26.06.14 - Film Boutique

WORST CA SE SCE NA RIO
feature film, Germany 2014, 82 min., colour, HD, DCP
English subtitled, original languages: German, English, Polish
writer a nd d ir ector: Franz M uell er
produced by Film Boutique GbR, Katharina Jakobs und Markéta Polednová
in coproduction with 3 Müller Film
in cooperation with Geißendörfer Film- und Fernsehproduktion KG
funded by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
CONTENTS
LOGLINE........................................................................................................................ 3
SYNOPSIS ...................................................................................................................... 3
INTERVIEWS ................................................................................................................. 4
FRANZ MUELLER (DIRECTOR)................................................................................ 4
KATHARINA JAKOBS AND MARKÉTA POLEDNOVÁ (PRODUCTION)........ 6
CAST............................................................................................................................... 8
EVA LÖBAU .................................................................................................................. 9
SAMUEL FINZI ............................................................................................................ 10
LAURA TONKE .......................................................................................................... 11
CREW ........................................................................................................................... 12
FRANZ MÜLLER, DIRECTOR .................................................................................. 13
PRODUCTION COMPANY FILM BOUTIQUE..................................................... 15
CONTACT................................................................................................................... 16
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LOGLINE
A film team at a camping site in Danzig during the UEFA Cup. The film is cancelled just
before shooting starts. The director is hell-bent on making the film anyway. Then he
discovers that the costume-designer he split up with six weeks previously is pregnant.
SYNOPSIS
It could always be worse? Not for costume designer Olga (Eva Löbau) and director Georg
(Samuel Finzi). They've only just split up, and now the two of them are stuck together on a
camping site in Poland, making a doomed comedy about the UEFA Cup. The shoot
degenerates into a chaotic farce: Actors and plot change as frequently as a footballer's strip,
and every day another crew member abandons the sinking ship. The fact that Olga is
pregnant becomes almost irrelevant. While Georg hysterically attempts to fulfill his inner
artistic destiny and complete a film against all odds, Olga vigorously seeks her fortune in the
Poland beyond the camping site. Both endeavours are hopeless. In the end, Georg and Olga
are forced to confront the conclusion that a worst-case scenario is still better than no
scenario at all.
Something that begins as a film-within-a-film comedy develops into an intense study of a
relationship that is really something: director Franz Müller (DIE LIEBE DER KINDER /
WALLACE LINE) sends his colourful ensemble out into the turbulence of companionship,
and demonstrates by the by how unplannable love is. The German-Bulgarian theatre star
Samuel Finzi and Eva Löbau (DER WALD VOR LAUTER BÄUMEN / THE FOREST FOR
THE TREES) act out these parts together with other German and Polish professional and lay
actors in a manner that is disarming, unpretentious and painfully funny.
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INTERVIEWS
FRANZ MUELLER (DIRECTOR)
How did WORST CASE SCENARIO come about?
Franz Mueller: Our initial plan was to make a wild football comedy in Danzig during the
UEFA Cup. The script was an attempt to tell a story that was a cross between TALLADEGA
NIGHTS and THE MISFORTUNATES, two films I found brilliant. Jan Stahlberg and Peer
Klehmet, my two fellow writers, loved the idea of bringing a German-language film in this
register to the silverscreen. We also had funding from Filmstiftung NRW. But then, six weeks
before the UEFA Cup, the project fell apart. I returned to Cologne in low spirits and
informed producers Katharina Jakobs and Markéta Polednová of how things stood, and both
of them replied, we could make a documentary about how the film didn't come about. And
I said, if that's the way, let's make it a feature. In four days I wrote a new story. Its starting
point is based on experiences we had been through time and time again as a team, directors,
writers, actors, cameramen, costume designers, etc. during our time creating films. A filmwithin-a-film is something people in the business can best recount, as it is their daily bread.
The characters in WORST CASE SCENARIO are as they are. And as in real life, not
everyone develops within the course of a given period - in this case, that of the film.
How did you finance the film?
FM: The funds we'd received for our grand comedy had been returned. I called Hans
Geißendörfer, who'd saved my ass in the past. He said to me, how much do you need, then?
And I said to him, we have to get everyone down to Danzig, stay over at the camping site,
then there's the money for catering... let's say 25,000. And Hans just mumbled, then that's
what I'll give you. So that was cool. My cousin made a financial contribution and Katharina
and Markéta did likewise, so that after shooting we still had money to start editing. We later
received support from Filmbüro, which of course helped a lot, as it meant we could at least
pay the people in postproduction something. In total we had around €110,000 by way of
funds.
How did shooting go on WORST CASE SCENARIO?
FM: We filmed WORST CASE SCENARIO in Poland during the UEFA Cup in the summer
of 2012 using a very small team. It took us to Gdansk, Sopot, Gdyna, Jantar and Rewal. No
more than six weeks lay between the original idea and the first day of shooting. The
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individual scenes were developed through improvisation with the cast. Both the German and
the Polish cast consisted of a mix of experienced and amateur actors on camera for a first
time in WORST CASE SCENARIO. Some of the Polish actors spoke neither English nor
German. And equally, there were German actors who spoke neither English nor Polish. We
were often only able to communicate using mime. And nonetheless, or perhaps indeed
because of this, each of them brought his or her own tone and humour to the film.
Did the team really sleep on the camping site?
FM: Yes, it was tough. We'd made it sound all enticing, like, filming with friends on a seaside
camping site in the football capital of Danzig. And sure, we wanted to take a dip during the
day or barbecue in the evening. But it rained almost all the time and the temperature was
generally between eight and ten degrees. But that didn't prevent us from drinking the odd
Zyviec or Tyskie in the evening and shooting material for the second half of the story.
How were actors like Samuel Finzi cast?
FM: I met Samuel at the German Film Awards party. I was out with Jan and Peer trying to
save the old film. But it was already clear that nothing would become of it. I knew Samuel
from the casting calls for my second film, DIE LIEBE DER KINDER. I had decided against
casting an actor close to Marie Lou Sellem as her partner, for the film focuses on alienation
between the main characters. Samuel read the story two weeks later and said its tone
reminded him of Woody Allen. Flattered as I was, I made my choice.
What do you find attractive about the mixture of amateur and professional
actors?
FM: Probably it's because everyone finally ends up being him or herself. That's what I really
liked about lots of scenes. The people on screen have dropped their trousers, just as I have
mine. It's the only way comedy can function. Samuel Finzi is acting, but he's also himself. I like
that. The same goes for Eva, Laura, Mirek, Janek... and I think it's great.
Is anything about the film invented? Or is it all based on personal
experience?
FM: I fear that the whole of it genuinely took place. It's all real, that's the terrible thing about
comedy. The more personal you get and the more you reveal about yourself, the more
embarrassing it is and the more the audience can relate to it.
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What reaction do you think the film will receive?
FM: I'm keen to know how the film is received in Poland, particularly since lots of Polish
humour entered into it, since the Poles simply remained Polish whilst the Germans remained
German. And the Poles have a very different tradition in comedy. Our joint love of films like
"A Trip Down the River“ by Piwoski, the Russian comedy "The Irony of Fate“ or the "The
Fireman's Ball" by Milos Forman bound us together - even though we cannot compare our
own work to them and don't intend to. Nonetheless, the spirit of those films was there.
KATHARINA JAKOBS AND MARKÉTA POLEDNOVÁ (PRODUCTION)
How did you come to the project and was the pre-production?
Markéta Polednová: In May 2012 it was apparent that Franz' original film project wouldn't be
realised. Only a few weeks separated the inception of Worst-Case in a Cologne bar and the
first day of shooting. Preparation was short and intense, we knew that we would have to
improvise a great deal on location in Poland. After all, the UEFA Cup couldn't be postponed.
Above all it was a matter of steeling oneself and trusting one another. We had long days of
shooting, a lot of rain, and also a lot of fun. I wouldn't have missed a day in Poland for
anything.
Katharina Jakob: Of course it was apparent from the onset that we would have to do
without a "normal" financial phase so as to be able to start shooting so soon. This decision
then set the general tone for the production: this was much too short notice for a
coproduction with a television broadcaster and unsuitable for most kinds of film grants. We
made calculations for a no- or low-budget project, gathered our own funds, and, particularly
thanks to Franz' convincing concept, were able to win Hans Geißendörfer as a funding
partner. Before shooting we also made a funding application to the Filmstiftung NRW as a
low-budget project, but of course the result was uncertain. Which made its acceptance
months later all the more pleasing.
Which difficulties did you have to struggle with right from the onset of the
shoot?
MP: Worst Case Scenario is an extremely low-budget film And so you struggle with the
usual obstacles that such films face. The weather in Poland that summer really had our backs
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to the wall. During filming in the Tricity we camped on the site and filmed by and large
outside. It either drizzled, rained or a hail storm was raging from the first day to the last.
Sometimes we couldn't help but laugh, although we might just as well have cried. But we
stuck together. It was a dream film crew we were with, which goes for our actors, too.
KJ: Since the project started so abruptly, we had to ditch our ideas about professionalism
and perfectionism, which was very refreshing, but also often strenuous, since it required us
not to grow nervous if something went wrong or took longer than expected. The further
the project progressed, the greater our responsibility to the team and the greater our own
expectations became that this should be a "fully fledged" feature film.
Did you frequently see your own experience as film creators reflected in the
scenes?
MP: In our story the producer ditches the whole film just before shooting. She says a line
that nearly crossed my lips a few times: "What are you telling me, what is your story?" I'm
glad I'll never say it again after this film without irony.
KJ: For me, over and above the film-within-a-film thing, there is also the identification with
the relationship conflicts that plague Olga and Georg. It's a matter of the right scheme of life,
family planning, the loss of a binding love.
What does your own WORST CASE SCENARIO look like?
MP: Like our protagonist Georg, it's losing focus and overview of what really counts in life by
"wanting too much."
KJ: Yes, that terrifying dependence on professional success, without which Georg feels he
cannot realise his desires. Even if we're right in the middle of it. Otherwise we wouldn't do
this to ourselves as film producers. All of us are "a bit Georg.“ I can laugh about the film, but
when Georg says to a departing soundman "everyone is replaceable" it's an example of how
easily cluelessness and disappointment can turn into malice.
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CAST
Actor
character
Eva Löbau
Samuel Finzi
Laura Tonke
Janek Bielawski
Harald Kempe
Mirek Balonis
Jakub Ehrlich
Justyna Bartoszewicz
Maciej Sykala
Vivien Mahler
Małgorzata Hrynaszkiewicz
Mariola Kurnicka
Jacek Lasok
Florian Mischa Böder
Fabian Miebach
OLGA (costume designer)
GEORG (director)
MEIKE (main actress)
LUKASZ (assistant director)
JÜRGEN (main actor)
MIREK (1. AD)
KUBA (camera assistant)
JUSTYNA (actress)
TADEUSZ (actor)
INGRID (producer)
MAŁGOSIA (Łukasz’ mother)
KATARZYNA ( Łukasz’ sister)
JACEK ( Łukasz’ brother in law)
CARSTEN (soccer fan)
FABIAN (soccer fan)
et al.
page 8 of 16
EVA LÖBAU
AW AR DS:
DER WALD VOR LAUTER BÄUMEN /
THE FOREST FOR THE TREES
Newport International Filmfestival "Best Actress" (2005)
Buenos Aires 7.Filmfestival Internacional de Cine Independiente
"Best Actress" (2005)
Nominated for Ulrich Wildgruber-Preis (2002)
2005 Sundance Film Festival’s Jury Prize
ICH WERDE DICH AUF HÄNDEN TRAGEN Festival
International de Cine de Gijon " Best Actress " (2001)
Filmography – movie selection
2014
2013
SIN & ILLY, Feature, Director: Maria Hengge
COMING IN, Feature, Director: Marco Kreuzpaintner
DER WAGNER CLAN, ZDF Feature, Director: Christiane Batlhasar
MÜTTER MAFIA, ZDF, Feature, Director: Tomy Wiegand
2012 BLITZ BLANK, ARD/SWR, Director: Ingo Rasper
2011 DER FREMDE FOTOGRAF UND DIE EINSAMKEIT, Feature, Director: Willy Hans und Jan Eichberg
MÜNCHEN 7, ARD/BR, Director: Franz Xaver Bogner
2011-2012
LERCHENBERG, ZDF, Director: Felix Binder
2010 UNKNOWN WHITE MALE, Feature, Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
DOCTOR'S DIARY, RTL, Director: Franziska Meyer Price
2009 MEIN LEBEN IM OFF, Feature, Director: Oliver Haffner
IM ALTER VON ELLEN, Feature, Director: Pia Marais
DER ALBANER, Feature, Director: Johannes Naber
2008 INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, Feature, Director: Quentin Tarantino
LILA LILA, Feature, Director: Alain Gsponer
DAS GLÜCK IST EINE ERNSTE SACHE, NDR, Director: Hermine Huntgeburth
TATORT- DER GLÜCKLICHE TOD, ARD, Director: Aelrun Goette
2007 DIE HELDEN AUS DER NACHBARSCHAFT, Feature, Director: Jovan Arsenic
ANONYMA, Feature, Director: Max Färberböck
MEINE SCHÖNE BESCHERUNG, Feature, Director: Vanessa Jopp
TATORT- ERNTEDANK, ARD, Director: Angelina Maccarone
2006 REINE GESCHMACKSSACHE, Feature, Director: Ingo Rasper
2005 GEFANGENE, Feature, Director: Iain Dilthey
KNALLHART, Feature, Director: Detlev Buck
HOTEL VERY WELCOME, Feature, Director: Sonja Heiss
2004 REQUIEM, Feature, Director: Hans-Christian Schmid
2003 DER WALD VOR LAUTER BÄUMEN, Feature, Director: Maren Ade
2001 DAS VERLANGEN, Feature, Director: Iain Dilthey, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
2000 ICH WERDE DICH AUF HÄNDEN TRAGEN, Feature, Director: Iain Dilthey
agency: Above The Line, Berlin, www.abovetheline.de
page 9 of 16
SAMUEL FINZI
Awards:
2011 Bambi, Best National Film for “Männerherzen und
die ganz ganz große Liebe”
2011 Theater Award Berlin 2011, Stiftung Preußische
Seehandlung
2001 Golden Chest, Best male actor, International
Television Festival Plovdiv, Bulgarien
1996 Förderpreis der Stadt Düsseldorf für darstellende
Kunst
1995 Kritikerauszeichnung (critic`s award), Bester
Darsteller des Jahres Nordrhein-Westfalens
1994 13. Theatertreffen NRW, Preis für den besten
Nachwuchsdarstelller (best male newcomer)
1993 Kritikerauszeichnung, Bester Nachwuchsdarsteller
Nordrhein-Westfalens (best newcomer)
Filmography – movie selection
2014
2013
2012
2012
2011
2010
2004
2002
2000
1999
1997
1994
1990
Die Erfindung der Liebe, Lola Randl. NFP
Aschenbrödel und der gestiefelte Kater, Torsten Künstler, Märchenfilm GmbH
Oktober/ November, Götz Spielmann
Kokowääh 2, Til Schweiger, Warner Bros.
König Ludwig II, Peter Sehr, Warner Bros.
Männerherzen und die ganz ganz große Liebe, Simon Verhoeven Warner
Bros.
Kokowääh, Til Schweiger, Warner Bros.
Headshots, Lawrence Tooley
Das Vaterspiel, Michael Glawogger, Tatfilm
Die Besucherin, Lola Randl, Filmlichter
Der Totenwächter, Ilian Simeonov
Weltverbesserungsmaßnahmen, Jörn Hintzer & Jakob Hüfner, Concorde
Verleih
Ein ganz gewöhnlicher Jude, Oliver Hirschbiegel, Multimedia
Das Wunder von Bern, Sönke Wortmann, Senator
Jetzt oder Nie - Zeit ist Geld, Lars Büchel, Senator
Abschied, Jan Schütte, Cinepool
Sofia - Sick of it all, short, Nils Willbrandt, Hamburger Filmwerkstatt
Die verbotene Frucht Krassimir Krumov, Bulgaria
Das Lager, Georgi Duelgerov, Bulgaria
Press agent:
Agency:
Jozo Juric, www.jozopr.com
die agenten GmbH, www.die-agenten.de
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
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LAURA TONKE
Awards:
2004 Film Award of the city of Hof
2003 Nomination German Film Award
„Best Female Supporting Role" in Baader
2003 Nomination German Film Award
"Best Female Supporting Role" in Pigs Will Fly
2000 Golden Camera "Best Newcomer"
Filmography – movie selection
2013
2010
2008
2005
2003
2002
2001
2001
1998
1997
1996
1991
HEDI SCHNEIDER STECKT FEST, Director: Sonja Heiss, Komplizen Film
Eine flexible Frau, Produktion: turanskyj & ahlrichs GbR, Director: Tatjana
Turanskyj
Madly in Love, Production: topic features /Cameo Film Cologne, Director:
Anna Luif
Falscher Bekenner, Production: Heimat Film, Director: Christoph Hochhäusler
FARLAND, Production: Zero Film, Director: Michael Klier
JUNIMOND, Director: Hanno Hackfort
BAADER, Production: 72film GmbH, Director: Christopher Roth
HERZ, Production: X-Filme, Director: Horst Sczerba
GANGSTER, Production: Josefine Filmproduktion, Director: Volker Einrauch
JUST MARRIED, Production: Moana Film, Director: Rudolf Thome
WINTERSCHLÄFER, Production: X-Filme, Director: Tom Tykwer
OSTKREUZ, Production: Michael Klier Film, Director: Michael Klier
Agency: Heppeler, www.agentur-heppeler.de
page 11 of 16
CREW
writer and director:
DOP:
editors:
camera assistants:
sound:
costume designer:
set designers:
make-up artist:
assistant director & casting
additional assistant directors
production assistant:
composer:
mix:
producers:
production company:
co-producers:
Franz Müller
Kawe Vakil
Andreas Menn, Stefan Stabenow, Oliver Held
Janusz Kojro, Fabian Miebach,
Michał Bartoszewicz, Janusz Wiśniewski
Florian Mischa Böder
Elena Wegner
Susanne Ellinghaus, Jutta Riedel
Mariola Smolinska
Filip Jacobson
Angelika Herta, Stefan Kriekhaus
Mirek Balonis, Darko Petkovic
Tobias Ellenberg
Adrian Baumeister
Katharina Jakobs und Markéta Polednová
Film Boutique GbR
Franz Müller, Moritz Müller
In cooperation with: Geißendörfer Film- und Fernsehproduktion KG
Funded by: Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
Supported by: ŠKODA Germany
page 12 of 16
FRANZ MÜLLER, DIRECTOR
1965
born in Mosbach/Odenwald, grown up in Karlsruhe
1988- 94
studied Fine Arts at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Gerhard Richter
(Meisterschüler)
1993- 96
studied cybernetics at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Oswald Wiener
since 1998
cinema programmer for Filmclub 813 in Cologne
1999- 02
studied as post graduate at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne with
Michael Lentz and Wolfgang Becker
since 2005
Editor of “Revolver” film magazine
2006
Scholarship „Villa Aurora“ in Los Angeles
since 2012
Lecturer for film directing at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne
2014
lives and works in Cologne and Berlin
F I L M S - SELECTION
2014 Worst Case Scenario (script/director/co-producer)
feature film, 82 min., Film Boutique / 3 Müller Film
2013 ORDINARY SEAMEN II (script/director/producer)
Short, 29 min., short film festivals Hamburg, Köln etc.
2010 24 H MARRAKESH, feature film, episode “Matelots d’eau douce”, 17/90 min.
(script/director), production: Rif-Film, premiered at Hofer Filmtage 2010, Filmfest Schwerin,
Film Festival Cork u.a.
2009 DIE LIEBE DER KINDER (WALLACE LINE), feature film, 85 min. (script/director),
2pilots Filmproduktion/WDR, premiered at Filmfest München, national und inter-national
festival screenings, nominated for German independence award in Olden-burg, Lola
prenominated for best director, Goldener Biber for best feature film at Filmfestspiele
Biberach, Fliegender Ochse for best feature film at Filmfest Schwerin.
2003 SCIENCE FICTION, feature film, 113 min. (script/director/editor/producer), premiered at Berlinale 2003, international festivals, Babelsberger Medienpreis for best student
feature film 2003
page 13 of 16
2002 FREITAGNACHT, feature film, episode “Father & Son”, 12/72 min. (script/director),
coproduction KHM/WDR, Film School Award in gold at Filmfest München 2002,
international festival screenings.
1998 MADONNA IST LÖWE, short, 19 min. (script/director/producer), audience award at
Kurzfilmfestival Bremen, audience award at Kurzfilmfestival Hannover, in collaboration with
Tom Uhlenbruck
in postproduction
MILLIARDEN JAHRE VOR DEM WELTUNTERGANG (PARK VIEW)
(script/director/production)
Experimental film, 43 min., Production: Datenstrudel GbR, Franz Müller
HAPPY HOUR (script/director)
Feature film, script funding FFA
Production: Gringo Films/Film Boutique/Ripple World Pictures, Dublin/WDR/arte
in production development
DU BIST NICHT GENUG LEUTE! (YOU ARE NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE!)
(script/director)
Feature film, script funding BKM
Production: Heimatfilm Cologne
shooting: 2015
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PRODUCTION COMPANY FILM BOUTIQUE
Katharina Jakobs and Markéta Polednová, two Production graduates of the BadenWürttemberg Film Academy Baden-Württemberg Film Academy with years of experience in
their field, founded Film Boutique GbR in Cologne in January 2007. Their business focuses on
the creation of documentary and feature films for cinema and television.
FILM BOUTIQUE’s vision is that of creating powerful films of an individual character.
Film Boutique received company-foundation subsidies from North Rhine-Westphalia’s
Audio-visual foundation centre and also benefited from the centre’s encompassing range of
seminars and advisory tutorials.
current projects 2014:
in post production: Happy Hour, feature film, script and director Franz Müller,
in coproduction with Gringo Films GmbH Cologne and Ripple World Pictures Dublin
in production: United Interests, animation short, script and director Tim Weimann
in devolopment: The Land, documentary, script and director: Alakbar Aliyev, Azerbaijan
in coproduction with Liina Paakspuu, Tallinn, Estonia
KATH ARI NA JAK OBS
I studied film prodcution at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy and
completed my studies in 2005, having specialised in International & Creative
Producing.
From 2005 -2006 I was employed as a junior producer at Coin Film, production
company in Cologne. Besides developing and producing our projects with Film
Boutique I work freelance for feature films and documentaries.
Currently I also work as a line producer for the feature documentary films
„Cahier africain“ by Heidi Specogna about the Central African Republic and
„The Human Touch“ by Thomas Riedelsheimer about the artist Andy
Goldsworthy.
MARK ÉTA PO LE D NO VÁ
I studied Economics at Nürtingen University, Germany (1999-2001) and Film
Producing (International & Creative Producing, 2001-2005) at the BadenWürttemberg Film Academy. 2000-2005 I worked for the Filmbüro in Stuttgart
as a member of the editorial department for FMX Conference on Animation,
Effects, Games, Stuttgart, among others. 2005- 2007 as junior producer at
Colonia Media, Cologne. 2007-2008 as a tv-editor at WDRmg for ARD’s
German public broadcasting. In 2007 I founded Film Boutique with Katharina
Jakobs. Postgraduate studies: 2008-2009, Munich`s DREHBUCHWERKSTATT,
script writing programme as scholarship holder.
Currently I also work as a line producer for the feature film „90 Minute War“
by Eyal Halfon and as exectutive producer for in Germany and Austria shoot
KONTAKT
documentary
about Peter Ronnefeld by Christian Reichard.
page 15 of 16
Contact
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Film Boutique
Katharina Jakobs and Markéta Polednová
postal & billing address::
Film Boutique GbR
Katharina Jakobs, Markéta Polednová
Werderstrasse 26
50672 Cologne
Germany
tel: +49 177 59 02 866 (Katharina Jakobs)
tel: +49 177 76 50 567 (Markéta Polednová)
www.filmboutique.de
[email protected]
www.worstcasescenario.eu
Press server: www.filmboutique.de/presse/worst-case-scenario/
DIRECTOR
Franz Müller
tel.: +49 (0) 178 493 12 09
[email protected]
www.keinsciencefiction.de
www.dieliebederkinder.de
www.revolver-film.de
www.filmclub813.de
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