Across the U.S.A. Love in the Time of Cholera is making headlines with mediocre reviews (guilty), but at the Cancun International Film Festival, the foreign press was more concerned with why a South American classic was made in English, by an American producer, British director, and a completely diverse cast.
Producer Scott Steindorff didn’t shy away from any of the difficult questions at a panel before the film was screened, of course no one asked the question we were all thinking, “why didn’t you re-shoot after you saw how cheesy the movie was?” If nothing else though, he proved just how passionate he was about the project, which almost makes you feel badly that it didn’t work out. But don’t cry him a river yet, Steindorff may not have scored a hit, but he did score Colombian actress Marcela Mar, who judging by her several nude scenes, seems like a pretty nice conciliation prize.
Welcome to the Cancun International Film Festival!
SS: Thanks! I’m really grateful they invited me to this beautiful place. I just got invited to a festival in Poland which was a definite pass, but Cancun was a definite yes. I mean this is fantastic and it will put the attention on Latin markets and Latin films and to get the U.S. and European viewers to come here is a positive thing that will really help Latin America.
What made you want to do a film that takes place in Latin America?
SS: Because in the U.S. people don’t know about Latin America, it’s the forgotten continent which is a shame because there are some great stories, great people and great culture that people just don’t know about.
How did you get the movie made?
Well I read the book five years ago and I knew the rights weren’t available but I really wanted to make the film. So I called Marques and I pushed him for two and a half years and he said “no, no, no” and finally I said you can keep rejecting me but I’m not going away, just like Florentino, even if it takes fifty years. Finally, he decided to relent because he decided I wasn’t going away.
How did you decide to shoot the film in Colombia?
SS: We really wanted to shoot in Brazil but the Colombian ambassador begged us to check out Cartagena. I was terrified to go film in Colombia because I’ve read all the stories but I went there and said “I feel safe, we must film it here!” Cartagena is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been to.
Can you tell us about the casting process?
Javier, come on, he’s a great actor. We really wanted to have an unknown play Fermina, we saw a lot of Ferminas and Giovanna Mezzogiorno just blew us away in the casting. The Latin actors to me are the best actors in the world because they are real, they are passionate, there’s a truth about Latin actors that’s unique.
Was it difficult working with the Latin actors with the language barrier?
SS: No I had a translator. I know un poquito, but still. The biggest problem was some of these Colombian actresses were a pain though, they were huge divas (just kidding!)
What made you choose a British director for a Latin film?
SS: Well I met with a lot of directors and I wanted someone who knew the complications of love and Mike Newell really understands that.
What was the biggest challenge about filming?
SS: The heat in Cartagena! It’s very humid and we had a lot of make up so it was very difficult. We also had so many cultures converging, I think there were five different countries represented in our crews and so we had to bridge that language barrier, but it went really smoothly for as many different elements that might have gone wrong.
Why did you do this movie in English?
SS: The reason why is because I’m a gringo that fell in love with this book and we wanted to show this culture to a larger audience though out the world…but next time I come here I’ll be fluent, half-Latin and I’ll be able to do a Spanish movie.
Has Marques seen the film and how did he react?
SS: It was the worst two hours of my life but at the end of the movie he said, “Bravo, wonderful job.” Afterwards he took me out to dinner (which I ended up paying for) but he really loved it.
