The Wave press book

CONSTANTIN FILM
presents
a Christian Becker production
a RAT PACK FILMPRODUKTION production
co-produced by Constantin Film Produktion, Medienfonds GFP I KG & B.A. Produktion
A film by Dennis Gansel
Cast
Jürgen Vogel
Frederick Lau
Max Riemelt
Jennifer Ulrich
Christiane Paul
Based upon a Short Story by William Ron Jones
and “The Wave” Teleplay by Johnny Dawkins & Ron Birnbach
LOGLINE
A high school teacher's unusual experiment to show his students what life is like
under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when the movement takes on a life
of its own.
SYNOPSIS
Germany today. During project week, high school teacher Rainer Wenger (Jürgen
Vogel) comes up with an experiment in order to explain to his students how
totalitarian governments work. A role-playing game with tragic results begins.
Within a few days, what began with harmless notions like discipline and community
builds into a real movement: THE WAVE. By the third day, the students start
ostracizing and threatening others.
When the conflict finally erupts into violence at an intramural water polo game, the
teacher decides to break off the experiment. But it's too late. THE WAVE is out of
control...
PRESS NOTES
Morton Rhue's THE WAVE has been a classic youth novel for over 20 years, and is
required reading material in many German schools. A work of fiction, but one based
in fact: The original experiment was conducted by history teacher Ron Jones at
Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, CA in 1967. Jones served as consultant to the
current production.
Together with top German producer Christian Becker ("Hui Buh – The Goofy Ghost"),
award winning German director Dennis Gansel (German Film Prize and Hamptons
Int'l Audience Award for "Before the Fall") manages to update this based-on-a-truestory in a contemporary and credible way. The experiment's inventor, Ron Jones,
whose short story served as the basis for the screenplay, joined in to help make this
edgy project a reality.
Dennis Gansel developed the gripping story together with his friend and fellow
director Peter Thorwarth ("Bang Boom Bang", "If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer").
They made a point of setting the action in modern-day Germany, in a normal school
in a regular town.
Shooting for THE WAVE took place in July and August of 2007 in and around Berlin.
The film was supported by the Berlin-Brandenburg Media Board, as well as the
Federal Film Board - FFA and DFFF.
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The Experiment
In Fall of 1967, a history teacher at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, CA, named
Ron Jones conducted an experiment in his class. During a lesson on the subject of
National Socialism, one of his students asked a question the teacher couldn't answer:
"How could the German populace claim ignorance of the slaughter of the Jewish
people? How could the townspeople, railroad conductors, teachers, doctors, claim
they knew nothing about the concentration camps and human carnage? How can
people who were neighbors and maybe even friends of the Jewish citizen say they
weren't there when it happened?"
On the spur of the moment, he decided to conduct a classroom experiment. He
instituted a regimen of strict discipline in his class, restricting their freedom and
forming them into a unit. The name of the movement was The Third Wave. Much to
the teacher's astonishment, the students reacted enthusiastically to the obedience he
demanded of them. The experiment, which was originally intended to last only a day,
soon spread to the whole school. Dissenters were ostracized, members began
spying on each other, and students who refused to join up were beaten up on. By
day five, Ron Jones was forced to call off the experiment.
The Phenomenon of "Extreme Obedience"
Even today, the phenomenon of extreme obedience to authority such as during the
Third Reich is not fully understood scientifically. A number of well-known experiments
in the area of social psychology, however, have examined the behavior of individuals
in a group situation and yielded disturbing results.
Among the most famous is the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, which examined
human behavior under conditions of incarceration. The Milgram Experiment
conducted in 1962 by psychologist Stanley Milgram studied the willingness of regular
people to follow instructions from authority figures that go against their own
conscience and convictions.
Philip Zimbardo, who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment, has recently drawn
parallels between his findings and the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
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PRODUCTION NOTES
"The subject didn't let go of me. I always wondered, Could that kind of thing still happen to us?
In modern-day Germany, which is so liberal and enlightened, where we spend so much time
talking about Nazism and the Third Reich? Would we still fall for it? That was a question I
found so fascinating I wanted to look into it."
Dennis Gansel
The idea of updating THE WAVE as a theatrical feature set in Germany arose during a dinner among
friends. Director Dennis Gansel mentioned that he found the events that took place at Cubberley High
in Palo Alto in 1967 so fascinating he would like to adapt them for the big screen. "We never
mentioned it again," recalls producer Christian Becker, "but I never forgot it. So I started looking in to
obtaining the rights. At first I didn't even tell Dennis, because I didn't want him to be disappointed if it
didn't work out."
The search led him clear across the world, from the German and U.S. publisher to the author of the
classic youth novel THE WAVE, Morton Rhue, to Hollywood production companies and various
agents. Finally, Becker and his Rat Pack production co. wound up at Sony, from whom he was able to
obtain the rights with the help of top German producer Martin Moszkowicz of Constantin Film
(“Resident Evil:Extinction, “The Perfume – The Story of a Murderer”, "The Downfall", “Nowhere in
Africa”). Ron Jones, the inventor of the original experiment, was impressed by the German producer's
resolve: "Christian is amazing. I mean, who would spend two years of his time and energy pursuing a
dream? That's the kind of spunk we need! Countless American producers have wanted to do this story
for years, and didn't get the rights... And so it takes people like Dennis Gansel and Peter Thorwarth to
make this dream come true."
For Dennis Gansel and his old film school buddy Peter Thorwarth, whom he brought on board to help
write the script, writing the screenplay became a trip back in time to their own high school days in
Hanover and Unna, Germany. "We're trying to describe real-life characters. A Karo, a Jens or a
Dennis – those are characters that are very close to Peter Thorwarth or myself, or people we went to
school with. Our aim was not to create cookie-cutter characters, but people who really exist." They
received confirmation that they were on the right track from the man who was there: When Ron Jones
visited the set in Summer of 2007 in Germany, he felt himself transported back to the year 1967:
"Being here on the set and watching the actors is like watching ghosts from my past."
The filmmakers quickly agreed to set the story in a fictional town. Says Rat Pack producer Nina Maag:
"We deliberately located the action in a fairly wholesome and intact environment, where people live
comfortably and kids can grow up in an environment that is comparatively sheltered for our day and
age."
The screenwriters decided against beginning the experiment with an outright discussion on the origins
of Nazism, as it did in 1967 in Palo Alto. "The subject of Autocracy is basically just a subcategory of
despotism," says Dennis Gansel. "Of course it eventually leads to a discussion of fascism. But a
teacher who starts right out saying, 'Today we'll be discussing fascism' is already giving away a lot.
Calling it Autocracy sounds much more harmless to begin with, even if the social mechanisms are
basically the same." Naturally, the screenwriters knew that National Socialism is a large and important
topic in German schools. So they used that in the story: "When I went to school, the Nazis and the
Third Reich were constantly coming up. In History, Political Science, Religion, Literature and even
Biology. At some point, you get sick of it and you've heard enough. That can lead to a certain boredom
or even arrogance – 'We get it already, it won't happen again' – and that's where I see the danger,"
says Peter Thorwarth.
It was clear to all involved that the story depended on the believability of the main character. The two
filmmakers talked about who they would have liked to have as a teacher in high school – and came up
with German star Jürgen Vogel, who has made an impressive career of playing real-life, blue-collar,
no-bullshit characters. When he signalized he'd do it, the role was tailored to fit him.
"We said it needs to be a very open and liberal teacher, whom students like and trust. Someone who
winds up getting sucked into his own experiment. Ultimately the character became an aging rock and
roller, just like Ron Jones, by the way. He refers to himself as an anarchist, which we didn't know
going in," says Nina Maag. "Ron actually was a very liberal kind of teacher back then, and that's how
we wrote our teacher: Someone who comes from a working class background, not some uptight
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headmaster type. Someone who coaches athletics, who banters easily with the kids and is on a firstname basis with them. Students like his classes and voluntarily sign up for a difficult topic because
he's teaching it."
Christiane Paul was the perfect choice for his wife, "Anke Wenger": A character written to be selfassured and dynamic, but at the same time very warm and outgoing. When Paul got pregnant, the
child was simply written into the script.
Casting the students was a long process. The filmmakers spent almost a year casting young actors
until their class was complete. Some of the young male actors had to be able to give a credible
performance playing water polo, as well. "I was looking for highly charismatic actors who could fill out
their roles," says Dennis Gansel.
Shooting the water polo scenes turned out to be one of the greatest challenges of the shoot.
Temperatures in summer in the indoor pool in Berlin-Reinickendorf easily climbed over 100 degrees.
Add to that humidity of 80%, and the water polo games became a real workout for the entire cast and
crew.
The punishing heat wave was followed by school angst for several cast and crew members: The lion's
share of shooting took place in a real high school, which awakened a lot of memories for some: "It was
very weird being in school all the time. I really felt I was back in class!" Cristina Do Rego recalls. Max
Riemelt felt the same way: "Definitely! As soon as I sat down in the classroom, I started getting drowsy
again. You totally fall back into your old rut. I started doodling again right away. That's what I always
used to do. And the poor ventilation took care of the rest."
Perfect, thinks director Dennis Gansel: "I can still remember vividly what it was like to sit in school
when you're 17, how it was with the teachers and how it was to go on class trips. Who you had a crush
on and who you were feuding with, and the friendships... Rarely have I lived life as intensely as in High
School. Christian, Peter and I wanted to recapture that feeling. The more real and believable, the
better. That's what we wanted to get up there on screen."
Dennis Gansel and his cinematographer Torsten Breuer tried to visually capture the feeling of being
part of the class, part of the experiment. "I felt like I was in the classroom myself, as if I was a part of it
rather than watching the whole thing from the outside," is how Ron Jones described his reaction after
watching the first excerpts of the film.
Searching for the right location, the filmmakers and set designer Knut Loewe scouted dozens of
schools in and around Berlin. They were looking for a modern, appealing high school. They finally
found what they were looking for outside of Berlin in Dallgow-Döberitz in the state of Brandenburg,
where the Marie Curie Gymnasium turned out to be the perfect location for THE WAVE. Many of the
school's students were thrilled to spend their summer in a kind of voluntary summer school as extras
for the film. For visitors to the set, the actors and the extras soon blended into an indistinguishable
"sea of students." A sure sign for Nina Maag that costume designer Ivana Milos was the right pick:
"We didn't want to make one of those movies where the 17-year-olds look like grown-ups imagine they
do. We wanted them to look they way kids today really dress." To get that effect, they visited
numerous high schools beforehand as fashion scouts.
The last scene was shot after 38 days of filming, from July to August of 2007. "The shoot went
incredibly well – even though the film was a fairly big production, and we spent so much effort on
casting and location scouting, and put so much thought into it," Christian Becker concludes. "We had a
great time. The team was terrific, it was a lot of fun. We were like a big family. I think you can see from
the finished film that it was fun to make and the result is very organic and natural – in front of the
camera, and behind it. That makes the story seem very realistic."
5
INTERVIEWS
Interview with Dennis Gansel (Screenwriter and Director)
After making BEFORE THE FALL, you return to the subject of Nazi Germany in THE WAVE. Is it a
coincidence or your personal hobby horse?
I have always been very interested in this subject! The question of whether fascism could happen again, how the
fascist system works, how people can be led astray, holds a lot of fascination for me. I guess it has to do with my
own family history. My grandfather was an officer during the Third Reich, a fact which my father and both my
uncles had a lot of problems with. As a young man I often asked myself how I would have behaved in that
situation. In BEFORE THE FALL, I dealt with the question, "How was it back then? How did the Nazis lead people
astray?" In THE WAVE, the question is "How could we be led astray today? How could fascism work? Would it be
possible today? Could that kind of thing happen again, at a normal German school, here and now?"
What was it about the experiment THE THIRD WAVE that fascinated you so much you wanted to make a
movie about it?
I vividly recall the first time I read the novel THE WAVE. The first question you ask yourself when reading it, of
course, is "What would I have done? Would I have gone along with it?" Of course you tell yourself, well, that was
a long time ago, in the 1960s in the USA, maybe that was an issue then. But nowadays in Germany, no way. But I
think there's more to it than that. That was the starting point for us to say, let's have it take place in modern-day
Germany, and examine the question "Could it happen again?"
How did you research the story?
Well, we had Ron Jones' original notes, or course. So we knew fairly well how the experiment went. But once we
had decided to relocate the story to present-day Germany, that meant reimagining it as a German story, in a
specifically German setting. Since we both grew up in similar environments, we said, let's have it take place at the
kind of school we went to. There are characters in the movie that I went to school with, that Peter Thorwarth went
to school with. There are teachers that we would have liked to have, and ones we actually did have. Retaining
that real-world angle was a big help. Then we developed the story based on those characters. The way we
imagined them, what they would do in certain situations, so things would develop naturally from there.
Would you say the success of the experiment depends on the popularity and acceptance of the teacher?
Of course it helps to have a highly charismatic personality as the teacher. Someone who's a real leader, with real
leadership qualities, who can persuade people, whom the students admire. I believe that the fascist system he
constructs is so nefarious psychologically that it can happen again anywhere and any time. Give people who
didn't have any say before their own little area of responsibility, all of a sudden. Form a community, which
suddenly gives the student body a whole new quality. Let the great differences that used to divide the student
body be eliminated, giving everyone the chance to distinguish him- or herself. I think that's something that would
work anywhere. Especially in something like a school system. And anyone who goes to high school knows what
it's like: The popular kids, the social leaders, are at the top of the pecking order. And a lot of students who may be
more shy or that you don't notice at first glance just don't get a shot. I'm convinced that if you took a system like
that and stood it on its head over night – that that would definitely work again.
Our modern society is defined by individualism. Is the need to stick out from the crowd what makes an
experiment like THE WAVE possible?
When I was young, I always wished I had something I could identify with. I envied my parents for the '60s student
movement, who had some sort of common goal, trying to really change the world and make a difference. I grew
up in the '80s and '90s, when there were a thousand political movements and groups, but no real direction.
Nothing you could really get excited about. That's something I really missed. I think kids today feel the same way.
I mean, we can't just define ourselves solely through music and clothing. I think people have a deep need for
substance, a need which is growing ever stronger. The trend towards individualism and a complete atomization of
society into tiny groups can't go on forever. At some point there will be a huge vacuum. At then the danger is that
some Ism will pop up to try and fill that void.
Ron Jones is thrilled with THE WAVE. What does that mean to you?
Of course that means a great deal to us. For us, he's the staring point, the inventor of the original experiment.
Most of the story is based on his experiences. It was almost creepy in some ways. We decided to have Rainer
(Jürgen Vogel) and his wife (Christiane Paul) live on a house boat, to have his wife be a teacher, too, and have
them get into conflict. And when I showed Ron Jones the first footage in the editing room, he said: "That's
amazing. I lived in a tree house and I had this and this conversation with my wife, which is just like the one in the
film!" We had no way of knowing that, we just wrote those scenes intuitively. Writing the script, we came up with
scenes which just happened to correspond with what really happened to Ron Jones in the late '60s. That was
amazing for us, of course, because, even though we are making a fictional film, we are always trying to be as
realistic and believable as possible in the characters, in what goes on psychologically. So to have Ron Jones say
he believes the story 100 percent is the greatest praise we could hope for.
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Interview with Christian Becker (Producer)
THE WAVE is a joint project among friends: Dennis Gansel directed, and wrote the screenplay
with Peter Thorwarth. You produced it with your company Rat Pack and Nina Maag also
producing. You all went to film school together. How did this school reunion come about?
Dennis and I came up with the idea for THE WAVE a few years ago. I spent a long time trying to track
down the rights to the story, all over the world. Meanwhile, Dennis delved into the subject matter. We
took Peter Thorwarth on board to get another perspective on things. All three of us went to Munich
Film School. I produced "Bang Boom Bang," "If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer" and "Goldene
Zeiten" with Peter, and "The Phantom" with Dennis, together with Nina Maag as Producer. The beauty
of it was that we're all friends and that's how I always imagined my company. We're not called Rat
Pack for nothing: We're all friends working together, partying together and growing together. Peter
Thorwarth is proud to have Dennis making this film and to have worked on the script with Dennis.
Peter is from the Ruhr coal and steel region, his themes are usually more blue-collar, working-class
stuff. Action and comedy. Dennis does the big, serious films. There's always a personal side and a
professional angle. And it's great to see how that can gel, without personal ego problems.
Ron Jones never identified with Morton Rhue's novel. What was it that convinced him of your
approach?
We tell the story from multiple perspectives. That's a much more modern, contemporary approach.
That's what Ron Jones liked the most. He said he's glad to see Germans making this movie, who have
such historical responsibility and even guilt. He says he's relieved that Hollywood didn't get the movie
rights.
The experiment took place in 1967 at Cubberley High in Palo Alto. Why did you decide to set
the action in Germany?
We always wanted to locate the film in Germany, to speak to young people in modern Germany. We
wanted them to be able to relate to it. To give them the feeling, "Hey, I recognize that, that's just like
me, I know guys like that." If the story had taken place in the past, or in the United States, then it
wouldn't have been as immediate and believable. Another crucial point is that we never show where
the action is taking place. We don't appeal to any German regional clichés – "Berlin is a social powder
keg anyway" or, had we chosen Bavaria, "They're all redneck hicks down there." Every city, every
state has its own prejudices associated with it, that's the reason THE WAVE takes place nowhere in
particular. I wanted very much to make sure the story speaks to everyone. So everyone who goes to
see it has that feeling, "Jeez, that could happen to me, too."
You assembled a remarkable line-up of young actors to perform alongside the old pros Jürgen
Vogel and Christiane Paul. How would you characterize the young cast?
We spent an incredibly long time casting out in the field. We went though all the agencies and held
innumerable casting calls. The result was an extraordinary cast - the cream of the crop of young
German acting talent. Everyone who's seen it says "It's all so realistic, just like where I went to school."
That's what makes this film so unique. We took a lot of time and Dennis did everything possible to find
the perfect cast. I think our actors are not just incredibly hip, but they also fit their roles perfectly. It's
just a pleasure to watch them!
What can you tell us about the score?
In addition to the current pop and rock tunes, we have an ideal score: Very quiet and subtle, and then
fast and powerful. What Heiko Maile did is really amazing. Heiko Maile was a member of German
synth pop band Camouflage. I was a big fan of Camouflage when I was young, from "Great
Commandment" to "Love Is A Shield." The music he composed for us adds a whole new level to the
story. It's modern, it's energetic, but it also has a lot of classic film score elements. Heiko, Dennis and I
had a great time working together.
THE WAVE is being screened in competition at Sundance in January. Is that a dream come
true for you?
You bet! We wanted so much to take the film to Sundance, and still it was a huge surprise for us to be
accepted. Only 16 films out of 620 were accepted. The United States is still the most important movie
market for filmmakers, and Sundance is one of the top A-list festivals, where all eyes are on you.
Since the announcement, we've been getting calls from all over the world. We never stopped believing
in this extraordinary film. So it's very rewarding to see that other people do, as well.
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Interview with Ron Jones (Teacher and Inventor of the Experiment)
What is it like for you being on the set of THE WAVE?
One of the stunning feelings of being here on set right now and watching a group of students
is seeing ghosts. I am seeing the actual students, so I am back in 1967 and there is Doug
fooling around, and there is the class comedian Steve, these two women sitting upfront, Aline
Lavin and Wendy, who are so bright and wonderful, and there is Norman sitting in the back
row with his gold tooth smile, and Jerry. I am seeing this strange reminder of that similar
class.
What was your reaction to the first footage?
Well, the first observation of seeing the rushes was that the photography is like being in the
classroom instead of observing it from a distance, I am a part of it. And then there is the
universal quality of seeing all the people that seemed familiar to me and I understand quite
well. But the film was doing something else that I didn’t understand, I have never written
about it, but for instance there is a dynamics between the younger teachers and the older
teachers. There are more ways of performing the teaching and more new ways, and that
existed in the school where I was teaching and it probably exists in every school, that’s called
The Wave in your film.
And another quality in the movie that I have never written about is the dynamics between a
man and a woman that are married for a long time. My wife and I have been together 43
years and the little subtle signs we send each other and the little breaking mechanisms, you
know, hey, you are going to far or stop, you are beginning to hurt, that mechanism happened
in the Wave. My wife basically said, you have gone to far, it's dangerous to you and the
people around you and that’s captured in this version of The Wave. So it's beautifully unique,
it’s the heart speaking, its not the mind telling you a story, it’s the glory of this wonderful
children that are like flowers in our lives and what happens when they come into your lives
and what happens when a teacher goes a little bit too far and becomes a dictator.
What do you think of what happened, looking back? Are you grateful for the
experience?
Well, I would never do it again. Its something you would never do, put children in danger.
Grateful? I stumbled upon a bit of human nature in our psyche that might be useful.
Therefore I am grateful to that effect and that a movie might be made and people might talk
about it and study it. You know, German culture is unique. You are the only ones I know that
are really concerned about violence. You study it, because you don’t want to repeat it.
Whereas in my culture things have happened, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, our guilt is just thrown
away, we are not concerned. We are not studying racism, we are not studying violence. You
are unique. I don’t know anyone else that is so concerned. But once again, you are looking at
The Wave trying to understand why do we give up our freedom for the thought of being
better than anyone else. That’s a lesson that we all need to see and hear and talk about.
What were your feelings and emotions during the experiment?
The experiment took place in one way, I discovered how to teach really well, because people
were learning rapidly. I kept going home to my wife saying Diana, they are really learning,
this is crazy, they used to have little stations when we used to have freedom in the classroom
and now they are rigid, they answer every question and everyone seems to be helping
everyone else, I have stumbled across this great way of teaching. Of course the
consequence was damaging to all. So my emotions were like a rollercoaster.
How did your wife react to the experiment?
My wife was teaching at that school at the same time, at the elementary school level. And we
were young teachers, both of us full of ideas and energy. She was aware of what’s going on
and she was the one that fortunately, maybe it's women that will save our destiny in life,
because she was the one that said this is not good. It's not good for you, because you don’t
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know where you going and you are hurting other people and this is not what you believe, this
is not democracy. This is dangerous. So she was the one that tilted me back in some form of
reality and forced me to stop The Wave. So everyone should have a good wife or women
around him to say: Hey, no more.
When did you realize you went too far?
The exact moment I knew that I had gone too far was when Robert followed me into the
faculty room. I didn’t anticipate this and here he was in the faculty room and that other
teacher, Bonnie, the head of the English department, very similar character in the movie,
glasses dropped off his nose and he looked at this Robert and said, Robert you don’t belong
here, this is the faculty room, this is for faculty only. And Robert looked at Bonnie and said: I
am not a student, I am a body guard. And I knew that he had crossed over some invisible
line, what was a simulation had become something real. And I realized I was crossing over
that same line. I was no longer just teaching about this thing called fascism. I was enjoying
being a leader, and that was frightening.
Did the Third Wave work because you were popular as a teacher?
No, no. the experiment worked, because most of us were lost, don’t have a family, don’t have
a community, don’t have a feeling of belonging, and there happened to be a young teacher
saying, I can give that to you.
So the experiment could work today?
Oh, it is working nowadays, in every school. People always ask, do you think the Wave could
take place today? Hey, go to your local school. Where is democracy? We always talk about
democracy, you are not experiencing it. You are not deciding what books to read or what
themes to pursue or how to help one another to become better citizens. You are not working
on these ideas. You follow your curriculum and someone says it is the correct curriculum or
you are testing so you get some place else, it’s all control. But you don’t have control,
someone else has control.
What were the consequences for you?
Not because of the Wave, but because of fighting for civil rights and stopping the war in
Vietnam, I was dismissed from that school three years after The Wave experiment, and I was
never allowed to teach again in public high schools, so my life took a great change I hadn’t
anticipated, I wanted simply to be a great history teacher and a basketball coach, and raise
my family and that would be wonderful. That was not allowed. But as a consequence it
forced me to find different places to teach so I have taught for the most part of the last 30
years for the mentally disabled.
What do you think of the filmmakers Dennis Gansel, Peter Thorwarth and Christian
Becker?
It's really fascinating! Dennis and I have communicated in letter form and it was delightful. He
has honored and respected me by sending his script, he wasn’t afraid, and there has been
this exchange of letters about what goes on in the classroom, what do we observe and how
do we trust each other, and so it was like meeting an old brother with Dennis particularly,
because we had been writing back and forth, with Peter it was the same way. I mean we as
writers we know that we are on a peculiar tilting world, and trying to understand it. And
sometimes we get a little of it, sometimes we get more of it, but we are always trying to find
it, what is the heart, what is life, how do we make it better. And we are on the same pursuit.
So it's like being brothers together for a moment.
Well, Christian is a producer, he is a different animal. Producers are these wild source that
bring us all together for a moment, they are very valuable. He is fascinating, just because he
has the energy and the capacity to spend two years to talk to Sony, who else would spend
two years chasing a dream? So he is a dream chaser, and we need that, and then we need
the Peters and Dennises to make the dream come true.
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Interview with Jürgen Vogel ("Rainer Wenger")
During the experiment, Ron Jones noticed a deep need for conformity in his
students. Does that still apply to our modern, egotistical society?
I think belonging to some sort of group is still very important nowadays. Especially in
a time when familes are falling apart, where the traditional extended family with
grandparents, mothers, fathers, children, grandchildren, uncles and aunts, has
ceased to exist, we have a deep need to belong. Not in order to sacrifice your
individuality, but in order to try to find someone with whom you can identify. For
whom you're willing to park your ego on the back seat. You can really get involved
with Greenpeace, for example. They have that: Unique individuals with their own
personalities, but still the feeling of being part of someting bigger than yourself. I think
that's a basic human need. It can also be abused, of course. But fundamentally, it's
not a bad thing.
How did the experiment go from Rainer's point of view?
It takes on a life of its own. First it's just about summoning team spirit. That's
something everyone's familiar with from sports. The question is, once you get people
to accept discipline and hierarchy, what do you do with it? How do you use this
system? You can go in different directions. You can swing left, you can swing right.
But ultimately, it's always manipulation and abuse of power, that's what makes it
dangerous, no matter what the ideology behind it. To begin with, Rainer doesn't really
have any ideology at all, except for valuing team spirit. But what happens then is
beyond Rainer's control.
Did you ever ask yourself what you would have done in an experiment like THE
WAVE?
I'm convinced an exepriment like THE WAVE could happen to anybody, anywhere.
So I didn't really ask myself how I would have behaved. We've seen it often enough,
and it can work on so many levels: Mass manipulation, the way groups react to each
other, what has to be done to get rid of troublemakers, or maybe reintegrate them or
isolate them.
The original teacher, Ron Jones, found similarites between you and himself. Do
you agree?
Ron Jones is a great guy, who's done some amazing things in his life. For example, I
think it's remarkable he's still playing punk music. So I'm flattered if he thinks I'm like
him.
10
CAST
Jürgen Vogel (Rainer Wenger)
Rainer: I studied in Berlin. I was a squatter in Kreuzberg for five years. I was on the front lines in the May First demonstrations.
Who knows more about the topic than I do?
Rainer Wenger. He's the cool teacher. He's on a first-name basis with his students, listens to punk rock and has no intention of
bending to the school's uptight ways. And he doesn't care what the other teachers say about him. He lives on a house boat with
his wife, Anke.
Biography
Jürgen Vogel was born 1968 in Hamburg. He had his acting debut when he was 16 as a homeless kid in the TV drama KINDER
AUS STEIN ("Stone Children"). He went to acting school 1986 – for exactly one day. It was too dry, too theoretical. He's a handon guy. Instead, Jürgen Vogel moved to Berlin.
After taking odd jobs and acting small film and TV parts, he received the Bavarian Film Prize as best actor for ROSAMUNDE in
1990.
His breakout success came with his portrayal of a working-class stiff who stumbles into acting school auditions carrying
furniture, and is accepted to apply for an elite drama school, in Sönke Wortmann's debut hit KLEINE HAIE (ACTING IT OUT,
1991). Over night, Jürgen Vogel became A-list talent, specializing in playing the regular blue collar Joe. It's the underdogs, the
outsiders, the rebels and bad guys who became his trademark. The audience and the critics alike admire his courage and
honesty in his portrayals.
In 2004, Jürgen Vogel co-founded the Hansen Band for the semi-documentary music film KEINE LIEDER ÜBER LIEBE ("No
Songs about Love"), together with Thees Uhlmann of "Tomte," Max Schröder and Marcus Wiebusch of "Kettcar," and Felix
Gebhard of "Olli Schulz und der Hund Marie."
In 2006, Jürgen Vogel became official sponsor of the annual music festival "Aufmucken." ("Acting Up"). Organized by young
people from the Schulzendorf region near Berlin, the goal of the festival is to take a stand for tolerance and openness.
Among Jürgen Vogel's numerous awards are the Bavarian Film Prize for ROSAMUNDE 1989, KLEINE HAIE 1992 and EMMA'S
BLISS 2007. In 1997, he received the German Film Prize for LIFE IS ALL YOU GET. He won the Adolf Grimme-Prize in 2001
and the Golden Camera 2003 for his career. His tour de force as a compulsive rapist in THE FREE WILL won him the Silver
Bear in Berlin 2006, as well as Best Actor at the Tribeca and Chicago Film Festivals. In 2007, he received the Ernst-LubitschPrize for A FRIEND OF MINE and WHERE IS FRED?
11
Filmography (Selection)
2007
THE WAVE (The Wave)
Keinohrhasen
Die Schatzinsel (Treasure Island)
Duell in der Nacht
2006
Spur der Hoffnung
Alte Freunde
2005
Emmas Glück
(Emma's Bliss)
TKKG
Wo ist Fred?
(Where Is Fred?)
2004
Keine Lieder über Liebe
Der freie Wille
(The Free Will)
Ein Freund von mir (A Friend of Mine)
2003
Die Kirschenkönigin
Außer Kontrolle
2002
Mein Name ist Bach
Rosenstraße
2001
Scherbentanz
(Shattered Glass)
Nackt (Naked)
2000
Emil und die Detektive (Emil and the Detectives)
Sass
1999
Das Phantom
(The Phantom)
1998
Manila
1997
Fette Welt (Fat World)
1996
Smilla's Sense of Snow
Die Apothekerin (The Pharmacist)
Stille Nacht
Sexy Sadie
Das Leben ist eine Baustelle (Life is All You Get)
1994
Die Mediocren
1993
Schicksalsspiel
1992
Durst
1991
Kleine Haie (Acting It Out)
1990
Tatort – Blutwurstwalzer
1988
Rosamunde
Directed by
Dennis Gansel
Til Schweiger
Hans Jörg Thurn
Matti Geschonneck
Hannu Salonen
Friedemann Fromm
Sven Tadikken
Tomy Wigand
Anno Saul
Lars Kraume
Matthias Glasner
Sebastian Schipper
Rainer Kaufmann
Christian Görlitz
Dominique de Rivaz
Margarethe von Trotta
Chris Kraus
Doris Dörrie
Franziska Buch
Carlo Rola
Dennis Gansel
Romuald Kamarkar
Jan Schütte
Bille August
Rainer Kaufmann
Dani Levy
Matthias Glasner
Wolfgang Becker
Matthias Glasner
Bernd Schadewald
Martin Weinhardt
Sönke Wortmann
Wolfgang Becker
Egon Günther
12
Christiane Paul (Anke Wenger)
Anke: "I don't believe it. You're the one who got them on this trip."
Rainer: "Was it my idea for them to beat the shit out of the other team?!"
Rainer's Wife. Anke is a teacher at the same high school as her husband. In contrast to him, she's a more conventional-style
teacher. Anke is assertive and responsible. Her marriage to Rainer is happy and comfortable, they are expecting their first child.
Biography
Christiane Paul was born 1974 in Pankow, East Berlin. After high school, she studied medicine, earning her M.D. in 2002. She
worked as an actress on the side and briefly attended the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York.
After working as a model, Christiane Paul's first film role was a leading lady, in DEUTSCHFIEBER 1991. Next she played
across from star Götz George in ICH UND CHRISTINE. Her many subsequent roles were carefully chosen for their quality. She
acted across from Jürgen Vogel in Wolfgang Becker's LIFE IS ALL YOU GET.
In 2004, she finally quit practicing medicine to work full-time as an actress. That year she also acted on stage in DER
AUFTRAG, directed by Ulrich Mühe, in the Berlin Festival House.
Christiane Paul is an ambassador for the World AIDS Campaigns 2005 and 2007 in Germany, and supports the campaign "Your
Voice Against Poverty."
Christiane Paul received the Max Ophüls-Prize 1994 for her performance in EX, and the Bavarian Film Prize 1995 for
WORKAHOLIC. In 1998, she received a Golden Camera as Best Newcomer, and Berliner Zeitung newspaper awarded
Christiane Paul its cultural award 1999 for artistic achievement.
Filmography (Selection)
2007
THE WAVE
Vorne ist verdammt weit weg
2006
Ein verlockendes Angebot
Copacabana
Neues vom Wixxer
2005
Die Hamburger Sturmflut
Die Tote vom Deich
Reine Formsache
2004
Küss mich, Hexe
Im Schwitzkasten
2003
Außer Kontrolle
2002
Echte Männer?
2001
Väter (I'm the Father)
Himmelreich auf Erden
1999
Im Juli
(In July)
Freunde (Friends)
Marlene
1998
Die Häupter meiner Lieben
(Heads You Win, Tails You Lose)
1997
Der Pirat
Mammamia
Zucker für die Bestie
1996
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
1995
Workaholic
Das Leben ist eine Baustelle (Life Is All You Get)
1994
Ex
1993
Unter der Milchstraße
(Under the Milky Way)
1992
Ich und Christine
1991
Deutschfieber
Directed by
Dennis Gansel
Thomas Heinemann
Tim Trageser
Xaver Schwarzenberger
Cyrill Boss & Philipp Stennert
Raymond Lev
Matti Geschonnek
Ralf Hüttner
Diethard Küster
Egon Moore
Christian Görlitz
Christian Zübert
Dani Levy
Thorsten C. Fischer
Fatih Akin
Martin Eigler
Josef Vilsmaier
Hans-Günther Bücking
Bernd Schadewald
Sandra Settelbeck
Markus Fischer
Thomas Jahn
Sharon von Wietersheim
Wolfgang Becker
Mark Schlichter
M. X. Oberg
Peter Stripp
Niklaus Schilling
Frederick Lau (Tim)
Sinan: "Are you nuts, running around with that much dope on you?"
Tim: "Cops have to catch me first."
Bomber: "What are you asking?"
Tim: "Nothing. It's free. You're my homies!"
Tim would do anything to be accepted by his classmates. But the harder he tries to find friends, the more he is sidelined. For the
first time in his life, THE WAVE gives him the feeling of belonging.
Born: 1989
Theatrical (Selection): THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), DER FREISCHWIMMER (Dir.: Andreas Kleinert, 2006),
BERGKRISTALL (Dir.: Joseph Vilsmaier, 2004), , UNKENRUFE (Dir.: Robert Glinski, 2004), DAS FLIEGENDE
KLASSENZIMMER (Dir.: Tomy Wigand, 2002), DER BRIEF DES KOSMONAUTEN (Dir.: Vladimir Torbica, 2001), DREI
STERNE ROT (Dir.: Olaf Kaiser, 2000)
Awards: For his performance in SECOND HAND CHILD, Frederick Lau won a Golden Sparrow in 2005.
13
Max Riemelt (Marco)
Marco: "I never want to leave."
Lisa: "Who says you should leave?"
Marco: "Just the way it is. You go away to college after graduation. I don't even know what to study. I could see myself getting a
regular job, marrying the right girl and living the rest of my life in some town house. Does that sound stupid?"
Marco is going out with Karo, the most popular girl in school. He's one of the stars of the water polo team, even if he tends to go
it alone. Everything about him seems perfect. But his family life at home is a nightmare. His hidden need for family and
belonging is first satisfied by THE WAVE.
Born: 1984
Theatrical (Selection): THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), LAUF UM DEIN LEBEN (Dir.: Andreas Niedrig, 2008),
MÖRDERISCHER FRIEDEN (Dir.: Rudolf Schweiger, 2006), , DER ROTE KAKADU (THE RED COCKATOO, Dir.: Dominik
Graf, 2004), NAPOLA (BEFORE THE FALL, Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2003), MÄDCHEN MÄDCHEN (GIRLS ON TOP, Dir.: Dennis
Gansel, 2000)
Awards: THE WAVE is Max's third project with Dennis Gansel after GIRLS ON TOP and BEFORE THE FALL, in which he
played the lead of a conflicted young boxer at an elite Nazi boarding school, a performance that won him Best Actor in Karlovy
Vary 2005. His performance in RED COCKATOO earned him the Bavarian Film Prize 2005 as Best Newcomer, as well as Best
Actor at Marrakesh International Film Festival.
Jennifer Ulrich (Karo)
Karo: "I get treated like a leper just because I don't wear a white shirt?"
Marco: "So why don't you wear one?"
Karo: "Simple, because I don't want to!"
Karo is self-confident and know how to get what she wants. She likes to get her way in class, and in her relationship with Marco,
too. Her best friend Lisa often finds herself standing in her shadow. When Karo starts criticizing THE WAVE, she discovers for
the first time what it's like to be an outsider.
Born: 1984
Theatrical (Selection): THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), DIE WOLKE (THE CLOUD, Dir.: Gregor Schnitzler, 2005),
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES (Dir.: Oskar Roehler, 2005), BEFREITE ZONE (LIBERATED ZONE, Dir.: Robert Baumgarten,
2002), GROSSE MÄDCHEN WEINEN NICHT (BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY, Dir.: Marie von Heland, 2001)
Jacob Matschenz (Dennis)
Dennis: "Let's do it the way I say. Just once!"
Dennis has resolved to stage Friedrich Dürrenmatt's THE VISIT as a school play. Too bad he lacks the clout to see it through.
In the Drama Group, everyone does what they please. It takes THE WAVE to give him the energy to assert himself and forge a
real company.
Born: 1984
Theatrical (Selection): THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), UNSCHULD (Dir.: Andreas Morell, 2007), IM WINTER EIN
JAHR (A YEAR IN WINTER, Dir.: Caroline Link, 2007), 42 PLUS (Dir.: Sabine Derflinger), DAS LÄCHELN DER
TIEFSEEFISCHE (Dir.: Till Endemann, 2004), WHOLETRAIN (Dir.: Florian Gaag, 2004)
Awards: Jacob Matschenz won the Max Ophüls-Prize as Best Newcomer for his performance in DAS LÄCHELN DER
TIEFSEEFISCHE ("The Smiles of Deep Sea Fish"). He was nominated for the German Film Newcomer Prize for
NEANDERTAL, the Undine Award 2007 as Best Newcomer for 42 PLUS, and the First Steps Award 2005 for FLIEHENDES
LAND.
Cristina Do Rego (Lisa)
Karo: "So I suck? I'd like to see you if I went talking to your boyfriend about your relationship problems!!"
Lisa: "I don't have any relationship problems, because I don't have a relationship, or a boyfriend, in case you hadn't noticed. But
it's all about you, isn't it?"
Lisa is Karo's best friend. She looks up to Karo and wants to be like her. THE WAVE gives Lisa the courage to step out of
Karo's shadow. Suddenly Karo's boyfriend Marco starts to take an interest in Lisa.
Born: 1986
Theatrical: THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), BESSER ALS SCHULE (MEET YOUR STAR, Dir.: Simon X. Rost, 2004)
14
Elyas M’Barek (Sinan)
Bomber: "We can't keep feeling guilty for something we had nothing to do with!"
Mona: "We're not talking about guilt. It's about a special historical responsibility."
Sinan: "Hey, I'ze a Turk, man!"
Sinan hangs out with Kevin and Bomber. This Terrible Trio is rarely seen apart. Sinan's only exception is water polo practice,
which is a thorn in his buddies' sides. He's not doing too well at school, even though he'd like to. If he doesn't graduate, he
doesn't have a wealthy family to fall back on.
Born: 1982
Theatrical: THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), AUSBILDER SCHMIDT (Dir.: Mike Eschmann, 2007), WHOLE TRAIN
(Dir.: Florian Gaag, 2004), EPSTEINS NACHT (EPSTEIN'S NIGHT, Dir.: Urs Egger, 2001), MÄDCHEN MÄDCHEN (GIRLS ON
TOP, Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2000)
Awards: Elyas first worked with Dennis Gansel in the teen sex comedy GIRLS ON TOP. His break came when he took on the
lead role in the award-winning sitcom TÜRKISCH FÜR ANFÄNGER ("Turkish for Beginners") which won a German TV Prize for
Best Series and Best Series Actor, and was nominated for the German Comedy Prize and the Festival de Télévision de MonteCarlo.
Maximilian Vollmar (Bomber)
Bomber: "Let's go shoot some pool."
Kevin: "I got a better idea."
Bomber: "Dude, what's this? What happened to your M Class?"
Kevin: "My mom's car. Dad gave it to her for their anniversary. V8, 250 HP, 150 MPH. What say we take this baby for a spin on
the Autobahn?"
Bomber feels at home in the company of Sinan and Kevin. He's an easygoing guy who goes along with everything. Sitting in
the back row of class, the wannabe Players scope out the class. During recess, the smoker's corner is their crib.
Born: 1985
Theatrical: THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), STRATOSPHERE GIRL (Dir.: Matthias X. Oberg, 2002), NANCY AND
FRANK – A MANHATTAN LOVE STORY (Dir.: Wolf Gremm, 1999)
Maximilian Mauff (Kevin)
Rainer: "Kevin, It's very simple. Either you play along or you leave. Got it?"
Kevin: "Come on, guys, this is weirding me out."
Kevin is the unofficial leader of the Player Crew. Son of a successful businessman, Kevion shares his wealth with his friends.
The guys hang out at his place to play video games, or race his mom's new SUV down the Autobahn at full speed. He initially
rejects THE WAVE.
Born: 1987
Theatrical: THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), BERLIN CALLING (Dir.: Hannes Stöhr, 2007), THE READER (Dir.:
Stephen Daldry, 2007), ABSURDISTAN (Dir.: Veit Helmer, 2006), WELTVERBESSERUNGSMASSNAHMEN (MEASUES TO
BETTER THE WORLD, Dir.: Jakob Hüfner, Jörn Hintzer, 2005), KOMBAT SECHZEHN (Dir.: Mirko Borscht, 2004), ERBSEN
AUF HALB SECHS (PEAS AT 5:30, Dir.: Lars Büchel, 2003), DAS JAHR DER ERSTEN KÜSSE (YEAR OF THE FIRST KISS,
Dir.: Kai Wessel, 2001)
Ferdinand Schmidt-Modrow (Ferdi)
Ferdi: "Hey, thanks for the daisies, babe. They'll look great when I'm lying in the box in the Golden Apostle."
Karo: "That's not what he says! Man, Ferdi, can't we go through it just once, without interruption?"
Ferdi: "You're the one who stopped. First stage rule, Karo: The show must go on!"
As class clown, Ferdi does everything to get his audience's attention. Even if it means being such a cut-up the Drama Group
almost falls apart.
Born: 1985
Theatrical (Selection): THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), BESTE GEGEND (Dir.: Marcus H. Rosenmüller, 2007),
BESTE ZEIT (GOOD TIMES, Dir.: Marcus H. Rosenmüller, 2006), GRENZVERKEHR (Dir.: Stefan Betz, 2005)
Awards: Nominated for the German Newcomer Film Prize for his role in GOOD TIMES as a goofy country kid secretly in love
with the heroine.
15
Tim Oliver Schultz (Jens)
Kaschi: "I don't have a white shirt."
Jens: "Then buy one."
Kaschi: "Please. I'm not spending money for that."
Jens: "Come on, how much can it cost?"
Rainer: "Jens. Stand up, please."
Jens: "I've got two white shirts at home. You can have one."
With his designer-label clothing and better-than-you attitude, Jens makes a point of standing out from the crowd. He's not out to
make friends, but prefers to remain aloof. Until he gets caught up in THE WAVE.
Born: 1988
Theatrical: THE WAVE (Dir.: Dennis Gansel, 2007), DER ANDERE JUNGE (Dir.: Volker Einrauch, 2007), EIN HAUS IN
BERLIN (Dir.: Vadim Glowna, 2005), STERNZEICHEN (Dir.: Peter Patzak, 2002)
16
CREW
Dennis Gansel (Screenwriter and Director)
"Dennis isn't just the director I made my first film with, but the great thing is he always knows
exactly what he's doing on the set. That's a great thing. I trust him implicitly. For me, he's not
just a visionary, but a true friend."
Christian Becker on Dennis Gansel
Dennis Gansel was born 1973 in Hanover. While at Munich Film School, he shot the
short films THE WRONG TRIP und LIVING DEAD 1995 and 1996. Both were
produced by his fellow student Christian Becker and won the F. W. Murnau Short
Film Prize. He followed them up with another short 1998, IM AUFTRAG DES
HERREN ("A Mission from God").
After graduating from film school, Dennis Gansel shot his debut film, THE
PHANTOM, a political thriller about the Red Army Faction, also starring Jürgen Vogel
and produced by Christian Becker, which went on to win a Jupiter Award, the Adolf
Grimme Prize and the 3SAT Audience Award in 2000 for Best TV Movie.
2001 saw his theatrical debut with teen sex comedy GIRLS ON TOP, which was a
breakout commercial success and launched several young careers, including
Karoline Herfurth's (PERFUME). Dennis went on to pen the script for NAPOLA
(BEFORE THE FALL) together with Maggie Peren. In 2003, their script about an elite
Nazi boarding academy won a Federal Film Prize as Best Unproduced Script. The
intense drama was released theatrically in 2004. BEFORE THE FALL won the
audience award at the Hamptons Film Festival in New York, Best Film at Viareggio
European Film Festival, and a Bavarian Film Prize 2005 for Best Direction. Lead
actor Max Riemelt ("Marco") won Best Actor at Kalovy Vary International Film
Festival for his performance in BEFORE THE FALL.
Filmography
2007
2004
2001
1999
1998
1996
1995
THE WAVE
Napola – Elite für den Führer (Before the Fall)
Mädchen Mädchen (Girls on Top)
Das Phantom (The Phantom)
Im Auftrag des Herren / short
Living Dead / short
The Wrong Trip / short
17
Peter Thorwarth (Co-script)
"Peter and I share not only our heritage in the Ruhr region, but also the same taste in
movies. I'm very proud of the fact that two directors like Peter and Dennis could write this
script together without any sort of head trip. With THE WAVE, we went back to the way we
worked at film school: Working together as friends and growing together."
Christian Becker on Peter Thorwarth
Peter Thorwarth was born 1971 in Dortmund, and grew up in Unna, on the edge of
the Ruhr region. He started shooting his first movies on Super 8 and Video as a
teenager.
He enrolled at Munich Film School 1994, in the same year as fellow directing student
Dennis Gansel and producer Christian Becker, who produced his first short film, the
15 minute construction worker comedy IF IT DON'T FIT, USE A BIGGER HAMMER,
which was nominated for the Student Academy Awards® and won the German Short
Film Prize 1996. Naturally, they kept on working together. In 1997, they staged a wild
romp of an action comedy with their second short called MAFIA PIZZA RAZZIA,
before starting work on Peter's theatrical debut BANG BOOM BANG a year later. The
runaway commercial and critical hit has been running without interruption since 1999
in a theater in Bochum, which probably makes it one of the few films to truly deserve
to be called a "cult film." It is also the first part of Peter Thorwarth's "Unna Trilogy,"
which he continued in 2002 with a feature-length version of IF IT DON'T FIT, USE A
BIGGER HAMMER, (which spun off a successful TV sitcom series) and completed in
2006 with GOLDENE ZEITEN, also produced by Christian Becker.
Peter Thorwarth has shot several commercials and music videos, including for
Germany's longest-serving punk band Die Toten Hosen, for which he won a Comet
Award 2002.
Filmography
2006
2002
1999
1998
1997
1996
1994
Goldene Zeiten
Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht (If it Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer)
Bang Boom Bang – Ein todsicheres Ding (Bang Boom Bang)
Die Zwei vom Fach / Series Pilot
Mafia, Pizza, Razzia / short
Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht / short
Koma / short
18
Christian Becker (Producer)
"Christian is a maniac cinephile. That's the kind of producer you need. A producer's job is
hard work. And young, ambitious producers are always in short supply. Someone like
Christian is of inestimable value to a director and crew. If we had ten more producers like
him, German cinema would be a whole different ball game, I guarantee it."
Dennis Gansel on Christian Becker
Christian Becker, born 1972 in Krefeld, began studying at Munich Film School after
many years of experience in the film industry. At film school, he produced over 15
short films, commercials and numerous documentaries, including Dennis Gansel's
first short films WRONG TRIP and LIVING DEAD, and their friend and fellow student
Peter Thorwarth's IF IT DON'T FIT, USE A BIGGER HAMMER and MAFIA, PIZZA,
RAZZIA. He also produced senior thesis films like DER GROSSE LACHER by
Benjamin Herrmann or Florian Gallenberger's Oscar®-winning QUIERO SER. No
student in the history of Munich Film School has had more producer's credits than
Christian Becker.
In 1997, Becker founded the Indigo and Becker & Häberle production shingles
together with partner Thomas Häberle, whose projects included Gansel's PHANTOM
or Thorwarth's theatrical features BANG BOOM BANG and IF IT DON'T FIT, USE A
BIGGER HAMMER. After projects like KANAK ATTACK and 7 DAYS TO LIVE,
Becker had become one of Germany's Top 10 producers by the year 2000.
In August 2000, Becker and Häberle brought their production labels together under
the name of F.A.M.E. AG, which went public on Germany's Neuer Markt stock
exchange.
In 2001, Becker left Indigo and Becker & Häberle to ally with leading German
production house Constantin Film AG, founding Rat Pack Filmproduktion and
Westside Filmproduktion together with his team. Becker continued to produce
successful TV and theatrical titles, such as TV event movie "The Hunt for the Hidden
Relic", two seasons of "If It Don't Fit, Use A Bigger Hammer - The Series", "Scratch:
The New Sound of Terror" and "Code of the Templars." He also produced comedian
Helge Schneider's music film JAZZ CLUB – THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE
WORM, and Hammer-style thriller parody DER WIXXER, which spent nine weeks in
the German theatrical Top 10, selling a total of 1.9 million tickets at the box office. He
also produced Peter Thorwarth's GOLDENE ZEITEN (2004) and HUI BUH – THE
GOOFY GHOST (2005), directed by Sebastian Niemann. Sequel NEUES VOM
WIXXER was shot in 2006 with an all-star cast and released theatrically in March of
2007.
19
Filmography (Selection)
Directed by
2007 Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling
(Killing is My Business, Honey)
2007 Die ProSieben Filmklassiker
2007 THE WAVE
2006 Das Wunder von Loch Ness
(The secret of Loch Ness)
2006 Neues vom WiXXer (The VeXXer)
2006 Lotta in Love
2006 Die ProSieben Märchenstunde
(several seasons)
2005 Französisch für Anfänger (Co-Producer)
(French for Beginners)
2005 Meine verrückte türkische Hochzeit
(My Crazy Turkish Wedding)
2005 Hui Buh – das Schlossgespenst
(Hui Buh – The Goofy Ghost)
2005 Vollgas
2004 Goldene Zeiten
2004 Das Blut der Templer (Code of the Templars)
2004 Ratten 2 – Sie kommen wieder
(Scratch: The New Sound of Terror)
2003 Helge Schneiders "Jazzclub"
2003 Der WiXXer (The TriXXer)
2003 Kalkofes Mattscheibe (several seasons)
2002 Alles getürkt!
2002 Kubaner küssen besser
2002 Das Jesus Video (The Hunt for the Hidden Relic)
2001 Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht
(I fit don’t fit, use a bigger hammer)
2000 Ratten – Sie werden Dich kriegen
(Revenge of the Rats)
2000 7 Days To Live
1999 Das Phantom (The Phantom)
1999 Quiero Ser / short
1999 Kanak Attack
1998 Bang Boom Bang
1998 Das Biikenbrennen
1997 Südsee, Eigene Insel
(Our Island in the South Pacific)
1997 Mafia, Pizza, Razzia / short
1996 Living Dead / short
1995 Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht / short
1995 The Wrong Trip / short
Sebastian Niemann
various
Dennis Gansel
Micky Rowitz
Cyrill Boss & Philipp Stennert
various
Boss & Stennert,
Tommy Krappweis, Erik Haffner
Christian Ditter
Stefan Holtz
Sebastian Niemann
Lars Montag
Peter Thorwarth
Florian Baxmeier
Jörg Lühdorff
Helge Schneider
Tobi Baumann
Marc Stöcker
Yasemin Samdereli
Thorsten Schmidt
Sebastian Niemann
Peter Thorwarth
Jörg Lühdorff
Sebastian Niemann
Dennis Gansel
Florian Gallenberger
Lars Becker
Peter Thorwarth
Sebastian Niemann
Thomas Bahmann
Peter Thorwarth
Dennis Gansel
Peter Thorwarth
Dennis Gansel
20
Nina Maag (Creative Producer)
"With her way with people, Nina manages to keep everybody happy even when things start
getting crazy. Besides her creativity, that's what I enjoy most about working with her!"
Dennis Gansel on Nina Maag
"Nina has been my comrade-in-arms and friend for years, ever since film school days. Not
only is she 100 percent reliable, and exudes an amazing sense of poise, she also helped
shape the project decisively with her amazing ideas during development and casting."
Christian Becker on Nina Maag
As producer, Nina Maag mainly handled creative development on the production.
Born in 1972 in Munich, she met Christian Becker, Dennis Gansel and Peter
Thorwarth attending Munich Film School. She has worked for Becker as a producer
since 2000, first for the Becker & Häberle shingle, including on director Dennis
Gansel's multiple prize-winner THE PHANTOM.
She went on to produce TV movie A FINE ROMANCE (2001) and documentary
MOTHER'S DAY (2003).
After having her first child, Nina Maag returned to her production duties in 2004, this
time for Rat Pack Filmproduktion, producing multiple award-winning TV movie
MEINE VERRÜCKTE TÜRKISCHE HOCHZEIT, and the telenovela LOTTA IN LOVE.
Filmography
Directed by
2007 THE WAVE
2006 Lotta in Love
2005 Meine verrückte türkische Hochzeit
(My Crazy Turkish Wedding)
2004 Vollgas – gebremst wird später
2003 Müttertag (Mother's Day)
2001 Sind denn alle netten Männer schwul? (A Fine Romance)
2000 Das Phantom (The Phantom)
Dennis Gansel
Divers
Stefan Holtz
Lars Montag
Micol Hopf
Sybille Tafel
Dennis Gansel
21
Martin Moszkowicz (Co-Producer)
"We never would have been able to make this movie without Martin. He was immediately
excited about the idea. He helped me when we ran into obstacles obtaining the rights, and
supported me with his incredible experience on every stage of the way – whether it was
financing, story development or world sales. I'm extremely grateful to him."
Christian Becker on Martin Moszkowicz
Born 1958, Martin Moszkowicz attended Munich University until 1980 before working
as line producer, production manager and producer on film productions worldwide. In
1985, he became producer and managing director of M+P Film, Munich. In 1991, he
joined top Germany production house Constantin Film as producer, and became
managing director in 1996 until the company's IPO 1999. Since then, he has served
on the board of Constantin Film AG, supervising film production activities.
Martin Moszkowicz has served as producer, executive producer, co-producer or
managing director on well over 100 German and international theatrical films.
Filmography (Selection)
2007
2006
2005
2004
2002
2001
Warum Männer nicht zuhören und Frauen schlecht einparken
Resident Evil: Extinction
Pornorama
Herr Bello
Schwere Jungs (Heavyweights)
Directed by
Leander Haussmann
Russell Mulcahy
Marc Rothemund
Ben Verbong
Marcus
H. Rosenmüller
The Perfume – The Story of a Murderer
Tom Tykwer
Hui Buh – Das Schlossgespenst (Hui Buh – The Goofy Ghost) Sebastian Niemann
Elementarteilchen (Elementary Particles)
Oskar Roehler
Der Räuber Hotzenplotz
Gernot Roll
Der Fischer und seine Frau
Doris Dörrie
Die weiße Massai (The White Massai)
Hermine
Huntgeburth
Der Untergang (The Downfall)
Oliver Hirschbiegel
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Alexander Witt
Resident Evil
Paul W.S.
Anderson
Nackt (Naked)
53rd German Film Prize 2003
Doris Dörrie
Slap Her... She's French
Melanie Mayron
Erkan & Stefan gegen die Mächte der Finsternis
Axel Sand
Knallharte Jungs
Granz Henman
666 – Traue keinem, mit dem Du schläfst! (TV)
Rainer Matsutani
(666: In Bed With the Devil)
Epsteins Nacht (Epstein's Night)
Urs Egger
Nirgendwo in Afrika
Oscar® 2003 Best Foreign Film
Caroline Link
(Nowhere in Africa)
52nd German Film Prize 2002
24th Bavarian Film Prize 2002
Der Schuh des Manitu
23rd Bavarian Film Prize 2001
Michael Herbig
(Manitou's Shoe)
(Audience Award)
52nd German Film Prize 2002
(Audience Award)
Mädchen, Mädchen (Girls On Top)
Dennis Gansel
Thema Nr. 1
Maria Bachmann
22
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1988
1982
Harte Jungs (Just the Two of Us)
Erkan & Stefan
Time Share
The Calling
Der große Bagarozy (The Devil and Mrs. D)
Bin ich schön? (Am I Beautiful?)
Der Campus
19th Bavarian Film Prize 1997
Wrongfully Accused
Opernball (Opera Ball)
Ballermann 6
Es geschah am hellichten Tag (TV)
Die drei Mädels von der Tankstelle (Babes' Petrol)
Prince Valiant
Charleys Tante (TV)
Smilla’s Sense for Snow
Das Mädchen Rosemarie (A Girl Called Rosemary)
Die Halbstarken (TV)
Das Superweib (The Superwife)
Der bewegte Mann (Maybe... Maybe Not)
Voll normaaal
The House of Spirits
Body of Evidence
The Cement Garden
Salt on our Skin
TKKG (Four Junior Detectives)
Ulrich König
Manta, Manta
Die Venusfalle (The Venus Trap)
Der Fan
Marc Rothemund
Michael Herbig
Sharon von
Wietersheim
Richard Caesar
Bernd Eichinger
Doris Dörrie
Sönke Wortmann
Pat Proft
Urs Egger
Gernot Roll/
Tom Gerhardt
Nico Hofman
Peter F. Bringmann
Anthony Hickox
Sönke Wortmann
Bille August
Bernd Eichinger
Urs Egger
Sönke Wortmann
Sönke Wortmann
Ralf Huettner
Bille August
Uli Edel
Andrew Birkin
Andrew Birkin
Wolfgang Büld
Robert van Ackeren
Eckhart Schmidt
23
Torsten Breuer (Director of Photography)
THE WAVE is Torsten Breuer's second film with director Dennis Gansel after
shooting award-winning Nazi drama BEFORE THE FALL together in 2004.
Breuer has shot several theatrical features, including PÜNKTCHEN UND ANTON
(ANNALUISE AND ANTON, 1998), BANDITS (1997) or ABGESCHMINKT! (MAKING
UP!, 1992). Breuer has also shot several episodes of TV cop show "Kommissarin
Lucas" for Olga Film, as well as TV movies like "Liebe Amelie" (2005), "Operation
Rubikon" (2002, two-parter), "Ein unmöglicher Mann" (2000, miniseries) or
"Rendezvous mit dem Teufel" (1999).
Torsten Breuer doesn't only compose images, but also music, and wrote scores for
award-winning German films like ALONE AMONG WOMEN (1991), ACTING UP
(1992), MAYBE... MAYBE NOT (1994), UND MORGEN FÄNGT DAS LEBEN AN
(TV, 1996), ZUR ZEIT ZU ZWEIT (TV, 1997) and BLIND DATE – EIN FLIRT MIT
FOLGEN (TV, 1997).
Ueli Christen (Editor)
Top German directors Sönke Wortmann and Rainer Kaufmann rely on Ueli Christen
to edit their big productions. A very brief selection of his filmography includes
ACTING UP (1992), MAYBE... MAYBE NOT (1994), THE SUPERWIFE (1996), THE
PHARMACIST (1997), DER CAMPUS (1998), LONG HELLO AND SHORT
GOODBYE (1999), KALT IST DER ABENDHAUCH (2000), ANATOMY (2000),
KNALLHARTE
JUNGS
(2002),
MIRACLE
OF
BERN
(2003),
DIE
KIRSCHENKÖNIGIN (2004), DER SCHATZ DER WEISSEN FALKEN (2005), VIER
TÖCHTER (2006), DIE DREI ??? (2007).
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Rat Pack Filmproduktion (Production company)
RAT PACK FILMPRODUKTION is a production house that serves theatrical audiences as well as
producing TV movies and international TV event films.
Founder and managing director Christian Becker has been able to rely on a potent network of contacts to
upcoming directing and writing talent ever since film school. As former partner and managing director of INDIGO
FILMPRODUKTION and BECKER & HÄBERLE FILMPRODUKTION, he cultivated and expanded this network
over the past seven years, assembling a highly motivated creative team of film lovers.
With their F.A.M.E. FILM & MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT AG, Christian Becker and Thomas Häberle merged their
labels with Curt Cress (Artforce music publishing) and Michael Bischoff (mb Medienvertrieb distrib) and took the
company public on Germany's booming Neuer Markt stock exchange in Frankfurt in August 2000. Subsequently,
Becker and his old INDIGO team went on to found RAT PACK FILMPRODUKTION and WESTSIDE
FILMPRODUKTION together with CONSTANTIN FILM in winter of 2001.
Co-founder and managing director Anita Schneider serves as financial director. She looks back on years of
experience in the industry, working for companies like Bavaria Film, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG and Indigo
Film/F.A.M.E. AG, where she served in accounting and controlling departments.
The third managing director is Gero Worstbrock, who has served as assistant director and legal counsel for
Constantin Film AG for years, and now also assists Rat Pack with his wide-ranging experience in national and
international film financing.
Counting Indigo Filmproduktion and Becker & Häberle Filmproduktion, the RAT PACK team has produced 14
theatrical and TV movies, including "Bang Boom Bang", "Our Island in the South Pacific" "Kanak Attack",
"Revenge of the Rats", "If It Don't Fit...", "7 Days To Live" or "The Phantom", garnering awards like the VFF
Producers' Prize, the prestigious Grimme Prize, the Cinema Jupiter and the 3Sat Audience Award.
The runaway box office hit (2.2 million tickets sold) "Hui Buh, The Goofy Ghost" (Dir.: Sebastian Niemann), an
adaptation of a children's storyteller series for the screen, is currently doing well as a DVD, as is the second
season of gut-busting fairy tale parody series "Die ProSieben Märchenstunde", the multiple-award-winning TV
movie "Meine verrückte türkische Hochzeit" (Dir.: Stefan Holtz) and the sequel "Neues vom WiXXer" (Dir.:
Cyrill Boss & Philipp Stennert), which, together with its first installment "Der WiXXer" sold more than 3 million
tickets at German box offices.
Other select RAT PACK-Productions (including subsid WESTSIDE FILM, Krefeld) include TV event movie "Code
of the Templars" and "The Hunt for the Hidden Relic", "Kubaner küssen besser", "Goldene Zeiten", Helge
Schneider's "Jazzclub", "Ich bin ein Berliner", "Alles Getürkt", "Vollgas - Gebremst wird später", theatrical
co-production "French for Beginners" or sequel "Scratch: The New Sound of Terror". The RAT PACK team
also produced the Grimme Prize-winning TV series "Kalkofes Mattscheibe," sitcom series "Was nicht passt,
wird passend gemacht" and the telenovela "Lotta in Love" for ProSieben.
RAT PACK has strong creative ties to directors who are young, but also highly talented and experienced, such as
Peter Thorwarth ("Bang Boom Bang"; "Goldene Zeiten"), Sebastian Niemann ("Das Jesus Video", "Hui Buh – Das
Schlossgespenst"), Dennis Gansel ("Das Phantom", "Napola") or directing team Boss & Stennert ("Neues vom
WiXXer").
In this creative pool, which is supervised by producers Nina Maag, Lena Olbrich and Mathias Lösel, assisted
by line producers Patty Barth, Peter Schiller and Sofie Scherz permanent brainstorming leads to a constant
output of ideas, which can be developed in-house with short lines of communication.
In spite of their relatively young age, the key players in this pool have known each other for many years already,
working together in flexible teams without ego clashes, and thus can quickly arrive at professionally developed,
ready-to-shoot projects.
The backing by top German production house Constantin Film serves as further support for their style of working.
For more info, see: www.ratpack-film.de
25
CAST
Rainer Wenger
Tim
Marco
Karo
Anke Wenger
Sinan
Lisa
Dennis
Bomber
Kevin
Ferdi
Jens
Mona
Maja
Kaschi
etc.
Jürgen Vogel
Frederick Lau
Max Riemelt
Jennifer Ulrich
Christiane Paul
Elyas M’Barek
Cristina Do Rego
Jacob Matschenz
Maximilian Vollmar
Maximilian Mauff
Ferdinand Schmidt-Modrow
Tim Oliver Schultz
Amelie Kiefer
Odine Johne
Fabian Preger
CREW
Producer
Creative Producer
Supervising Producer
Co-Producers
Unit Production Manager
Production Managers
Director
Screenplay
Director of Photography
Production Design
Original Sound
Costume Design
Make-Up
Original Sound
Editor
Casting
Postproducton Supervisor
Christian Becker
Nina Maag
Anita Schneider
Martin Moszkowicz
David Groenewold
Franz Kraus
Antonio Exacoustos
Uli Fauth
Patty Barth
Peter Schiller
Dennis Gansel
Dennis Gansel
Peter Thorwarth
Based upon a Short Story by William Ron Jones
and “The Wave” Teleplay by Johnny Dawkins &
Ron Birnbach
Torsten Breuer
Knut Loewe
Patrick Veigel
Ivana Milos
Irina Tübbecke-Bechem, Dörte Dobkowitz
Heiko Maile
Ueli Christen
Franziska Aigner-Kuhn
Dierk Beck von Rohland
Axel Vogelmann
26
WORLD SALES
Celluloid Dreams
2, rue Turgot
F-75009 Paris/ France
Ph.:: +33/1/49 70 03 70
F.: +33/1/49 70 03 71
[email protected]
www.celluloid-dreams.com
FILM COMPANY
Rat Pack Filmproduktion GmbH
Beethovenplatz 2
D-80336 Munich/ Germany
Ph.: +4989 121148-700
Fax: +4989 121148-777
[email protected]
www.ratpack-film.de
GERMAN DISTRIBUTOR/ CO-PRODUCER
Constantin Film
Feilitzschstrasse 6
D-80802 Munich/ Germany
Ph: +4989 - 44 44 60-100
Fax: +4989 - 44 44 60-167
Constantin Film Development, Inc.
9200 Sunset Blvd., Suite 800,
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Ph: 310.247.0300
Fax: 310.247.0305 |
www.constantinfilm.de
Special Thanks to:
Sonja Brummer
Translated by:
Collin McMahon
A Rat Pack Filmproduktion GmbH Production
in Co-Production with Constantin Film Produktion, Medienfonds GFP I KG & B.A. Produktion
Location: Berlin and surroundings, July to August 2007
27