Interview with ILYA SALKIND

THE DIGITAL CINEMA

Presents

An Interview with

Photo taken circa 1969

ILYA SALKIND

Conducted by Scott Michael Bosco, September 2002

SMB

LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD was your first credited production, with your father.

This is the time I was with my father who was at a very difficult situation in the late 60’s.

What most people don’t know is even though my father was Alexander Salkind I started as a

runner, driver, bodyguard – everything. At that point I came up with the first collaboration we did

connected with a Japanese monster movie called GAMMERA VS. BARUGON.

SMB

I remember that one!

It had a giant turtle.

SMB

Not just a giant turtle, a “flying” turtle.

… that’s right!

(Both laugh)

My father knew these people from this little company in Paris who had the rights for this move in France. So some how I convinced my father to buy it. Now we’re talking about $3,000.00 for the rights for France. So we then had to drive to all these different regions in France to show this Japanese monster movie, which was in Japanese with English sub-titles. I would stand in front of perspective buyers and translate it into French for these independent region guys. You see, in those days, in France, there were like 10 different regions. Then there were the big circuits. The funny thing of course is that I was translating the film but in the same way the original Japanese dialog was spoken – so I was doing a French imitation of Japanese – you know, in the same tempo. Looking back it was quite amusing. I was acting exactly like the Japanese, but in French … AND IT WORKED! Not only that we were able to sell it to these independent guys for $10,000.00! Luckily, because it worked out so well my father’s confidence in my professional decisions grew. I was about 19 at the time. Because this all worked out my father and I went back to the same company we bought the rights from and I saw this script that was literally covered in dust on a shelf. It was in English … THE LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, based on Jules Verne’s novel, written by an unknown guy. I inquired about it and they told me it was a past attempted project that turned out to be a bit too big for them. And it was for them at the time, it was a major film. So I turned to my father and said I should read it. After all it was based on Verne, and Verne is really fantastic. After I read it I told my father that it was a really good project and that he (my dad) could do it justice.

SMB

That sounds like a kinda turning point for you.

IS –

It was. Through friends of my father in London at a company called Common Wealth United that belonged to a fellow named Bernie Confield who had done very well with the stock market. He financed this company Common Wealth United who had about 100 million for film projects. The father and son team who led the company were friends of ours. The son was head of production. He was very young, maybe, 26. We managed to convinced these guys to make

deal.

SMB

So then it was all due to friendship.

No, I had to prove the project was bankable, credible. For instance, I made two lists of directors and actors. Subject to getting one of the guys on the lists Common Wealth United was going to finance the picture – because they also liked the script. So it was a kind of test for me. On the list I’d say there were about 10 for mains, for the biggest stars then like Ormar Sharif, Gregory Peck. All guys that were very hot then. One of the guys was Kirk Douglas. Although my father was the Producer I was the one who contacted the agents with him. Now, my father had a growing confidence in me for the business. You see, in the recent past his projects had not done so well at that time. Although some of these projects were critical accomplishments they were not financial successes. Like my grandfather who produce movies they where were perhaps too high brow. There was also a lacking an international sense.

SMB

Something which of course you would achieve latter with films like THE THREE MUSKETEERS, SANTA CLAUS and of course the SUPERMAN films.

Yes, correct. But these previous films were such a critical success, like THE TRIAL which was even on the cover of TIME magazine, but didn’t make a nickel. Yet, that same film is now considered a classic. However, the name of Alexander Salkind was well known from these big movies. In any case who ever we showed THE LIGHT script to rejected it, for various reasons. The last one we approached was Kirk Douglas, not in any particular reason or order. We started with those who were in Europe. I managed to speak to Douglas’ agent who was a very nice guy, but Salkind was not a name people in Hollywood took seriously then. My father came up with this approach, he offered the first 1 million dollar salary to an actor in Hollywood, which was to Douglas. In those days one used cables, telegrams – there was no Fed-Ex. There were no faxes or email. So we sent the offer and the script to Douglas. Time pasted and there was no reply. No reaction. About 3 months after that I see that Kirk Douglas is going to be in a Hotel in the South of France, on holiday. I told my father to call him but he was a bit reluctant due to not hearing from him. But he did. My father asked him, did you read LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD? Douglas responded with, “I never got it”. So my father took the night train down to Douglas in person. He read it, and liked it. Now, Douglas realized that offering him 1 million was only a ploy, because he knew my father didn’t really have that kind of money. So he made an offer that if my father could muster $80,000.00 in a given time he would let him use Douglas’ name to get the rest of the money for the film. Which was really nice. He knew my father was trying to break in to the states and wasn’t at that point successful, but he liked the script and wanted the film to be made. He gave my father confidence.

SMB

Enough to find the backing.

Yes. Douglas then became, officially, involved in the picture. The moment Kirk Douglas was in the picture everything started moving like a rocket. Then we got involved with Spanish partners. Those are the guys from Jet Films, you see on the credits.

SMB

Yes.

They came in and paid for the development of the film. I then found a director, Kevin Billington, from London. Before that however we had approached Cy Endfield.

SMB

He did ZULU.

Yes. We also approached Peter Glenville, he did BECKET. So we ended up with Kevin Billington who had done a very good film called INTERLUDE. Of course the script needed some re-working. My mother even got involved; her name is in the credits. She had the idea of the unicorn horse. It was quite an experience for me. I was only 21/22 and Tom Rowe (screenwriter) was about 38, and Billington was at least 30. I went on location touring in Spain with the famous director of photography, who did THE TRAIL. I remember Douglas once turning to my father saying, “Hey, you know, this kid is going to go far.”; which I’ll never forget. He was very instrumental in giving my father a chance. In fact, it was with Jet Films my father found the needed start-up money needed to be seen by Douglas, the $80,000.

SMB

It sounds like it all eventually came together very smoothly.

Well, this is a very tuff business. I was young and full of illusions. One day when I went to the set the one of the Spanish producers who had been with me during the project development suddenly said, we had a disagreement with your father so now we’re not going to let you go on the set.

You can just imagine, being as young as I was, on my first project, how I felt.

SMB

... and you basically in the whole thing.

Well, it was my father’s genius behind the money, but yes I was the one that found the script and felt there was a project there. I was completely destroyed. My father was much sharper, and he stayed in the hotel. He knew there was going to be a problem due the discussions. Then there was a law suit between two French lawyers over the project being a Verne property. Verne was not public domain, his work was protected by the French.

SMB

But what was the motive of the producer from Spain?

They wanted the movie for them selves. They said they had all the rights of a public domain property… I don’t know, it was a long and complicated legal thing. In any event, they had a lot of money, and we didn’t. There was a big bank in Spain backing the producers at the time. They wanted to be the big cheese. But then we found this clause in which Verne was not public domain. Long story short - it got to the point where they couldn’t shoot the movie due to not obtaining the options with France from the inheritors of Jules Verne. So they couldn’t shoot. So there was a settlement in which my father received a monetary amount as well a his name back on the picture as Alexander Salkind Presents, and I got the Associate Producer title.

SMB

Making movies can be very tuff.

That’s how it is. But you know, it’s strange how things come around. You know who bought the rights for SUPERMAN II for Spain?

SMB

Who?

The same man who we went to court with on LIGHT. At the time he was head of WARNERS Spain. I have a picture of him and my father signing the contract for SUPERMAN II. It shows you how the circle goes.

SMB

So to sum up what you did… You collected the cast, director and writer.

Yes.

SMB

Quite a job for a first timer.

Yes.

SMB

And not much was done then without your consent, even with what happened.

Right. We (my father and I) got back in there very fast and it all stayed very close to the script.

SMB

Rachel Billington also has credit for additional dialog.

Yes she worked on it. She was the director’s wife.

SMB

How was the film received at the time?

It was a pretty big success in the States and in Europe. More than anything it put my father on the map because it was a Kirk Douglas movie.

SMB

Putting aside the behind the scenes exploits what is it you like most about the film itself?

Well, I think it has fantastic symbolism of light and dark. The lighthouse is basically hope and goodness. Even its color, white, is categorized by this. And of course there’s Yul Brynner in all black. I worked very hard on the development of things like that. As in SUPERMAN, Jor-el is white and Zod is in black.

SMB

I found the film a bit brutal, especially for its time. Did that pose a problem?

A lot of that was added during the shoot. It was not that way in the script.

SMB

So it wasn’t meant to be that explicit.

Not as brutal. But you’re right, it is explicit. This DVD version is an uncut edition of the film. It may have been slightly altered for theatrical release back then. Which I think it was. Oh, yeah. I remember seeing this version when it was being put together. But the final version was cut down by General Cinema to make it PG.

SMB

Back then it was GP or M.

Yes, which ever. They would never have all that then. Some of it is very strong stuff.

SMB

That’s why it seems more for today’s audience than for then. Lets’s talk about the casting.

Well, I had originally approached Catherine Deneuve for the part that was eventually filled by Samantha Eggar. We had a wonderful meeting in her apartment. Before that I met with Brigette Bardot, but that didn’t work out. It took three years to put the entire picture together. If the picture had stayed with Common Wealth United a lot of stuff never would have happened. Strangely they stopped making pictures a just a few years after that as well.

SMB

Was Yul Brynner first choice?

Possibly not the first-fist, I seem to remember Peter O’Toole. I remember James Mason was considered to play the Captain which was eventually played by Fernando Rey.

SMB

Did filming on location, on the reefs, cause problems?

A Big problem. The weather was always a problem. Also setting up camera shots was a killer. It was more like filming a mountain movie. But you know, in my brain I had this vision of making an American movie. It was a kind of look I wanted. In the end, even with all the problems and influences, it was.

SMB

I think it is, in style, a pre-cursor to the way movies would be made latter.

Well credit has to be given to the director, Billington.

SMB

It’s also credit to Verne, basically he wrote a “Death Wish” for his day.

Absolutely. These horrific pirates and symbolism is terrific. Everything is destroyed by the end, but the sun and light still shine. I’m also very happy with the film’s score by Piero Piccioni.

SMB

Where any miniatures or matte shots used?

Miniatures were used for the rescue boat and the one that crashes.

SMB

Another surprising element was one of the characters. The one pirate that’s very sadistic. That was a bit ahead, and explicit for its day.

Yes, you have a very good eye. He was an extremely popular, actor in France. Jean-Claude Drouot. He was totally crazy in the film, right?

SMB

Flamboyantly.

Yes. He was very good. He usually didn’t play that kind of a role in his native country. He was more of a heartthrob.

SMB

His character’s sexuality is very ambiguous in the film.

It is. There a lot insinuated. At one point isn’t it he who wears a dress?

SMB

Yes.

That tells you all.

SMB

The film went further than a lot of film did back then.

I think a lot of that I think came from the director.

SMB

It’s interesting that the cast was international.

Yet it was a success in the States. So I guess it was “presented” in style that was American.

SMB

Did the actors speak their lines phonically?

No, no, they all spoke English. That’s another reason it was a success. It never really works if you have to dub.

Something suffers. Not only the way it looks, but the actors performance as well. The important thing is for the actors to speak English so later even if you have to dub them it all matches up well and then it’s more of a post synch rather than a dub. That’s the key. If the accent is too strong the movement will be different.

SMB

Did each country that put up money for the film require a certain amount of native actors to be in the picture?

Yes. It was a French/Italian/Spanish co-production. That’s why there was one French guy, one Italian, and rest were Spanish.

SMB

Most of the Pirates were Spanish.

Absolutely. But Spanish actors that had been in a lot films and were able to speak enough to get by.

SMB

What are your final thoughts.

I think when I see the movie now I remember how inexperienced I was in many areas. Especially with the Americana, because I wasn’t then living in the States. Because of that I think it came out very American in taste.

SMB

Since this was your first position of authority, the producing end, how does it compare with your first producing position for TV when you did SUPERBOY? I realize producing is producing, however there must be a difference in the dealings of a weekly television show.

Ilya with his “Super”boy cast

Picture on Right: Stacy Maiduk, John Haymes Newton, and Jim Calvert

Picture on Left: Ilya & Stacy Maiduk

IS – In terms of experience I was just as inexperienced doing a project for television as I was doing my first theatrical project. The difference of course is that I had much more natural authority because I was older and had those big movies behind me. That was the difference. However, the leaning process was the same. I made some mistakes in the beginning. The first few episodes weren’t as strong as I would have liked. Basically, if you’ll notice every episode of SUPERBOY is kind of a mini-movie. In the beginning I was listening more to the television writers and it was more television and less theatrical. I than realized it had to be more mini-movies. That means every movie, or episode has a different look. Some are dark, others are more sci-if. I really enjoyed that. When you’re in television as an executive producer you co-write as well. The fact is it gives you a fantastic feeling when you have the freedom to do new and original stuff every week. I think, for those reasons, the series has such a fantastic cult following. Also because it was true to the source. Another theatrical cross-over I tried to achieve was in casting. I had all these very well known, famous actors. These weren’t just parts they were cameos as is traditionally done in theatrical films. It worked – 4 seasons, 100 episodes. But it was something I had to learn. Simple things one doesn’t have to consider when formatting a story, like pacing for commercials. It’s a very different medium. Also, we were working on 3 episodes at a time. One is being prepared, one is being shot, and one is in post production. Plus, directors only direct.

With Leif Garrett

SMB

So, more is on your shoulders as a producer in television.

With Greg Morris

Oh, totally. An executive producer in television is basically a creative producer as well. Much more than in theatrical. There’s also a different director after each episode. There’s just so much I can tell you about SUPERBOY.

With George Chakiris

SMB

Maybe we should leave that for another time?

I think so, SUPERBOY will be around again.

A recent photo of Ilya Salkind

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