Paul Bradley’s lucrative producing career started as many do – hard work and a stroke of luck. Having produced such classics as A Room With a View, Howard’s End and The Remains of The Day, he’s sharing his comprehensive knowledge of driving a film from conception to completion and all the processes in between this afternoon at GOMA as part of the Brisbane International Film Festival.

TOM: How did you get your start in the producing industry?

Paul: Well, I started at the bottom. My first job in the film industry was as a publicist – I did English at university – so I could write a little, I was visiting sets and other peoples productions, writing synopsis and autobiographies, working with photographers to get the right publicity package for the production. I liked the process so much I wanted to get more involved but like everything it’s very difficult to get into. Luckily I got a great break. My flatmate was a university friend was a journalist who was working on a trade paper called Screen International and he was interviewing Ismail Merchant who was releasing a film called Quartet at the time. He wanted to set up a London office and he asked my flatmate if he knew anyone who was looking for a job. So he mentioned me, I met Ismail and it all started from there.

TOM: Why did you choose to go with an independent film production company rather than a position within a studio?

Paul: In the UK there are only independent production companies. We don’t really have a studio system over there, apart from employing craft grades, of which we’ve got fantastic Production Designers and Assistant Directors, Hair and Makeup…but there’s no real opportunity to produce unless you start with a script and a phone, so there was no choice. Even then there were very few successful independent production companies because money was so tight in the early 80’s. So I just grabbed the chance to do it with Merchant Ivory.

TOM: Do you think it’s better to be anywhere in the industry and see if an opportunity arises from that rather than trying to start at the top?

Paul: Although the formal education for entrants in the film industry has grown, there’s so many courses where you can learn about this, that and the other, both on a practical and academic level, I think the best thing is to get in any way you can. Even if it’s running or working for free or being an intern, that’s the kind of thing. The answer to how will I get into the film industry is you will do it if you really want to. The apprenticeship, the entrance exam, is nothing that’s written on paper. It’s you turning up, making contacts, networking, being in the right place, willing to work for people, offering your services, getting your foot in the door. And that takes maybe 50 tries for one successful placement. But that’s your entry exam. I was really fortunate from circumstance to get a job at the bottom like that, and I don’t know anyone who’s been as fortunate as me. But everyone has to take every opportunity they can and keep trying, keep trying, keep trying.

TOM: Do you think going to film school does have some merit, as you hear a lot of filmmakers who started out with a degree in Psychology or Engineering. Do you think it would give the upper hand?

Paul: I don’t know about upper hand as it has a lot to do with personality and ability to get on with people, a creative understanding and an interest, and I think you can’t be taught that. But I think film schools today offer tremendous courses in everything from producing to set design, production management, you can learn the basics. And that’s a great start. It’s just an alternative way of learning about the nuts and bolts of making a film. A lot of people don’t want to know about the nuts and bolts of making a film, they just want to write, just want to direct, just want to design or work in the art department – but I think if you want to be a Producer or Director, you need to know how things are put together on a basic level. Because you need to know how the whole machine works to get the best out of it. And it’s more fun, from my point of view. I’m not really good at anything particularly, I was never really good education wise, but I just had a really broad interest. And I think that takes you a long way. If you are a generalist, you can understand anything from building sets to writing stories, and it’s always very interesting. To answer your question more succinctly, I think there are some great courses – I think it’s just an alternative way in. I don’t think one’s better or worse, they’re just different. Woody Allen said 80% of success is just turning up. And that’s true!

TOM: Merchant Ivory is a production company whose films are described as ‘synonymous with style and elegance’ – what is it about this kind of film that you like to make so much?

Paul: The style of the films just really reflects the people who are really interested in the projects. They all attempt to be accurate, interesting. If you’re not going to put explosions, murders and car chases in your films then you’ve got to have something. If you can tell a story with wit and interest, with some really good characters involved along the way, and employ the best actors you possibly can which we’ve managed to do, it’s going to turn out. The cake is always fantastic if the ingredients are the best you can get. And if you really care about the taste.

TOM: I’d like to chat a little bit about the development phase – when you receive pitches or are pitched to, have the ones that stand out to you gone to some extra mile to get your attention or is it just a really great idea?

Paul: It’s like everything – it’s sort of alchemy. There’s a mixture of all kinds of ways of pitching. I think yeah, you’ve got to have a good idea. Yeah you’ve got to have the vision and the ability to present it well, but I think the key area you want to find that if it’s missing you’re just not really interested, is passion. I think that enthusiasm and commitment, the fact that it has led you to think about things, find out about things, prepare for any questions that might come your way and be really committed to the cause, and know that if you get a no from anybody that it doesn’t matter. You’ll go to the next one. That’s the thing that really communicates, and that’s what gets films made after all. If you’ve got the passion and the drive and the enthusiasm, that’s the key ingredient.

TOM: Funding is always a hot topic in the independent film industry – as an established independent production company is it still difficult to secure funding or has it become easier now you’ve produced some successful films?

Paul: I think it’s always difficult, and I think that every independent producer will say the same. It’s always a struggle to finance independent films. There’s always going to be 101 ways of putting the finance jigsaw together. That’s something you’ve got to be prepared for. It seems from the outside a very complicated process, and sometimes it is a very complicated process. That’s overcome by who’s who, and what their tastes are in terms of major funders whom change always from month to month, where you get money from all possible sources. We’ve financed films from people like Volkswagen. You have to go anywhere, everywhere. You have to network and get some contacts and advice, and look at how other people put their financing together for their films. Look at other producers who have money. That’s the key issue – who’s got money, and who’s looking for projects. That could be national funding authorities, sales agents who want to have product so they can sell it overseas, and all other kinds of industry players. The key thing is if you’re advanced enough to get a distribution deal in North America, that’s like the golden key. Because everyone looks at that. It looks like you’ve got a good project, good profile, and the opportunity to show your film in one of the highest profile markets in the world.

TOM: Are there any films that you’ve produced that you’re most proud of?

Paul: I’m proud of them all, they’re all a very personal experience because they’re all so different in terms of who you work with, where the film was shot, the history of the film, its financing and its delivery, and it’s not always the most famous or successful ones that are your favourites. I have to say Remains of The Day which showed at the festival is probably my favourite, along with The Golden Bowl – a Henry James adaptation. I tried to struggle through the Henry James adaptation for months when I was at university and I couldn’t manage it, it was so dense. But that’s the film I really liked. We had some great performances from Nick Nolte, Uma Thurman and Kate Beckinsale, working with actors like that and seeing them bring the characters to life.

TOM: Merchant Ivory has been in the business for 50 years and you’ve been working with them for over 30 – what do you love about producing so much that you’ve spent so much time focussing on it?

Paul: I think it’s the variety of things you get involved with. You’re dealing every day with such a great range of things. As I said before one day your dealing with the script, thinking about the characters and the creative aspects there on the page and how the story develops, an hour later you could be talking to a construction manager about building something in the studio, an hour later you could be in a lawyers meeting talking about where to put full stops, dots on the i’s, and then you could be talking to actors and choosing them. Standing back, that sounds pretty interesting to me. It doesn’t necessarily feel wonderful at the time because you’ve always got no money and too little time so your running from one place to the next – but I quite like seeing something that was one line of dialogue a year ago on the page, turned to a fantastic shot, with fantastic actors and a great setting, Sitting with an audience who are really enjoying it. That’s a great feeling of achievement. Not in a selfish or big-headed way, because it takes a whole range of people to get there, but being part of that team is great.

For more information and to book visit biff.com.au