Working Title Films co-president Eric Fellner admits he doesn't understand how “total” body horror is The substance it would have been.
The industry giant spoke to fellow president Tim Bevan at the BFI London Film Festival event on Tuesday, where they were asked about the highlights and failures of their careers, as well as the vast success of “cultural Britain” with films like Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, Truly love AND The darkest hour among their impressive list of productions.
More recently, Working Title Films made The substance starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, which grossed an impressive global box office total of more than $24 million. “[Coralie Fargeat’s] the script was really, really good,” Fellner said, explaining this after seeing it Vendetta (2017) went to Paris “a few times for lunch” with the French director to convince her to choose Working Title for her next film.
“I personally didn't fully understand how full it was going to be,” he admitted. “But I think it's a good thing. It's definitely brought people to the movies, which is great. And for a company like Mubi to bring people to the cinema is fantastic because it shows that both – streaming platforms and cinemas – can coexist and work well together.”
Eric Fellner, co-president of Working Title.
The pair spoke of the particular “cultural Britishness” seen in films such as Bean OR Four weddings and a funeral. How did they manage to capture it so perfectly? It was mostly luck: they had come across a group of very talented English people who, above all, didn't want to make the leap to Hollywood.
Bevan said: “We met Richard Curtis, we met Rowan Atkinson and we met [Bridget Jones author] Helen Fielding in a very short space of time. And everyone wanted to stay here[intheUK…Wewerelucky”[intheUK…Wewerelucky”[nelRegnoUnito…Siamostatifortunati”[intheUK…Wewerelucky”
The substance it was a lesson learned for the pair: “It made us realize that if it's really out there, people are interested, they don't get discouraged,” Fellner said, agreeing with Bevan that more films under 15 should be made million dollars. “Films have to cost less and they have to be bolder in this area.”
The BFI London Film Festival runs from 9 to 20 October.