yearbook 2004/05 - The European Film College

EVENTS
ly. Peter left school early and grew up watching
every movie that has ever been made - he
has a fantastic knowledge and passion about
cinema. The two guys just talked about every
film that they had ever seen, for over an hour.
That was good. Then we met Scarlett Johansson.
The first meeting with her was hilarious,
because her Mother who was very passionate
about the project, and knew we were only in
Los Angeles for a couple of days, sent Scarlett
along, even though at that stage the girl hadn’t
read the script. Actually, it was one of the most
enjoyable hours that we spent on the project.
She talked to us about Burger King and Coke,
and those kinds of things. She’s not the character
we see in the film. A few weeks later she
came in having read the script, and did an hour’s
workshop with Fiennes– it was utterly amazing.
Still our potential American distributor wasn’t
convinced – they wanted to have Reese Witherspoon!
We held out for Scarlett, as you know.
And later, because of schedule clashes, Ralph Fiennes
was replaced by Colin Firth, whom, actually,
we always wanted in the first place.
M Le F: Let’s talk about the location and the
look. You didn’t shoot the film in Holland – you
shot it in Luxemburg: why?
A P: We did try Holland, but whenever we tried
to shoot, we found we were close to streets and
train stations. In addition: there came to be a serious
gulf between what the financiers were prepared
to risk and what the film would cost on
location. Then, suddenly, we had this phone call
from Luxemburg. Luxemburg offers a tax break,
which meant filling in the difference between
what we wanted and what we could afford.
Suddenly we unlocked the entire thing - locations
included. There had been a movie made
there with a Venetian setting, and the sets were
still standing. Now Venice isn’t Delft, but at
least it has canals! So we moved into “Venice”,
and it was absolutely astonishing. It was just what
we wanted.
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O H: The locale was set in a deserted industrial
estate - you go through a wasteland to get there
So you drive through this place with chimneys,
rusty girders, barking dogs - really depressing!
From the outside it looks deserted, and then
you walk in, and you are in Venice - or Delft,
rather!
A P: We did shoot in Delft itself for one day,
because we wanted that main square as a master
shot. That is one of the odd things about
film-making, that, if you establish the drama
properly, you can cheat afterwards. It’s up to the
film-maker: he creates the rules of his universe.
M Le F: Thank you both very much. Has the
audience got any questions?
Martin Møller Jensen: I’m not quite sure I
heard correctly: How many times did the financial
bottom fall out of the project?
A P: There was only one major time, but it
seemed like every other week! On the last day
of shooting, the director said to me: “Are we
green-lit yet?” And I said: well, I think so. But it
never feels that way!
Jan Harlan: I saw the film for the second time
and I very much enjoyed it. But why did you go
for a modern film score and not period music?
A P: That part of the decision was easy. I
made a film some years ago called Restoration
that was set in the exactly same period in
England. For the preview, we had an authentic
score played on authentic period instruments.
Emotionally, it was a disaster. So as far as I am
concerned, never again.
Karen Jakobsen: The end of the film is
rather different from what it is in the book. Did
Tracy Chevalier mind you making this change?
O H: The truth is, I was allowed to do what I
pleased. Once she signed over the rights, that