'Indian movies are too limited for what I wanted to do'
Los Angeles, January 17, 2001, 8 pm Pacific Standard Time (Jan 18, 9.30 am India): Mr Ashok Amritraj logged on from his Los Angeles office. His returns was like his tennis: fast and graceful.
Administrator : Friends, we have
opened this room for you guys to post your questions or messages. Mr Ashok
Amritraj will log on 8 pm Pacific time (which is 9.30 am on January 18 in
India).
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Testing...
Testing...
Administrator : Mr Amritraj is testing
and will commence the Chat shortly.
kauai : mr amritraj are u there? what
role has the game of tennis (the exposure as an international tennis player)
has played in your success in the film world?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Tennis has helped a great deal both in
opening doors as well as being disciplined in the entertainment business. I
will always be grateful for my tennis background.
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Good Morning, I'm
ready to get started!
ashok : Tell us something about ur new
movie
Mr Ashok Amritraj : "AntiTrust," which was released
last weekend in the US, opened to good reviews and is a edge of your seat
thriller with a team of wonderful actors including Tim Robbins and Ryan
Phillipe. I am very proud of the film and my association with MGM, who released
the movie.
nanea : mr amritraj ... you have had a
long and winding road towards success in the film world .... which movies will
you count as your successes ... and then which ones as failures?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : In the movie business, one always needs to
go through a learning process - which I did for the first six to seven years of
my career. The last ten to twelve years have been extremely successful and
satisfying. My successes include "Double Impact," which was a major
box office success, "The Third Miracle," which was a co-production
with Francis Ford Coppola, was a critical success, and other films like
"The Confession" starring Alec Baldwin & Ben Kingsley and "A
Murder Of Crows" starring Cuba Gooding Jr were very fulfilling movies to
make.
xyz : How come a tennis champ like you
went into the world of movies? Any reason why not in India?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : I grew up in India playing tennis and
watching great Hollywood movies like "The Sound Of Music" and
"Ben Hur." I always dreamed about one day making movies in Hollywood.
Indian films, though interesting, seemed too limited for the kind of movies I
wanted to make. I DID produce one Indian film called "Jeans" which
was India's nomination to the Oscars in 1998.
venkat : Mr Ashok Amritraj what are
your futer plans
Mr Ashok Amritraj : I have a movie being released in February
in the US called "Original Sin" starring Antonio Banderas &
Angelina Jolie and in June, a film with Martin Lawrence & Danny DeVito
called "What's The Worst That Can Happen." I feel very strongly that
the audience will respond positively to both of these films. MGM is releasing
both these movies.
abc : How come so many Indians are
getting into Hollywood. Some days ago, we had Shyamalan, then you who led the
pack? How come so many Indians now?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : It is indeed wonderful to see more Indians
in Hollywood. I still feel there are not enough taking the chance. Currently,
Night Shyamalan and Shekher Kapur are good directors however besides them and
myself, we could certainly use more Indians in Hollywood. I feel India has
tremendous talent in all facets of the film business. I hope more Indian talent
- both in front and behind the camera - will make their presence felt in the
International film industry.
KovaiKing : hi ashok, why dont u start
some hot ventures in india
Mr Ashok Amritraj : My company has about 18 projects in
various stages of development. Among them is one which would be great to shoot
in India. I would greatly enjoy making a major Hollywood movie in India with
both major American & Indian stars. However, the script is the key and we
have battled with trying to find the right project for India. I hope this will
happen soon.
lallo : Mr Ashok Babu,Why dont you
make a film in Bihar.I can provide you all buffalos,cows etc and lots of grass
....
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Somehow, I'm not sure that an
International audience would respond to buffalos, cows, and lots of grass in
Bihar. However, thank you for your kind offer.
JoSchmo : Can an Indian director make
a good movie with a Hollywood budget?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : As I mentioned, some Indian directors are
quite talented. However, in order to direct a good Hollywood movie, besides the
budget it becomes important for the director to understand the audience he is
trying to capture. It would be important for an Indian director to spend some
time in Hollywood and learn to communicate with a non-Indian audience. This takes
time & commitment and it is not always easy for somebody to take this time
when he is very successful in his home country.
vivek : what do you think are the
major limitations of making a movie in india about india with indians?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Movie budgets in Hollywood have gone up
tremendously. It is important to try to reach as wide an audience as possible
in the International market. As such, to produce a movie in India about Indians
should be made primarilly in the Indian language. There are some smaller
British movies made about Indians but in general, they seem to have a very
limited audience.
shashank : hi ashokji , saw the review
of antitrust , from where u got this idea
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Howard Franklin, the writer of hit movies
like "Varsity Blues" and "Name Of The Rose" wrote
"AntiTrust" for my company and MGM. It was his original idea which
fascinated me and we then worked on together. I am happy that the reviews have
been quite positive.
Govind : What are ur next moves ! Are
u planning to take a Mega Movie in Holywood
Mr Ashok Amritraj : I am currently shooting a movie called
"Bandits" starring Bruce Willis, Cate Blanchett & directed by
Oscar-Winner Barry Levinson who did "Rain Man." This movie will be
released Christmas 2001 and is both mine & MGM's biggest movie for the
year.
JoSchmo : What is your responsibility
as a producer? How about as an executive producer? Is there a big difference?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : In both cases, I am generally involved in
all facets of the film from the development of the screenplay, casting,
financing, and distribution. If a movie is not marketed and distributed well,
it can fail even if it is a wonderful movie. I try to be involved in all
aspects but in some cases, when I am producing more than one film at a time, it
is difficult.
friend : Ashok, what do u think of
acting in Bengali movies ?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : I don't think so, but I will get in touch
if I change my mind. ;)
krupakar : How do you differentiate
between TENNIS FIELD AND CINE FIELD?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : In tennis, everything is cut & dry, if
you play well you win - if your opponent plays better, you lose. In the movie
business, there are many gray areas. I am dependant on the director, the
personalities of the actors, the marketing of the film, and the response of the
audience which comes about one year after I have decided to make a certain
film. It is a much more collaborative process.
Sarath : ashok sir..what do u fel
about the budding indian tennis players?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Leander Paes and Bhupathi are both good
players and have done well in the doubles. However, we need young talent to put
in more time & effort and singleminded devotion if they want to compete
Internationally.
Princess : Ashok, does Chennai still
appeal to you? If I recall, your family had a corner bungalow in
Nungambakkam...
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Chennai always holds a tremendous appeal
for me and I come back to India and Chennai once every three to four months. I
enjoy my time in India a great deal and it rejuvenates me for my trek back to
Hollywood.
Princess : Ashok, you mentioned Paes
and Bhupathi... Obviously, the magic between them is lost.. Do you think
success will always go against partnership? Today they have a tough opening
draw in the Australian Open, will they go far there?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : I think Paes and Bhupathi can always pull
out some of the magic of their past. However, they certainly seem to be having
some trouble of late. I do think they can pull their act together and still be
a terrific team.
Princess : I recall seeing Double
Impact, starring Van Damme, which you had produced... It was such a ripoff of
ur Indian lookalike twins... Do potboilers appeal to you?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : I enjoyed producing "Double
Impact" and clearly the film was a huge success. I love mainstream,
commercial films though I have made films like "Schweitzer," based on
the life of Nobel Prize winner Albert Schweitzer and "The Third
Miracle" starring Ed Harris & Anne Heche which was critically acclaimed.
I like to think that I get involved with both commercial and critical
successes.
vijaylino : Ashok first I congratulate
u on your success abroad. How difficult will it be for an indian to get work
with the hollywod studios as an assistant director
Mr Ashok Amritraj : For anyone coming to Hollywood from a
foreign country, it takes time, dedication, and total determination to make it.
However I always feel if you are willing to do this, anything is possible.
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Since many of you seem
interested in talking about "Jeans," I would like to say that the
film did extraordinary business in the South Indian languages (IE) Tamil,
Telegu, etc... I thought our music ws terrific and Ashok Kumar's photography
was brilliant. The production value we brought to the screen, I have been told
many times, was one of the best in Indian cinema. Aishwarya looked great and
was a true professional.
lloyd : Whats the fuss in antirust
about bill gates
Mr Ashok Amritraj : The press has drawn a lot of comparisons
between the villain in our movie, played by Tim Robbins, and Bill Gates. Much
of this is publicity hype while at the same time, a movie about Silicon Valley
with a huge corporation automatically draws a comparison with Bill Gates. It's
too bad we couldn't get him to do a cameo in the film.
Mr Ashok Amritraj : My experience with
making an Indian film taught me a great deal about the differences of
showbusiness in Hollywood and in India.
Mr Ashok Amritraj : I cherished the
experience but the downside is that Indian films take up too much time with
accomodating various schedules and it is difficult for me to spend 18 months to
2 years making an Indian movie.
nidhi : Well.jeans was Ok fine....but
did it warrant as an Oscar entry,Answer as the viewer not the producer
Mr Ashok Amritraj : I am extremely attached to most of the
films I've made. "Jeans" holds a special place for me since it is the
only Indian film that I have produced. The fact that a 12-member committee made
up of Indian film-makers, press and artists chose "Jeans" as India's
nomination to the Oscars should speak for itself.
Sarath. : do u think that A R Rahman
delayed the film making of Jeans as u r saying about the delay in production?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Rahman is talented and a good friend. He
was definitely not one of the delays in production. Amazingly, the lesser
artists caused more delays by doing 4 or 5 movies at a time than the stars of
the film.
Mr Ashok Amritraj : The Indian formula
of actors doing more than one movie at a time is quite annoying when I am used
to actors like Bruce Willis, John Travolta, and SYlvester Stallone who totally
focus on one film.
Jeans : Mr. Amritraj, how do you deal
with situations in which films go over-budget?? Example, when you've got to
reshoot some 30-40% of a film for some reason or another?
Mr Ashok Amritraj : All of my films have a completion bond
whereby in the event that the film goes over budget, I am covered either by
insurance or through my bond by Lloyds Of London. The overages are not paid by
me, but by the insurers.
Mr Ashok Amritraj : OK, let's take one
more...
Princess : Ashok.. my question on the
mafias role, if any, in film financing in Hollywood.. and why u think ABCL
failed... Pleaseeeeeeeeeee
Mr Ashok Amritraj : OK, maybe 2 more then... The mafia has no
role of any kind in Hollywood. The film business here is run by multi-billion
dollar companies that are all publically owned...
Mr Ashok Amritraj : ABCL did not have
the kind of management that is needed to run a major entertainment company.
Mr Ashok Amritraj : Amitabh is a
wonderful person but the people around him did not live up to expectations.
Mr Ashok Amritraj : I would like to
thank you all for coming this morning, it was fun.
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