Little Birds (2011)

Interesting facts

• Based on: Little Birds

Little Birds is a 2011 American film written and directed by Elgin James, and starring Juno Temple and Kay Panabaker. The film follows two girls who leave home to follow two skateboarders to Los Angeles and is loosely based on the life of director Elgin James. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with Millennium Entertainment acquiring the North American rights to the film.

Development

James began working on Little Birds around 2009, loosely basing the film on his own life experiences. James was originally working on an autobiographical project about he and his best friend who left their small towns and joined a gang in Boston. That film had Justin Timberlake attached to portray James and Nick Cassavetes attached to direct.

Juno Temple was signed onto the film and James offered her the choice of playing either Lily or Alison. She chose to portray Lily, citing that she connected with the character more and "wanted to set her free". Temple and James worked on the film together for two years, becoming close.

After auditioning hundreds of actresses, Kay Panabaker came on to the film just one week before filming. She and Temple became close by having sleepovers in each other's hotel rooms during the shoot and "watching bad movies and eating junk food together."

The film was produced through the Sundance Institute Labs, with producer Jamie Patricof expressing support for Little Birds.

James finished the film shortly before its screening in 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival before having to attend a trial for his actions while part of Friends Stand United.

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