KS
THE PSYCH0 THOUGHTS OF
PHILIP
ROBERTS
interviewer KYLE STEVENSON photographer KENT ANDREASEN
L
ast year was traumatic IRU PH ,W ZDV WKH ¿UVW time I co-wrote a script, WKH ¿UVW WLPH , DWWHPSW- HG D PLQXWH ¿OP DQG WKH ¿UVW WLPH , GLG DQ adaptation. During the turbulent script-writ- ing process, my co-writer and I spent a good couple of weeks with Philip Roberts. 7KHUH ZHUH PDQ\ ODWH QLJKW VFULSW VWUXFWXUH VHVVLRQV DUJXPHQWV ¿JKWV VXONV SROLWLFV UHZULWHV DQG FRQÀLFWLQJ LGHDV EH- tween Philip and myself, and at one point we all agreed that we had to get a new script editor as we were going around in circles. It was only during post-production that I fully understood and appreciated what Philip Roberts had done. He had pushed us (predominantly me) to the brink by con- stantly asking the hard questions, and as
such had made the script that much stronger. 3KLOLS 5REHUWV ¿UVW EXUVW LQWR WKH ¿OP industry’s consciousness in 1996, when he was selected for the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes and received many international awards for Flame. Since then he has worked DVD1)9)VFULSWHGLWRUDQGZULWWHQDQXPEHU RI SURGXFHG IHDWXUH ¿OPV LQFOXGLQJ WKH PXFK acclaimed The Flyer and The Bird Can’t Fly. He recently completed post-production RQ KLV ODWHVW ZULWHU GLUHFWRU SURMHFW ± One Last Look. It is a story about two young Brit- ish sisters on an overland trip through Africa, but their holiday adventure soon turns into a QLJKWPDUHDVWKH\¿JKWIRUWKHLUOLYHVDQGWKHLU sanity against a suave serial killer. It has been describe as “0DG 0D[ meets Wolf Creek”. Earlier this month, I sat down with Philip 5REHUWVDWKLVVWXGLRDSDUWPHQWLQ&DSH7RZQWR talk about the creation of his safari-psycho killer ¿OPDQGWKH6RXWK$IULFDQVFULSWZULWLQJLQGXVWU\
writersguildsa.org | 27
WGSA | Cover Article
KYLE STEVENSON - You went to Cannes this year. How was it?
KS - Did you manage to see any of the new releases at Cannes?
PHILIP ROBERTS - Yes, I primarily went there to meet the sales agents. We’ve got these Hollywood sales agents - Lightning Entertainment. My main purpose was to see how they were presenting and sell- LQJ WKH ¿OP %HFDXVH , ZDQWHG WR ¿QG RXW ZKDW WKHLU SHUFHSWLRQ RI WKH ¿OP ZDV
PR,GLG,VDZ2Q7KH5RDGWKDW-DFN Kerouac thing, which wasn’t good, as a matter of fact. Most interestingly, I saw 7KH$QJHOV¶6KDUH,WKLQNLW¶VFDOOHG D.HQ Loach movie about Angels. It was good;; it won the jury prize there. But it was ex- tremely hard to see any movies this year, because they had gone online with the bookings. What happened was, you go on- OLQHDW EHFDXVHWKH\VD\LW¶VJRLQJWR RSHQDW DQGWKHQDW WKHZKROH system would crash. Yeah, so anyway I went to a few parties and events. Also the 1)9)KDGDKXJHSRVWHURIWKH¿OP,WZDV WKUHH PHWUHV E\ IRXU PHWUHV 7KH\ DOVR had a promo running during the thing. So we showed three different people the cut we had. We got some input from Clarence >+DPLOWRQ RI 1)9)@ DQG VKRZHG LW WR 0L- FKDHO>$XUHW@DIULHQGRIPLQHIURP6SLHU Films. We got good input and then I came back, cut it for another three weeks. So that was the only reason for going, but the 1)9) ÀHZ XV WKHUH DQG SDLG IRU DFFRP- PRGDWLRQZHOOKDOIRILWDQ\ZD\>ODXJKWHU@
KS - So you had stand at Cannes? PR - Yes. We got sales agents on the basis of the script, which is interesting for a script- writer’s magazine, because the reason the ¿OPJRWPDGHZDVEHFDXVHZHKDGVDOHV DJHQWV7KH\UHDGWKHVFULSWDQGWKH\ZDQW- HGWREX\LQWRLW7KH\GLGQ¶WMXVWEX\LQWRLW by selling it;; they also made an investment in it. So it was apparent to the funders that these people were assured it was a suc- cess. You know, they provided all the guar- DQWHHVIRUWKHZRUOG±VRWKH\¿JXUHLWFDQ make a million dollars back. Which is more than enough to break even. So I wanted to see them there. We got their comments and input on the cut we had at that time, and we adjusted things according to their LQSXW 7KHVH +ROO\ZRRG JX\V LI QRWKLQJ else - they sell this stuff all the time, so they know what they’re looking for. And I wanted to come to terms with exactly what their ex- SHFWDWLRQZHUHIRUWKH¿OP7KH\SURYLGHGD promo trailer, which they were showing on their stand at Cannes. It’s very slick, that NLQGRIJHQUHWUDLOHU\RXNQRZ7KH\VROGLW UHDOO\ZHOO7KH\VROGLWWRWKH0LGGOH(DVW on the basis of the pitch and promo alone. Neil Sandilands is Frank 28 | WGSA MAG June 2012
KS - How did you get involved with One Last Look? Did you write a spec script or did a producer commission you to do it? PR - I wrote it as a spec script. I decided early on that the best way to get a script SURGXFHGZDVWRGRDJHQUH¿OP$WWKHWLPH I thought, if you had four characters and one location, you could do it really cheaply. So in the beginning I was trying to do it for
1)9) ÀHZ XV WKHUH DQG SDLG IRU DFFRP- PRGDWLRQZHOOKDOIRILWDQ\ZD\>ODXJKWHU@ KS - How did you get involved with One Last Look? Did you write a spec script or did a producer commission you to do it? PR - I wrote it as a spec script. I decided early on that the best way to get a script SURGXFHGZDVWRGRDJHQUH¿OP$WWKHWLPH I thought, if you had four characters and one location, you could do it really cheaply. So in the beginning I was trying to do it for '9DVYHU\FKHDS\RXNQRZ$WWKHWLPH, thought you could do it for a couple million rand. At the end of the day it was a lot more than that. It was more like a million dollars than a million rand. It just escalated, you NQRZ7KLQJVVHHPWRFRVWDORWRIPRQH\, mean, we went to do two days of pick-ups, which cost R150 000. It’s unbelievable. KS - Is this the most expensive movie you’ve done? PRVLJK@3UREDEO\ZD\WRRORQJ>SDXVH@ I can’t even remember, probably like eight years. It was a long, long time. We spent a \HDUFDVWLQJZKLOH,ZDVVWLOO¿GGOLQJZLWK the script. Another year going all around the world, trying to do this, that and the other thing. Producing, you know, the pro- ducing side of things, putting a deal to- gether, which I didn’t do. In the time prior WRWKDW,ZDVLQWKH1)9)¶VGHYHORSPHQW SURJUDPPH IRU DERXW IRXU RU ¿YH \HDUV
it has a three-act structure. It’s a charac- WHUEDVHG¿OPLW¶VQRWMXVWIRUPXODLF7KH characters are strong. I think the writing took me through the process. As a director even, I had the strength of the writing to hang on to, unlike other directors who want to change the script as much as they can. While I was trying to bring out the theme of the script, a lot changed in the process. I never scripted the voice-over, but I thought DIWHUZH¿QLVKHGWKH¿OPWKDWZHQHHGHGWR KDYHWKHP\WKQDUUDWLRQFDUU\WKURXJK7KH Sunjarta myth, I felt, was getting lost. So I ended up taking the Penguin Book and re-scripting it after the shoot. Because the book wasn’t in any simple, readable form. KS - Did you have to obtain some kind of copyright for that?
KS - Sho! PR - It was probably 2006, cer- tainly six or seven years, anyway. KS+DUULHWZDQWHGWKLVRQHLQ'R\RX¿QG yourself sticking to the Sediba structure? PR >ODXJKWHU@ ,W VKRXOG EH UHPHPEHUHG WKDWLWZDV$OE\>-DPHV@&ODUHQFH>+DPLO- WRQ@DQG,ZKRVWDUWHG6(',%$LQWKHEHJLQ- ning, around 2005 or 2006. You know, I do believe that you need to learn the language of the three act redemptive structure in or- der to break those rules, if you want to. As DPDWWHURIIDFWWKLV¿OPKDVDVKRUWVHWXS and longer throw into the second act. It’s not one of those ones that has a turning point DW SDJH WZHQW\¿YH %XW MD RQ WKH ZKROH 30 | WGSA MAG June 2012
Stephanie Schildknecht is Yasmin
PR - Well, good question. I’ll let you know. >ODXJKWHU@1R,GRQ¶WWKLQNVR,W¶VDFHQWXULHV ROGP\WKDQG,¶YHFKDQJHGLW7KHUHDUHQR simple stories written down in the Penguin Book edition, although they’re sitting there, holding the book. So I guess the jury is out
on whether they can say, the fact that we showed it is somehow the by-product, you know. I’m not strong on that type of thing. We used my BlackBerry cellphone as well. KS - What kind of research did you do to create a psycho-killer role? PR - I was really interested in Dario Argen- WR+HKDGD¿OPDW&DQQHVLQIDFW'UDFXOD 3D, which I sadly haven’t seen yet. Dario Ar- JHQWRLVD¶V,WDOLDQKRUURU¿OPPDNHUZKR PRVWQRWDEO\GLG6XVSLULDZRQGHUIXO¿OP It uses those blocks of colour and things. Yes, you’ve got to make yourself aware of how those stories work, how tension works, how suspense works. You know, I’ve seen DORWRI+LWFKFRFNDQGWKLQJV±,ZRXOGQ¶W claim to be a big horror movie guru. I didn’t WKLQNRIP\¿OPDVDKRUURUPRYLH,WKRXJKW of it more as a psychological thriller, but it JRWDELWGDUN7KHQ\RXNQRZWKHFOLFKpV of the girl getting chased, but I wanted to use that in a surprising way. I think I run the risk that it won’t be genre enough for the genre people, and it won’t be arty HQRXJKIRUWKHDUWSHRSOH7KHUH¶VWKDWULVN that kids will either get it or they won’t get it. If they don’t get it, it might be because I’m doing too much on the myth side with Sunjata and the Heart of Darkness. Maybe they’re not interested in all of that. On the other hand, maybe people are only inter- ested in the Heart of Darkness and Para- dise Lost themes, rather than girls getting WKHLUERREVVODVKHG>ODXJKWHU@7KHMXU\LV out on that one, I’ll let you know in a couple \HDUVWLPHZKHQ,PRYHWR9HQH]XHOD,¶P JRLQJWRDVVXPHDQHZLGHQWLW\>ODXJKWHU@
Marty Kintu is Jules
KS - Is that a hint that you might be do- ing focus groups? Before Durban? PR - I know the producers like to do that. I don’t think we’ve got the luxury of re-cutting, to be honest. We’re in the lab now. I know that Dan Jarvis did show it to groups of kids of his friends and other people. I showed it to a class at AFDA to get some sort of feedback. We showed it to people to see if they got shocked and frightened at the right places. I mean, even you got it, those kind of surprises. Anyway that scene where an axe is being driven into a guy’s stomach is going to make anyone a bit squeamish. As a director and a writer, I want to make a ¿OPWKHZD\,ZDQWWRPDNHLWRUDWOHDVWDV close to that end as possible. It’s probably Helen Kuun, who’s distributing it here, who would want to determine how to market it. 7KH\ PXVW GHFLGH KRZ WR PDUNHW LW :H¶OO see what happens. I don’t think Durban is WKHULJKWW\SHRIYHQXHIRUWKLVNLQGRI¿OP KS - I think some might say it is quite prestigious. writersguildsa.org | 31
WGSA | Cover Article
PR -D GH¿QLWHO\ )RU 6RXWK $IUL- FDQ ¿OPPDNHUV LWV OLNH D ELJ FOXE WR all go there. But I don’t think it’s the 0HFFD RI KRUURU ¿OPV RI WKH ZRUOG
cause he’s just going in to get a drink. You don’t need to say that he is going in to get a drink. I think the audience needs to be involved in working out what is happening.
KS :HUH \RX ¿UVW FKRLFH IRU GLUHFWRU" PR - As the writer, I insisted that I was going to direct. It wasn’t as if they had a choice, DQG,DOVRJRW¿QDOFXW,ZURWHWKDWLQWRP\ contract. KS - Did they read that part RU GLG \RX SULQW LW UHDOO\ ¿QH" PR>ODXJKWHU@,ZDVPDNLQJLWZLWKIULHQGV You know, Dan Jawitz did a phenomenal MRE SURGXFLQJ WKLV ¿OP +H ZHQW RXW DQG JRWWKHPRQH\>SDXVH@,ZDQWHGWRPDNH a point about being a writer. I’ve written, DV\RXNQRZ¿YHSURGXFHGIHDWXUH¿OPV As a writer, you come to a point where you feel that they’re not turning out the way you think you’d like them to, so that’s why I moved to directing. Not because I see myself as a huge visual artiste, but as a storyteller/director. I don’t think they’ll hire me for a commercial or anything where they need this great kind of visual director. ,NQRZKRZWRWHOOVWRULHVLQ¿OPEXW,¶PQRW )ODVK +DUU\ 7KHUH ZDV DOZD\V VRPHRQH trying to tell me something, like the cin- HPDWRJUDSKHU/DQFH>*HZHU@RUWKHHGL- WRU-HQQ\>+LFNV@$WFHUWDLQSODFHVWKH\¶G VD\ µ:K\ GRQ¶W WKH\ VD\«¶ ± DQG WKH\¶G be completely on the nose. Even the ac- tors would be going from here to there, and they’d ask ‘Why doesn’t he say he is go- ing to get a drink?’ and the answer it be- 32 | WGSA MAG June 2012
Stephanie Schildknecht is Yasmin
KS - How was it working with such an ex- perienced crew, people like DOP Lance *HZHU 7VRWVL 6SXG 2WHOR %XUQLQJ " PR - Lance is well known as one of the strongest DOPs in South Africa. He has lit 2QH/DVW/RRNEHDXWLIXOO\DQGWKH¿QLVKHG ¿OPORRNVDPD]LQJ/DQFHZDVYHU\UHVSRQ- sive to my original references, one of which ZDV'DULR$UJHQWR¶VKRUURU¿OP6XVSLULD,W ZDVOLWE\/XFLDQR7RYROLYHU\VW\OLVKDQG it uses unmotivated washes of colour in a very creepy and effective way. So Lance and I agreed to use themed washes of col- our for the interiors of Frank’s house. An- other reference of mine was Heavy Metal comics or graphic novels, where different panels are blue, red or yellow. Lance said LWZDVWKH¿UVWWLPHLQD6RXWK$IULFDQ¿OP that he had been given the freedom to completely express himself in colour this
way. Lance has very strong opinions ,and is used to having quite a strong storytell- LQJUROHLQORFDO¿OPVFHUWDLQO\,QP\RZQ case, I was happy to rehearse the actors and block them and hear what lenses and coverage Lance would suggest. I used storyboards for the action sequences, and found that Lance was very diligent in ab- sorbing what I had in mind and communicat- ing to his crew how we could achieve that. KS 'LG \RXU 1)9) VFULSW HGL- tor experience help secure funding? PR - No, I don’t think so. On the contrary, I think that it’s harder for Clarence [Ham- LOWRQ@WRZDQWWRJLYHPHPRQH\%HFDXVH he’s not like a big friend of mine, but I like Clarence. He’s probably prone to being quite critical of my script editing and writ- ing abilities. I think he gave me the money because of the story, not to me as a per- son. I have a lot of respect for him. He certainly was not withholding the money EHFDXVH RI PH >ODXJKWHU@ +H FHUWDLQO\ didn’t give it to me, but rather my producer.
tions. Something probably worth knowing is that this script forms part of my PhD at 8&72QH/DVW/RRNLVWKHFUHDWLYHFRPSR- nent for my PhD. My PhD is the Neuropsy- chology of Screenwriting in the Cinema Experience;; that’s the title. I’m interested in the visceral meaning, making systems of XQGHUVWDQGLQJ¿OP6RWKURXJKWKHZULWLQJ you want to promote certain visceral sen- sations. You know, the lost girl and the be- haviour of the heroine when she discovers her sister is lost is classic seeking behav- LRXU±ZKLFKLVIRXQGLQDOOPDPPDOV7KLV ,¿QGLQWHUHVWLQJDQGQRZ,¶OOEHDEOHWRJHW WKH¿OPDQGFOLSLWRQWRP\3K'7KHQWKH\¶OO be able to see if they get the visceral sen- sations that I’m suggesting in the writing. KS 7KH :*6$ 0DJ ZRXOG ORYH WR print a page abstract from your PhD, RQFH \RX¶UH GRQH 6R EDFN WR WKH 1)9) they’re looking for other script edi- tors. Does this mean you’re leaving? PR - No, but I know they need them all the time. I only stopped for the ODVW VL[ PRQWKV WR PDNH P\ ¿OP
KS - For how long have you EHHQ D 1)9) VFULSW HGLWRU"
KS - How did the shoot go?
PR 3UREDEO\ RQ DQG RII IRU ¿YH RU VL[ years, or even seven years. It wears you down, doing it all the time. It’s that thing of working on other people’s projects rath- er than your own. Ideally as a script edi- tor, you are not telling them how to write, you’re telling them how to structure and what to consider. But for me, as a writer, it’s all about getting to those visceral emo-
PR 7KH VKRRW ZHQW ZHOO :H VKRW IRU twenty-three days and then we did two GD\V RI SLFNXSV :H VKRW VODWHV so we were shooting about 20 set-ups a day, which is fast. Some days we were shooting seven pages, but on the whole we were shooting four and half pages a day. I was always cutting down the script on set. Lance put it well. He said that writersguildsa.org | 33
WGSA | Cover Article
ZHZHUHWU\LQJWR¿WDVL[ZHHNVKRRWLQWR IRXU ZHHNV 7KH OLQH SURGXFHU DOVR FRP- mented that we were making a R15 million PRYLHIRU5PLOOLRQ6RLWZDVQ¶WHDV\ ZH were struggling at times. I mean, we also had two weeks of night shoots from 6pm WRDP7KDWZDVKRUULEOH3UHWW\JUXHOOLQJ KS - How was it working with local star Neil Sandilands (7de Laan) and new talent Stephanie Schildknecht? PR - Neil Sandilands is an actor of the high- est calibre. Not being Afrikaans-speaking myself, I had not seen him in Jackalsdans or 7de Laan or any of his local work, but one of my Afrikaans AFDA students described him to me as ‘our Brad Pitt’ when she was growing up. Neil is quite strong-willed and likes to have a lot of input into his charac- ter, but we got on incredibly well. He was very sensitive to my direction, inspired by 0LFKDHO 3RZHOO¶V 3HHSLQJ 7RP WKDW KLV character should be almost the protago- nist in his own right, and that we should feel an immense sympathy for the Young Frank’s story, that makes him what he is. We had two weeks of rehearsals with the whole cast, much of it on the actual loca- tion, and we managed to workshop scenes DQG VWUHQJWKHQ RXU LGHDV WRJHWKHU7KHUH is no doubt that Neil gives a tour-de-force performance that lies at very the heart of WKH¿OP+HLVFOHDUO\RQHRIWKHEHVWPDOH OHDGV,KDYHVHHQLQDQ\6RXWK$IULFDQ¿OP and his performance is on a par with any I have seen here. Stephanie has a German father and Swazi mother and did theatre training in the UK. She was by far the best 34 | WGSA MAG June 2012
candidate in the extensive casting I did with Christa Schamberger. During the shoot, ZKLFKZDVKHU¿UVWOHDGLQJUROHLQDIHDWXUH 6WHI¿ZDVDVJXWV\DQDFWUHVVDV\RXFRXOG wish for. As well as being very beautiful and a huge attraction for the male audi- HQFH6WHI¿OHDUQHGWRULGHDPRWRUELNHIRU WKH¿UVWWLPHGLGPDQ\RIKHURZQVWXQWV falls, etc., and took on the unenviable task of trying to match Neil’s intensity. I think she will emerge from this as a new force to be reckoned with in South African cinema. KS - When can we expect a trail- er, behind the scenes & release? PR - Indigenous Films will be releasing it here. But there is a possibility that we will release it in other parts of the world to see how it does, before releasing it here. 7KHSHUFHLYHGZLVGRPLVWKDW\RXUHOHDVH it locally, and on the basis of that you re- lease it internationally. But this is a genre that does well in other parts of the world. So we want to eventually market it as the ¿OPWKDWSOD\HGRQ[QXPEHURIVFUHHQVLQ America and other parts of the world. So we can seduce people to come see it here. 7KLV PHDQV WKH 6RXWK $IULFDQ UHOHDVH date will probably be sometime next year. KS - We look forward to seeing it then.
One Last Look will show at DIFF at the Suncoast Cinecentre A on Monday 23rd July at 21:30 and at the Musgrave Centre B on Thursday 26th July at 20:00.
writersguildsa.org | 35
PHILIP
ROBERTS
interviewer KYLE STEVENSON photographer KENT ANDREASEN
L
ast year was traumatic IRU PH ,W ZDV WKH ¿UVW time I co-wrote a script, WKH ¿UVW WLPH , DWWHPSW- HG D PLQXWH ¿OP DQG WKH ¿UVW WLPH , GLG DQ adaptation. During the turbulent script-writ- ing process, my co-writer and I spent a good couple of weeks with Philip Roberts. 7KHUH ZHUH PDQ\ ODWH QLJKW VFULSW VWUXFWXUH VHVVLRQV DUJXPHQWV ¿JKWV VXONV SROLWLFV UHZULWHV DQG FRQÀLFWLQJ LGHDV EH- tween Philip and myself, and at one point we all agreed that we had to get a new script editor as we were going around in circles. It was only during post-production that I fully understood and appreciated what Philip Roberts had done. He had pushed us (predominantly me) to the brink by con- stantly asking the hard questions, and as
such had made the script that much stronger. 3KLOLS 5REHUWV ¿UVW EXUVW LQWR WKH ¿OP industry’s consciousness in 1996, when he was selected for the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes and received many international awards for Flame. Since then he has worked DVD1)9)VFULSWHGLWRUDQGZULWWHQDQXPEHU RI SURGXFHG IHDWXUH ¿OPV LQFOXGLQJ WKH PXFK acclaimed The Flyer and The Bird Can’t Fly. He recently completed post-production RQ KLV ODWHVW ZULWHU GLUHFWRU SURMHFW ± One Last Look. It is a story about two young Brit- ish sisters on an overland trip through Africa, but their holiday adventure soon turns into a QLJKWPDUHDVWKH\¿JKWIRUWKHLUOLYHVDQGWKHLU sanity against a suave serial killer. It has been describe as “0DG 0D[ meets Wolf Creek”. Earlier this month, I sat down with Philip 5REHUWVDWKLVVWXGLRDSDUWPHQWLQ&DSH7RZQWR talk about the creation of his safari-psycho killer ¿OPDQGWKH6RXWK$IULFDQVFULSWZULWLQJLQGXVWU\
writersguildsa.org | 27
WGSA | Cover Article
KYLE STEVENSON - You went to Cannes this year. How was it?
KS - Did you manage to see any of the new releases at Cannes?
PHILIP ROBERTS - Yes, I primarily went there to meet the sales agents. We’ve got these Hollywood sales agents - Lightning Entertainment. My main purpose was to see how they were presenting and sell- LQJ WKH ¿OP %HFDXVH , ZDQWHG WR ¿QG RXW ZKDW WKHLU SHUFHSWLRQ RI WKH ¿OP ZDV
PR,GLG,VDZ2Q7KH5RDGWKDW-DFN Kerouac thing, which wasn’t good, as a matter of fact. Most interestingly, I saw 7KH$QJHOV¶6KDUH,WKLQNLW¶VFDOOHG D.HQ Loach movie about Angels. It was good;; it won the jury prize there. But it was ex- tremely hard to see any movies this year, because they had gone online with the bookings. What happened was, you go on- OLQHDW EHFDXVHWKH\VD\LW¶VJRLQJWR RSHQDW DQGWKHQDW WKHZKROH system would crash. Yeah, so anyway I went to a few parties and events. Also the 1)9)KDGDKXJHSRVWHURIWKH¿OP,WZDV WKUHH PHWUHV E\ IRXU PHWUHV 7KH\ DOVR had a promo running during the thing. So we showed three different people the cut we had. We got some input from Clarence >+DPLOWRQ RI 1)9)@ DQG VKRZHG LW WR 0L- FKDHO>$XUHW@DIULHQGRIPLQHIURP6SLHU Films. We got good input and then I came back, cut it for another three weeks. So that was the only reason for going, but the 1)9) ÀHZ XV WKHUH DQG SDLG IRU DFFRP- PRGDWLRQZHOOKDOIRILWDQ\ZD\>ODXJKWHU@
KS - So you had stand at Cannes? PR - Yes. We got sales agents on the basis of the script, which is interesting for a script- writer’s magazine, because the reason the ¿OPJRWPDGHZDVEHFDXVHZHKDGVDOHV DJHQWV7KH\UHDGWKHVFULSWDQGWKH\ZDQW- HGWREX\LQWRLW7KH\GLGQ¶WMXVWEX\LQWRLW by selling it;; they also made an investment in it. So it was apparent to the funders that these people were assured it was a suc- cess. You know, they provided all the guar- DQWHHVIRUWKHZRUOG±VRWKH\¿JXUHLWFDQ make a million dollars back. Which is more than enough to break even. So I wanted to see them there. We got their comments and input on the cut we had at that time, and we adjusted things according to their LQSXW 7KHVH +ROO\ZRRG JX\V LI QRWKLQJ else - they sell this stuff all the time, so they know what they’re looking for. And I wanted to come to terms with exactly what their ex- SHFWDWLRQZHUHIRUWKH¿OP7KH\SURYLGHGD promo trailer, which they were showing on their stand at Cannes. It’s very slick, that NLQGRIJHQUHWUDLOHU\RXNQRZ7KH\VROGLW UHDOO\ZHOO7KH\VROGLWWRWKH0LGGOH(DVW on the basis of the pitch and promo alone. Neil Sandilands is Frank 28 | WGSA MAG June 2012
KS - How did you get involved with One Last Look? Did you write a spec script or did a producer commission you to do it? PR - I wrote it as a spec script. I decided early on that the best way to get a script SURGXFHGZDVWRGRDJHQUH¿OP$WWKHWLPH I thought, if you had four characters and one location, you could do it really cheaply. So in the beginning I was trying to do it for
1)9) ÀHZ XV WKHUH DQG SDLG IRU DFFRP- PRGDWLRQZHOOKDOIRILWDQ\ZD\>ODXJKWHU@ KS - How did you get involved with One Last Look? Did you write a spec script or did a producer commission you to do it? PR - I wrote it as a spec script. I decided early on that the best way to get a script SURGXFHGZDVWRGRDJHQUH¿OP$WWKHWLPH I thought, if you had four characters and one location, you could do it really cheaply. So in the beginning I was trying to do it for '9DVYHU\FKHDS\RXNQRZ$WWKHWLPH, thought you could do it for a couple million rand. At the end of the day it was a lot more than that. It was more like a million dollars than a million rand. It just escalated, you NQRZ7KLQJVVHHPWRFRVWDORWRIPRQH\, mean, we went to do two days of pick-ups, which cost R150 000. It’s unbelievable. KS - Is this the most expensive movie you’ve done? PRVLJK@3UREDEO\ZD\WRRORQJ>SDXVH@ I can’t even remember, probably like eight years. It was a long, long time. We spent a \HDUFDVWLQJZKLOH,ZDVVWLOO¿GGOLQJZLWK the script. Another year going all around the world, trying to do this, that and the other thing. Producing, you know, the pro- ducing side of things, putting a deal to- gether, which I didn’t do. In the time prior WRWKDW,ZDVLQWKH1)9)¶VGHYHORSPHQW SURJUDPPH IRU DERXW IRXU RU ¿YH \HDUV
it has a three-act structure. It’s a charac- WHUEDVHG¿OPLW¶VQRWMXVWIRUPXODLF7KH characters are strong. I think the writing took me through the process. As a director even, I had the strength of the writing to hang on to, unlike other directors who want to change the script as much as they can. While I was trying to bring out the theme of the script, a lot changed in the process. I never scripted the voice-over, but I thought DIWHUZH¿QLVKHGWKH¿OPWKDWZHQHHGHGWR KDYHWKHP\WKQDUUDWLRQFDUU\WKURXJK7KH Sunjarta myth, I felt, was getting lost. So I ended up taking the Penguin Book and re-scripting it after the shoot. Because the book wasn’t in any simple, readable form. KS - Did you have to obtain some kind of copyright for that?
KS - Sho! PR - It was probably 2006, cer- tainly six or seven years, anyway. KS+DUULHWZDQWHGWKLVRQHLQ'R\RX¿QG yourself sticking to the Sediba structure? PR >ODXJKWHU@ ,W VKRXOG EH UHPHPEHUHG WKDWLWZDV$OE\>-DPHV@&ODUHQFH>+DPLO- WRQ@DQG,ZKRVWDUWHG6(',%$LQWKHEHJLQ- ning, around 2005 or 2006. You know, I do believe that you need to learn the language of the three act redemptive structure in or- der to break those rules, if you want to. As DPDWWHURIIDFWWKLV¿OPKDVDVKRUWVHWXS and longer throw into the second act. It’s not one of those ones that has a turning point DW SDJH WZHQW\¿YH %XW MD RQ WKH ZKROH 30 | WGSA MAG June 2012
Stephanie Schildknecht is Yasmin
PR - Well, good question. I’ll let you know. >ODXJKWHU@1R,GRQ¶WWKLQNVR,W¶VDFHQWXULHV ROGP\WKDQG,¶YHFKDQJHGLW7KHUHDUHQR simple stories written down in the Penguin Book edition, although they’re sitting there, holding the book. So I guess the jury is out
on whether they can say, the fact that we showed it is somehow the by-product, you know. I’m not strong on that type of thing. We used my BlackBerry cellphone as well. KS - What kind of research did you do to create a psycho-killer role? PR - I was really interested in Dario Argen- WR+HKDGD¿OPDW&DQQHVLQIDFW'UDFXOD 3D, which I sadly haven’t seen yet. Dario Ar- JHQWRLVD¶V,WDOLDQKRUURU¿OPPDNHUZKR PRVWQRWDEO\GLG6XVSLULDZRQGHUIXO¿OP It uses those blocks of colour and things. Yes, you’ve got to make yourself aware of how those stories work, how tension works, how suspense works. You know, I’ve seen DORWRI+LWFKFRFNDQGWKLQJV±,ZRXOGQ¶W claim to be a big horror movie guru. I didn’t WKLQNRIP\¿OPDVDKRUURUPRYLH,WKRXJKW of it more as a psychological thriller, but it JRWDELWGDUN7KHQ\RXNQRZWKHFOLFKpV of the girl getting chased, but I wanted to use that in a surprising way. I think I run the risk that it won’t be genre enough for the genre people, and it won’t be arty HQRXJKIRUWKHDUWSHRSOH7KHUH¶VWKDWULVN that kids will either get it or they won’t get it. If they don’t get it, it might be because I’m doing too much on the myth side with Sunjata and the Heart of Darkness. Maybe they’re not interested in all of that. On the other hand, maybe people are only inter- ested in the Heart of Darkness and Para- dise Lost themes, rather than girls getting WKHLUERREVVODVKHG>ODXJKWHU@7KHMXU\LV out on that one, I’ll let you know in a couple \HDUVWLPHZKHQ,PRYHWR9HQH]XHOD,¶P JRLQJWRDVVXPHDQHZLGHQWLW\>ODXJKWHU@
Marty Kintu is Jules
KS - Is that a hint that you might be do- ing focus groups? Before Durban? PR - I know the producers like to do that. I don’t think we’ve got the luxury of re-cutting, to be honest. We’re in the lab now. I know that Dan Jarvis did show it to groups of kids of his friends and other people. I showed it to a class at AFDA to get some sort of feedback. We showed it to people to see if they got shocked and frightened at the right places. I mean, even you got it, those kind of surprises. Anyway that scene where an axe is being driven into a guy’s stomach is going to make anyone a bit squeamish. As a director and a writer, I want to make a ¿OPWKHZD\,ZDQWWRPDNHLWRUDWOHDVWDV close to that end as possible. It’s probably Helen Kuun, who’s distributing it here, who would want to determine how to market it. 7KH\ PXVW GHFLGH KRZ WR PDUNHW LW :H¶OO see what happens. I don’t think Durban is WKHULJKWW\SHRIYHQXHIRUWKLVNLQGRI¿OP KS - I think some might say it is quite prestigious. writersguildsa.org | 31
WGSA | Cover Article
PR -D GH¿QLWHO\ )RU 6RXWK $IUL- FDQ ¿OPPDNHUV LWV OLNH D ELJ FOXE WR all go there. But I don’t think it’s the 0HFFD RI KRUURU ¿OPV RI WKH ZRUOG
cause he’s just going in to get a drink. You don’t need to say that he is going in to get a drink. I think the audience needs to be involved in working out what is happening.
KS :HUH \RX ¿UVW FKRLFH IRU GLUHFWRU" PR - As the writer, I insisted that I was going to direct. It wasn’t as if they had a choice, DQG,DOVRJRW¿QDOFXW,ZURWHWKDWLQWRP\ contract. KS - Did they read that part RU GLG \RX SULQW LW UHDOO\ ¿QH" PR>ODXJKWHU@,ZDVPDNLQJLWZLWKIULHQGV You know, Dan Jawitz did a phenomenal MRE SURGXFLQJ WKLV ¿OP +H ZHQW RXW DQG JRWWKHPRQH\>SDXVH@,ZDQWHGWRPDNH a point about being a writer. I’ve written, DV\RXNQRZ¿YHSURGXFHGIHDWXUH¿OPV As a writer, you come to a point where you feel that they’re not turning out the way you think you’d like them to, so that’s why I moved to directing. Not because I see myself as a huge visual artiste, but as a storyteller/director. I don’t think they’ll hire me for a commercial or anything where they need this great kind of visual director. ,NQRZKRZWRWHOOVWRULHVLQ¿OPEXW,¶PQRW )ODVK +DUU\ 7KHUH ZDV DOZD\V VRPHRQH trying to tell me something, like the cin- HPDWRJUDSKHU/DQFH>*HZHU@RUWKHHGL- WRU-HQQ\>+LFNV@$WFHUWDLQSODFHVWKH\¶G VD\ µ:K\ GRQ¶W WKH\ VD\«¶ ± DQG WKH\¶G be completely on the nose. Even the ac- tors would be going from here to there, and they’d ask ‘Why doesn’t he say he is go- ing to get a drink?’ and the answer it be- 32 | WGSA MAG June 2012
Stephanie Schildknecht is Yasmin
KS - How was it working with such an ex- perienced crew, people like DOP Lance *HZHU 7VRWVL 6SXG 2WHOR %XUQLQJ " PR - Lance is well known as one of the strongest DOPs in South Africa. He has lit 2QH/DVW/RRNEHDXWLIXOO\DQGWKH¿QLVKHG ¿OPORRNVDPD]LQJ/DQFHZDVYHU\UHVSRQ- sive to my original references, one of which ZDV'DULR$UJHQWR¶VKRUURU¿OP6XVSLULD,W ZDVOLWE\/XFLDQR7RYROLYHU\VW\OLVKDQG it uses unmotivated washes of colour in a very creepy and effective way. So Lance and I agreed to use themed washes of col- our for the interiors of Frank’s house. An- other reference of mine was Heavy Metal comics or graphic novels, where different panels are blue, red or yellow. Lance said LWZDVWKH¿UVWWLPHLQD6RXWK$IULFDQ¿OP that he had been given the freedom to completely express himself in colour this
way. Lance has very strong opinions ,and is used to having quite a strong storytell- LQJUROHLQORFDO¿OPVFHUWDLQO\,QP\RZQ case, I was happy to rehearse the actors and block them and hear what lenses and coverage Lance would suggest. I used storyboards for the action sequences, and found that Lance was very diligent in ab- sorbing what I had in mind and communicat- ing to his crew how we could achieve that. KS 'LG \RXU 1)9) VFULSW HGL- tor experience help secure funding? PR - No, I don’t think so. On the contrary, I think that it’s harder for Clarence [Ham- LOWRQ@WRZDQWWRJLYHPHPRQH\%HFDXVH he’s not like a big friend of mine, but I like Clarence. He’s probably prone to being quite critical of my script editing and writ- ing abilities. I think he gave me the money because of the story, not to me as a per- son. I have a lot of respect for him. He certainly was not withholding the money EHFDXVH RI PH >ODXJKWHU@ +H FHUWDLQO\ didn’t give it to me, but rather my producer.
tions. Something probably worth knowing is that this script forms part of my PhD at 8&72QH/DVW/RRNLVWKHFUHDWLYHFRPSR- nent for my PhD. My PhD is the Neuropsy- chology of Screenwriting in the Cinema Experience;; that’s the title. I’m interested in the visceral meaning, making systems of XQGHUVWDQGLQJ¿OP6RWKURXJKWKHZULWLQJ you want to promote certain visceral sen- sations. You know, the lost girl and the be- haviour of the heroine when she discovers her sister is lost is classic seeking behav- LRXU±ZKLFKLVIRXQGLQDOOPDPPDOV7KLV ,¿QGLQWHUHVWLQJDQGQRZ,¶OOEHDEOHWRJHW WKH¿OPDQGFOLSLWRQWRP\3K'7KHQWKH\¶OO be able to see if they get the visceral sen- sations that I’m suggesting in the writing. KS 7KH :*6$ 0DJ ZRXOG ORYH WR print a page abstract from your PhD, RQFH \RX¶UH GRQH 6R EDFN WR WKH 1)9) they’re looking for other script edi- tors. Does this mean you’re leaving? PR - No, but I know they need them all the time. I only stopped for the ODVW VL[ PRQWKV WR PDNH P\ ¿OP
KS - For how long have you EHHQ D 1)9) VFULSW HGLWRU"
KS - How did the shoot go?
PR 3UREDEO\ RQ DQG RII IRU ¿YH RU VL[ years, or even seven years. It wears you down, doing it all the time. It’s that thing of working on other people’s projects rath- er than your own. Ideally as a script edi- tor, you are not telling them how to write, you’re telling them how to structure and what to consider. But for me, as a writer, it’s all about getting to those visceral emo-
PR 7KH VKRRW ZHQW ZHOO :H VKRW IRU twenty-three days and then we did two GD\V RI SLFNXSV :H VKRW VODWHV so we were shooting about 20 set-ups a day, which is fast. Some days we were shooting seven pages, but on the whole we were shooting four and half pages a day. I was always cutting down the script on set. Lance put it well. He said that writersguildsa.org | 33
WGSA | Cover Article
ZHZHUHWU\LQJWR¿WDVL[ZHHNVKRRWLQWR IRXU ZHHNV 7KH OLQH SURGXFHU DOVR FRP- mented that we were making a R15 million PRYLHIRU5PLOOLRQ6RLWZDVQ¶WHDV\ ZH were struggling at times. I mean, we also had two weeks of night shoots from 6pm WRDP7KDWZDVKRUULEOH3UHWW\JUXHOOLQJ KS - How was it working with local star Neil Sandilands (7de Laan) and new talent Stephanie Schildknecht? PR - Neil Sandilands is an actor of the high- est calibre. Not being Afrikaans-speaking myself, I had not seen him in Jackalsdans or 7de Laan or any of his local work, but one of my Afrikaans AFDA students described him to me as ‘our Brad Pitt’ when she was growing up. Neil is quite strong-willed and likes to have a lot of input into his charac- ter, but we got on incredibly well. He was very sensitive to my direction, inspired by 0LFKDHO 3RZHOO¶V 3HHSLQJ 7RP WKDW KLV character should be almost the protago- nist in his own right, and that we should feel an immense sympathy for the Young Frank’s story, that makes him what he is. We had two weeks of rehearsals with the whole cast, much of it on the actual loca- tion, and we managed to workshop scenes DQG VWUHQJWKHQ RXU LGHDV WRJHWKHU7KHUH is no doubt that Neil gives a tour-de-force performance that lies at very the heart of WKH¿OP+HLVFOHDUO\RQHRIWKHEHVWPDOH OHDGV,KDYHVHHQLQDQ\6RXWK$IULFDQ¿OP and his performance is on a par with any I have seen here. Stephanie has a German father and Swazi mother and did theatre training in the UK. She was by far the best 34 | WGSA MAG June 2012
candidate in the extensive casting I did with Christa Schamberger. During the shoot, ZKLFKZDVKHU¿UVWOHDGLQJUROHLQDIHDWXUH 6WHI¿ZDVDVJXWV\DQDFWUHVVDV\RXFRXOG wish for. As well as being very beautiful and a huge attraction for the male audi- HQFH6WHI¿OHDUQHGWRULGHDPRWRUELNHIRU WKH¿UVWWLPHGLGPDQ\RIKHURZQVWXQWV falls, etc., and took on the unenviable task of trying to match Neil’s intensity. I think she will emerge from this as a new force to be reckoned with in South African cinema. KS - When can we expect a trail- er, behind the scenes & release? PR - Indigenous Films will be releasing it here. But there is a possibility that we will release it in other parts of the world to see how it does, before releasing it here. 7KHSHUFHLYHGZLVGRPLVWKDW\RXUHOHDVH it locally, and on the basis of that you re- lease it internationally. But this is a genre that does well in other parts of the world. So we want to eventually market it as the ¿OPWKDWSOD\HGRQ[QXPEHURIVFUHHQVLQ America and other parts of the world. So we can seduce people to come see it here. 7KLV PHDQV WKH 6RXWK $IULFDQ UHOHDVH date will probably be sometime next year. KS - We look forward to seeing it then.
One Last Look will show at DIFF at the Suncoast Cinecentre A on Monday 23rd July at 21:30 and at the Musgrave Centre B on Thursday 26th July at 20:00.
writersguildsa.org | 35
