The underpinning concept behind the series of films was about repositioning the William Hill brand from one associated with traditional betting formats - like Horse Racing and Greyhounds – to a sharper and more accessible one, that strikes a chord with a football loving audience. So, this project was a rare chance to make something compelling and new without typical restrictions.

So, beyond Eric’s front and center performance, the VFX and the surrealness of it all, the most important aspect of all was nailing the fact that – as a brand – we understand the beautiful game and all its (often ridiculous) idiosyncrasies.

All inspiration ultimately came from the films’ iconic protagonist – the number 7’s number 7 – Eric Cantona. His irreverent persona and unwavering commitment to never taking himself too seriously was the perfect springboard to push the boundaries as far as we dared. Ignore the rule ‘never meet your heroes’ – from start to finish Eric was brilliant fun, incredibly generous with his time and the person on set who continued to push for more, often driving the spirits of production forward. 

These are unequivocally Eric’s films; we simply gave him the platform to turn his collars up and do his thing.

A huge thanks to the stellar team that made an incredibly challenging project both physically possible and enormously enjoyable. From Emma Garret the force behind the casting, Tom and Emma Lipop who styled Eric with gallic flair and beyond, the ever gracious, damn hardworking and equally talented Chris Clarke, the ship’s unwavering rudder of calm - our 1st AD - Rawden de Fenses, the kind and ever-driven Mikey Levelle, Nathalie Uglow our Production Manager whose calm presence filtered through all aspects of the job, the team in Prague at StillKing (a special mention to the Swiss Army knife of Production Design Yiri Matura) and of course all at Familia. It was a serious pleasure. Allez. - Will Innes Smith