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Posted: Fri., Apr. 27, 2012, 11:12am PT
Graham King talks pics, passions
Producer sez relationships key in BritWeek summit keynote
Graham King and Variety editor-in-chief Tim Gray.
By Cynthia Littleton
For producer Graham King, the mathematics of the movie business is easy -- it's all about the relationships.
In his keynote convo Friday at the BritWeek Film and TV Summit, King emphasized that the long-term relationships he's developed has been crucial to his success during the past 15 years.
As an example, he noted that backing Johnny Depp's passion to play Hunter S. Thompson in "The Rum Diary" led his GK Films to be part of Warner Bros.' "Dark Shadows." His work on "The Tourist" led Angelina Jolie to bring him her directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey." And Sacha Baron Cohen approached him on the set of "Hugo" with the pitch that he would play Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in a biopic.
And of course, the cornerstone of GK Films has been his fruitful relationship with "Hugo" helmer Martin Scorsese.
"Without him, I'm not sitting here," King said in the QandA with Variety editor-in-chief Tim Gray at Century City's InterContinental Hotel.
King spoke of his eclectic approach to making movies that intrigue him and his creative partners.
"It's not always about the financing, and it's not always about one movie," he said.
He's happy to stay out of the tentpole biz, though he did note that "Dark Shadows" is his first four quadrant project. (And he said there's already talk of a "Shadows" sequel.) "I'm not a comicbook guy," King said. "I appreciate what the studios do. They've kept me in business by not greenlighting the kind of movies I do."
King said he's found it very satisfying to back the vision of talented people, especially those looking to grow, as Ben Affleck did in helming "The Town" and Jolie did with "Blood and Honey."
"I get very excited about being able to give birth to someone's new career," he said.
Contact Cynthia Littleton at
cynthia.littleton@variety.com
