Ken, as usual it’s
a huge honour to host you on M.A. With all that’s happening in our local film
industry, I thought it good to do an interview on America’s interest towards filming
in S.A.
Filming
in South Africa appears to have blossomed exponentially within the past two to
three years. I think for me, being an absolute outsider in the industry, it
appears that interest has deepened since the release and success of District
9. What is your take Ken?
I think the interest has always been there, and in direct
proportion to the SA Government’s film incentive program. Filmmakers throughout
the world choose locations not only for their natural beauty and
appropriateness but also because a goodly portion of the film’s budget is covered
by local governments wanting to attract the business. That’s why so many films
are being made in Canada, Louisiana, Georgia—and Bulgaria.
We
started 2014 off with hype around parts of the new Avengers being shot in
Johannesburg, with the balance of interest moving towards the story about
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt coming to stay close-by for a few months. Does
America have a new found interest towards filming in SA?
Again, the answer lies in the government’s incentive
program.
If you look at one of our latest films, Konfetti
and our own actress Casey
B Dolan, who just won the Best Actress award
at the Julien Dubuque International Film, it’s clear that local South
African films are being nominated for notable awards. What does this mean for
our local film industry?
It adds to its credentials,
though awards aren’t as important to us as the financial and physical
conditions of the shooting location.
From my
point of few, it appears as if Australian actors have saturating the American
film industry. If you think of Hugh Jackman, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Jai
Courtney, the dearly departed Andy Whitfield and our favourites Chris and Liam
Hemsworth – do you think South African talent could be looking at similar
exposure?
It could be, if your government continues supporting
film-making, thereby introducing your talent to the world market. That’s how the
Australians broke into the global awareness—so many films were being made
there, and it was economically feasible to hire local talent in addition to the
stars we drag along from Hollywood. Now some of those stars—like Jackman and
Kidman and Crowe—are from Australia. No reason why SA shouldn’t follow the same
pattern.
Based
on everything that’s happening right now, where do you see the future for South
Africa’s film industry?
It’s bright if the government stays with it.
You
harbour a close relationship between novel-to-film adaptations. Do you ever see
yourself investing time and energy towards one of our local published authors
whose work might hold international appeal?
Absolutely. If the story truly stands out as high concept
from a global perspective. Or if it comes with development funding to enable us
to do our thing in putting the film together on the global scale.
How has
getting noticed in the film industry changed over the past 10 years?
It really hasn’t. It all starts with a great story, then
depends on an excellent director who appreciates it and excellent actors who
bring it to life.
What
does local talent – actors, authors, screenwriters, directors etc need to do to
get noticed by the American industry?
Do excellent work in films that have guaranteed distribution
from major global distributors. Local distributors are of little use in this
regard.
Something
I always wanted to know – What is the difference between a screen writer and
just a writer?
A screen writer writes just for the screen. Writers is a general category that includes
novelists, screenwriters, poets, children’s, and textbook writers among others.
Can an author
write a screenplay? Has any author ever written a screenplay which was
produced?
Authors regularly attempt screenplays, though they’re
usually the worst possible ones to adopt their own work. Yet it’s happened
repeatedly. William Faulkner himself, for example, wrote the screenplay for
“The Sound and the Fury.”
A while
back you did an interview called Turning Writers
into Filmmakers. You stood firm behind the norm that writers should write
good male leads, since majority of the viewership will always be female. Since
the success of films like, Twilight ( and yes, I know not everyone would agree-
but the fact remains that this film is what started the latest hype, even if it
is among the Young Adult genre), Hunger Games, Buffy, Electra, Lara Croft and
the latest The Divergent Series, these days it appears as if woman love female
heroines equally. Do you still stand firm on that norm?
I stand firm on it only because it ups your chances of
getting a deal since there are far more male stars available for roles than
female stars who can carry a movie.
What
does the success of YA adaptations mean for the existing film market?
It means we’re always looking for successful YA novels to translate
into film.
Ever
since the completion of the Twilight series, it does appear as if new YA films
are struggling to remain as popular. Apart from the Hunger Games and maybe
Divergent the balance of the releases appear to have fallen flat, what do you
think is the reason for that?
I think people are spoiled by excellence. Twilight did well
enough but it wasn’t as excellent as Hunger Games, nor was Divergent—and none
as good as the Harry Potter books, not to mention Lord of the Rings.
Ken, as usual it’s been a huge honour to pick
your brain on local trends in the market. Thanks so much for setting aside some
time and sharing your views.
No comments:
Post a Comment