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How did you get in touch with Coppola?
We worked on the love of freedom with Andy Vajna in Shepperton when someone called me on the phone to see if I knew a sound engineer who knew music in Hungary. He asked me if I knew. I said modestly, I would be here, for example.
He gave my number to someone who later called me and introduced himself as line producer Francis Ford Coppola. They are working in Romania at the moment, but something happened to the music editor there, could you please come in? I dated for three days and then I worked with Coppola for six weeks.
Even though I have been making films for decades, the fan left me in a situation where it was an incredible experience to have lunch at a table with the genius Godfather director and stuntman Walter Murch, who was the editor of the film. It should be noted that he is the only live creator in the world to have won two Oscars for the same film. One as a cutter, one to mix sound. This movie is The English Patient. It all happened in 2006 with the filming of Youth without Youth, which is one of the gravest experiences of my life.
Photo: Little Nelli
Coppola had a grandson born at that time, in honor of whom my colleague Lev, who was in charge of the orchestration, otherwise a violinist, wrote a song. We showed it to Francis, he really liked it. We recorded the orchestral basics, with a symphony orchestra on the last day of recording the soundtrack, our line producer played the flute solo, then Francis sang a musical message for his grandson. It was one of the most beautiful, instructive, and difficult six weeks of my life. Francis Ford Coppola later said
that if he had a hundred people like that, he would subjugate the world singing tequila: ta tara tara tatam, ta tara tara tam – at the end he shouted instead of tequila: Attila!
How many movies have you worked at home?
As a sound engineer, I have more than sixty films behind me. These are mostly Hungarian films, but there have also been some international productions; And since 2011 I am also a producer. Some movie titles from my producer’s work: Overthrow Tímea Hajnal, Die Now, Martfűi horror, PappaPia, Comrade Drakulics, Seveled and the Final Report, with Pál Sándor and István Szabó, which is a great honor for me.
In recent years, the prestige of Hungarian films has dramatically improved and the range of genres has expanded: in addition to artists’ films, there are already Hungarian horror, musicals, comedies and costume films. Can you stop the development of the viral situation?
It’s hard to say, but I was very afraid of cinema as a format.
However, when the Death Star appeared on the screen when I was ten years old, I heard the weapons of the Star Destroyers rumbling on all the walls of the cinema, I knew I wanted to. We joined friends on Isla Margarita with our friends, climbing the fence of the garden cinema at night, from where most of the canvas could be seen. At the Return of the Jedi screening, the police blew up a gas canister, but we always came back.
And today you can’t go to the movies or just be very careful.
There is no doubt that, like almost all thinking people, most viewers fear the virus. Be careful because you don’t know what is hiding in the room air conditioner, who is sitting next to the chairs, who is holding the armrest in front of him, etc. Meanwhile, you already have a television at home, not infrequently big enough. There are also home theater systems for movie lovers, but it’s better to watch football on them too. Streaming providers like Netflix or HBO GO have it all. We can choose from a blockbuster made fifteen years ago to the last Spanish series. What’s good about this besides the confusion of abundance? For example, you watch a Spanish or Swedish series and you realize that they are very good. If you want, with the Netflix Dolby Atmos sound system, which is very important to me.
Meanwhile, I was afraid of the cinema, of the cinematic experience, because that is the real thing! The cinema has magic and soul, a good program to prepare for, which is event and fun.
How can Hungarian films reach many more viewers than now?
The good news is that televisions have recently fallen in love with Hungarian movies. Also commercial televisions. But let us choose the situation of Hungarian films and cinemas separately. We have world-renowned creators, and then we really have a history that we can be proud of, and we also have a present that we can. This must be carried out. The Film Institute continues to fund Hungarian feature films, but Csaba Káel’s statements show that they are also looking for alternative distribution opportunities. Think it is so.
If you compare the cost of making a movie, hundreds of millions, with a few hundred thousand viewers in the good case, questions may arise. Television distribution improves somewhat, but it is a fact that film production is an expensive activity.
So we don’t make movies?
The Hungarian state does not finance national film production because it is a big business, but because it is a branch of art that the people need.
Cinema is part of culture and culture needs funding. However, what makes financing Hungarian films financially profitable is the team of Hungarian professionals.
Through the knowledge of these people, the many florins invested are ‘recovered’. His knowledge allows us to serve international production that is now in extremely high numbers. The income that comes from there is already seen and counted in all the books, not to mention the improvement in the image of the country. However, without Hungarian cinema, there would be no Hungarian team of professionals.
What are your plans as a producer or filmmaker?
We are now applying to the Film Institute with my colleagues, Csaba Pék and Mika Herzan, for a documentary on Ágoston Haraszthy. A royal bodyguard, a friend of Miklós Wesselényi and Lajos Kossuth, he emigrated to America in 1840 and embarked on adventurous adventures. Among other things, he planted grapes in Napa Valley, California. He is an excellent figure, we would like to shoot a feature film about him later.
The vineyard he founded is now the fourth largest wine region in the world, and 90 percent of its wine production still takes place in the Napa Valley.
Coppola also has a winery there, she is very proud of it, I also visited it. We hope that he also speaks in our film. I try to search for topics that may even be of international interest.
Additionally, two serious feature film designs are in the bidding stage and we are also developing a series specifically for the international stage. As for my day job, I’m now doing post-production on a series shot for Viasat, but I built my own studio where I can work in Dolby Atmos, which means I can make masterpieces for Netflix, for example.
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