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They may have a beard and be generously proportioned, but thus far the comparisons between American producer Joel Silver and Santa Claus have been few. Then again those of his films set during the festive season have been a little on the aggressive side, a Lethal Weapon here, a Die Hard movie there, not much that spells out good will to all men.
His latest, Fred Claus, does redress that balance though, offering a
Scrooge like turnaround for Santa’s curmudgeonly elder brother, played
by Vince Vaughn. And if there is a massive change experienced by this character
this is reflected in Silver, a man of strong character and the determination needed to sustain a Hollywood career over four decades.
For the big man smiles beatifically when asked about the involvement of British talent deemed necessary to get this all American story made.
"You have to understand we can't make these big movies in LA any more," he explains, "it's not economically feasible to do that."
Hang on, re-read that last bit, is he saying that with the pound so strong against the dollar it's still preferable to travel halfway around the world to get it made here?
"No, it doesn't make sense," he shrugs. "I've done two movies in a row in Germany and shot here and in Australia and Canada. It's a Godsend to us.
I have a television show in LA and it's shooting as we speak, but with these big movies we need the help that these countries can offer to us."
By which he means advantageous terms that are designed to encourage inward investment which help sustain an industry vital to the UK economy.
"We bring a lot when we come into a country," Silver adds. "We bring a lot of employment, a lot of dollars, pounds whatever, and we spend it. It's great. The situation that they created here for us was very effective.
"I always say I have a beautiful office in Burbank, and I'm 20 feet from a big warehouse where I can make my movies. When we shoot here I’ve got to get on a plane and fly 11 hours to have a nice office that's 200 feet from a big warehouse where I can make my movies. But you know it's just impractical to make these movies back in the States, because it is so costly."
Director David Dobkin, whose last film The Wedding Crashers was a worldwide smash hit, agrees that packing up a production and shooting far from America's west coast can be advantageous to everyone concerned.
"Hollywood is dysfunctional," he sighs, "it was made to be the cheapest place on the planet to make movies. And because of the weather it was the most consistent place, where you wouldn’t be rained out, and the safest place. But now it's like everywhere else in the world it's easier to make a movie than LA."
The reason that Hollywood became the focus of American, and in reality English language cinema, are - as Dobkin states - more to do with climate than anything else. When Cecil B DeMille took a train west to shoot his 1914 western The Squaw Man on location he stopped first in Arizona.
Overcast skies made him and his crew get back on the train, and the next stop was an area dotted with orange groves, close to a development that was named 'Hollywood' as far back as 1887.
"For some reason Sacramento can’t seem to figure this out," Dobkin adds. "There's no incentive to work in LA. So to us, it's like we're fighting very hard. We want the dollars on the screen, we don’t want the dollars in the pockets of the wrong people. So it’s great to be able to come here, you know?"
Another advantage, as Fred Claus writer Jessie Nelson suggests, is that a UK production can tap the skills of craftspeople across Europe, which was handy on a film that had very specific demands.
"The elves' shoes were made by cobblers in Italy," she states, "and the sleigh was made by craftsmen in Prague. All of Europe was involved in creating this film, so it actually ups the level of the artistry in the film in many ways."
"The production design here is above and beyond anywhere," Dobkin nods, "it really is. I've shot in Prague, I've shot in Italy, I've shot in South America, Canada and you're not going to get that sensibility from anybody anywhere but here."
High praise indeed - God bless them, every one.
ANWAR BRETT
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