When I was living in Paris, I shot my TV pilot The French Chef starring French movie star Philippe Léotard. We shot for two or three days with backdrops that included the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe and La Place du Tertre with interiors at La Mère Catherine and inside a professional chef's kitchen . When it came time to do post production, I engaged a company that was recommended to me by my friend Jean Collomb who was the lighting director for Claude Lelouch on many of his films including A Man and A Woman and And Now My Love. The editing and post sound recording and mixing went smoothly and we got a good product. We paid our bill and left after about a week. A few days later, the phone rang. The owner of the post production facility was calling wanting to know if I would be interested in shooting a publicity film for one of their clients. I have to admit that the idea didn't thrill me as I hadn't come to France to make PR films, commercials or anything other than projects I originated. Not wanting to be rude by saying no immediately and feeling grateful that he had thought to call me, I asked who was his client. "J. Walter Thompson," he said. J. Walter Thompson, for those who don't know, is said to be the fourth largest advertising agency in the world with offices in 90 countries. I was impressed but I didn't think I had a chance of being hired by them; I was inexperienced having only made Montmartre and The French Chef at this point. I said as much to the gentleman on the phone. "That's not a problem," he replied. "They already want you." Continued in comments) #film #filmmakerslife #jwt #jwalterthompson #tropicanaorangejuice #philippeleotard #losangeles #paris #scriptwriting https://www.instagram.com/p/BotY_FEnLPW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cp32fbvquhz0
