US director James Gray said he is optimistic about the Warner Bros-Paramount deal and has backed calls for a US federal production incentive.
“David Ellison really is a movie fan,” Gray told Screen on the red carpet for his film Paper Tiger, which premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 10.
The director noted the Skydance CEO’s promise to release 30 films a year theatrically. He said he was hopeful this would be followed through.
“In a way, Warner Bros was already in a lot of trouble, so I’m trying to see the positive side,” Gray continued. “Maybe it’ll be alright.”
Gray also said he “kind of liked” the idea of introducing a federal production incentive, as it keeps filmmaking competitive.
“It’s great to have a lot of filmmakers working near each other at the same time,” said the director, who shot recent films Paper Tiger, Armageddon Time and Ad Astra in the US. “It’s competitive, it’s good. It makes us up our game.
“When you spread everyone out all across the earth, there isn’t that communal sense.”
Paper Tiger stars Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller and follows two brothers pursuing the American Dream in 1980s New York.
Also speaking to Screen on the red carpet, Driver said he “believed in the dictatorship” of following a director’s singular vision.
“It’s not a democracy, it’s one person telling a story and I support that part of it,” Driver continued. “When it’s a bigger budget, sometimes it gets into moviemaking by committee and I just don’t do well in those atmospheres. So I try to choose projects where I can understand what the dynamics are.”
The BFI London Film Festival continues until October 18.
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