Soon singer-songwriter Stuart Murdoch, the enchanting front man of the indie pop group Belle & Sebastian, will turn film director, thanks to his self-penned musical God Help the Girl. The project got its start back in 2003, when Murdoch found himself penning songs that he felt would be better served by a girl group. From these he developed a character called Eve and began a screenplay of her story. While writing draft upon draft of the script, he worked on the album God Help the Girl, named for one of Eve's songs. His Belle & Sebastian band mates agreed to lend their voices, and the search began for Eve and her girl group.
After an exhaustive search that included and internet-based singing competition, Murdoch selected Dina Bankole and Brittany Stallings from the contestants, and chose Catherine Ireton to sing the role of Eve. The album God Help the Girl was released in 2009, serving as a curious prologue to Murdoch's proposed movie. Since then, producers raised more than $100,000 through a Kickstarter campaign, and have aims to shop international sales at Cannes next month. In the meantime and at long last, casting has begun for God Help the Girl.
Variety reports that rising ingénue Elle Fanning (Super 8) and Olly Alexander (Enter the Void) have entered into talks to headline Murdoch's Glasgow-set musical. Should they sign on, Alexander would play Eve's accompanist James, a cynical but caring guitarist who Fanning's American teen tagalong Cassie looks to as a mentor. Angling for such promising young actors, God Help the Girl is off to a good start. Still, it'll be interesting to see who will play the intriguing Eve. With producers moving to get the musical into production by June, a decision should be made soon, which will bring a climactic end to a casting call that's already gone worldwide.
To discover more about the various incarnations and development of God Help the Girl, check the project's site, where you can find more videos like this one:
