I auditioned about 20 people,”people," Stuart explains.explains. One ofof themthem waswas CeliaCelia Garcia. "Celia“Celia lives just round the corner.corner. I refer to her as a pseudopseudo Scot. Her dad'sdad's fromfrom BoBolivialivia I think, though she was born inin Kirkcaldy.Kirkcaldy. II wantwant to claimclaim herher asas aa Scot,Scot, butbut she justjust seems too glam or something. [She][Shel proved herher capabilitiescapabilities onon thethe BelleBelle && SebastianSebastian track ‘Are'Are You Coming Over for Christmas?’”Christmas?" Murdoch first met Alex KloboukKlobouk inin BBerlin.erlin. “She'd"She'd beenbeen pickedpicked byby ourour GermanGerman record label to be Germany's most Catastrophic Waitress. (Our LPLP at thethe timetime was calledcalled Dear Catastrophe Waitress.) I don't know ifif theythey looked that hard though. She didn'tdidn't looklook catastrophic to me. We didn't know whawhatt to do withwith her,her, she waswas justjust hanging aboutabout backstage, looking uncatastrophic. So we gave her a uniform,uniform, and wewe hadhad her comecome onon stage and throw hot drinks and custard pies around. She got her picturepicture inin thethe BerlinBerlin paper the next day. The hheadlineeadline was Germany's Worst Waitress. Her humourlesshumourless boss saw the picture and sacked her! I felt a littlelittle culpable, what withwith thethe lossloss ofof earningsearnings and everything. So we brought her over to Glasgow to cheer herher up,up, and wewe putput herher onon aa record cover and in a video. And it was whilewhile she was over that II heard her singing.”singing." “A"A couple of yearsyears later, we opened it up to the internet, and wewe hadhad about 400400 singers apply, and then maybe another 30 on top apply withwith theirtheir own videosvideos theythey sent in.”in." Some went as far as making fairly sophisticated shortshort filmsfilms and postingposting themthem onon YouTube. Eventually, Dina Bankole and BrittanyBrittany Stallings won thethe onlineonline competitioncompetition toto come and record with the group. But Murdoch stillstill wasn’twasn't set onon a leadlead vocalist,vocalist, “I"I wanted somebody ttoo come inin and blast it. I just wanted a sensational voice.”voice." AA friendfriend ofof aa ! ! friend made him aware ofof CatherineCatherine Ireton, a collegecollege seniorsenior livingliving inin DublinDublin whowho sang vocals in a pop band Elephant. She also had musicalmusical-theater-theater experience,experience, havinghaving performed at her allall-girls-girls high school. Ireton was intrigued by the project: “When"When [Stuart][Stuart] first explainedexplained it,it, hehe saidsaid ‘I'm'I'm looking for some girls because I'mI'm thinkingthinking about puttingputting togethertogether aa girlgirl group.’group.' And thatthat was about the extent ofof howhow he described it. And II was like,like, ‘Ok,'0k, suresure---- thethe bandband thatthat I'dI'd been in, Elephant, disbanded.’disbanded.' So the thought ofof puttingputting togethertogether sortsort ofof aa poppop group was like, ‘why'why the hell not?’”not?" Ireton flew from DublinDublin toto Glasgow and made herher wayway toto thethe BelleBelle && SebastianSebastian headquarters, a twotwo-story-story ramshackle building inin a WestWest EndEnd alleyalley populatedpopulated byby anan almost unbelievable number ofof straystray cats. She was excited and nervous, saying toto herself,herself, “Belle"Belle & Sebastian, here I am!'”am!" Murdoch