MovieChat Forums > Phantom (2013) Discussion > A few thoughts from a producer

A few thoughts from a producer

posted 11 years ago by solarfilmworks
66 replies | jump to latest

Thanks for all of your interest and thoughts on the movie. We certainly hope you will enjoy it when (if) you see it. We’d just like to address a few things if we may. All movies are works of fiction, and we’ve certainly not claimed that this movie is absolute historical fact from start to finish. We’ve stated that it is inspired by true events, because that is what it is. Whether you believe intelligence sources, or anyone else who believes the K-129 was set to launch a missile at Pearl Harbor, it is an irresistible story (or conspiracy, depending on your view) that this happened, and that it brought the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. closer to nuclear war than the Cuban Missile Crisis did. As filmmakers we found it fascinating, entertaining, and well worth the conversation. Movies are about entertainment and the telling of stories we as filmmakers and viewers might find interested. Not to mention, submarine stories make entertaining movies.

As far as the accents are concerned – We didn't ask the actors to use accents because we want the audience to forget that these are Soviet sailors and to simply see them as human beings under tremendous pressure. During the Cold War both Americans and Soviets were indoctrinated with fear to objectify each other. Part of the reason for this was to control and achieve a predictable, dependable outcome which was: When the order was given, you pushed the button that would trigger the end of the world. It wouldn't have been Washington or the Kremlin that would have pushed the button; it would have been ordinary men with families who had everything to lose. Saving the people you love most dearly is an instinct almost impossible to breach. Propaganda, indoctrination, believing a story is true, might just make it psychologically possible to justify your actions. This is one of the questions at the center of the film. That's what we want the audience to understand. These are ordinary men faced with unthinkable choices with a flawed, manipulated premise, (or at a minimum, an honest misunderstanding) informing their decisions. We don't want the characters to be dismissed or stigmatized because they have accents.

Thanks for your time and the conversation.

[–] Pippy-4 11 years ago

Thanks for your explanation. I know I'm really looking forward to this film

[–] ubcool 11 years ago

'We don't want the characters to be dismissed or stigmatized because they have accents'

really? when would you say this has happened before then? das boot ? hunt for red october, k-19?

think your treating your audience like morons.

[–] magentamarzipan 11 years ago

Well, this being IMDb, even a thoughtful response from the producer of the film about several topics under discussion is immediately reduced to name calling. As to the point about accents, obviously people of reasonable intelligence disagree. I personally feel that I'm being "treated like a moron" more if the cast of a film talks English with an accent when in reality they would be speaking another language. It strikes me as illogical but if it has been done in some very good films, I'm not inclined to allow it to be a deal breaker to my enjoyment.

To the OP, thanks for the insights.

[–] ubcool 11 years ago

i suppose you felt you were being treated like a moron when you watching Gladiator, Spartacus, or any other ancient Rome movie as they were speaking modern English and not Latin...

[–] magentamarzipan 11 years ago

i suppose you felt you were being treated like a moron when you watching Gladiator, Spartacus, or any other ancient Rome movie as they were speaking modern English and not Latin...

Was that addressed to me? It’s not a logical conclusion for you to have drawn if it is since I only expressed an opinion of the use of accents not about the use of English when characters would really speak in another language and even at that I acknowledged that intelligent people might think differently on the subject. Since you ask, though, no, I don’t feel I’m being treated like a moron when English language films use the English language.

[–] [email protected] 11 years ago

It’s not a logical conclusion for you to have drawn if it is since I only expressed an opinion of the use of accents

So you're saying that in Gladiator they should have been speaking English with a Roman accent?

Fake accents don't add anything to a movie for anybody but idiots.

[–] Smokey_T 11 years ago

I would argue that real accents of bad actors detracts more than fake accents.

Witness: that Australian dummy in Wrath of the Titans, playing an ancient Greek with a hankering for a shreemp on the barbey.

[–] bryanmillsfist 11 years ago

That isn’t English with an accent, but English. We Americans are the ones with the accent.

[–] Barbecue 11 years ago

Regarding Das Boot, I'm pretty sure that having actors speak in German accents is unnecessary when they are in fact speaking German.

[–] blanche-2 8 years ago

the acting rule is, when a person is supposed to be speaking in his native language, no accents are used. If accents were used, then everyone in a Chekhov play would have a Russian accent. The only time to use an accent is if you are a foreigner speaking English.

Going back to films like The Mortal Storm, and all those old Hollywood films that took place in Hungary, Germany, etc, no accents were ever used.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] blanche-2 8 years ago

it was in my acting classes

[–] swivelhips 10 years ago

One might argue that only a moron would spell 'you're' as 'your'.

[–] wandaful 11 years ago

Very excited about this movie and especially to see Johnathon Schaech
He's my fave actor

[–] bracelet101 11 years ago

I can't wait to see this

[–] csjintn 11 years ago

Was sooooo excited to see this film. Went to Xfinity OnDemand to pull it up and watch it. They don't even have it!!! How can Xfinity not have this On Demand?! I will have to find it somewhere on DVD but since Blockbuster and Hollywood Video are gone.....good luck. I will find it!!! I shall not be denied!!!

"Have a better one"

[–] vix07 10 years ago

Redbox has it. I really liked it. I like seeing war from all sides.

[–] csjintn 10 years ago

Finally found it at Redbox thanks to a fellow IMDB'er. Great film see my review at websnackerblog.com under the name Johnnytwotoes.

"Have a better one"

[–] s-peachie 11 years ago

Thanks for the information. The premise sounds intriguing and I'm looking forward to seeing this. I think accents would only make sense if these were supposed to be Russians speaking English. When they are supposed to be Russians speaking Russian to each other there's no need to represent that with fake Russian accents.

[–] meso97ts 11 years ago

As far as I'm concerned the generally negative reviews for Phantom are wrong. I just saw the film and really liked it. It worked for me. I was not at all put off by the fact that the cast was American. Sometimes I wonder whether the film that the "professional critics" see and that I see are actually the same. Above all else I go to see a movie because of the story. And this story is a good one, and is suspenseful. Kudos to everyone involved in the making of this film.

[–] Pippy-4 11 years ago

I just posted my review too and ITA with you. Phantom was a very good film from start to finish.

[–] jt-hix2112 11 years ago

It's really cool that you as producer are representing your film here on these boards, I wish that could happen more often.

I liked your movie, really interesting story! And I think the choice to use the actors' natural accents worked well, it fits in with Harris' line about empathy.

My short films: http://www.youtube.com/user/jthix2554/videos?flow=grid&view=0

[–] lennonforever 11 years ago

Thank you for writing - I saw this last night - I loved it!! Honestly did, Ed Harris has to be one of the finest actors in the world,he elevates to fantastic any movie he's in. Fichtner was excellent as well. Duchovny was good ,but not great. He got better as the movie progressed. And to see Hendriksen, albeit so briefly, was a delight. I loved the plot - Always have loved war movies, ( and I'm a girl) esp submariners movies- reminds me of the old days of "On the Beach" and "Das Boot" I grew up in the 50 and 60's and remember the cold war scaring the daylights outta me. Just the sight of a mushroom cloud gives me shivers. I came from the era of "duck and cover" under your school desk in elementary school.

Your movie pulled me right into the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere. I agree that the accents should not have been used. They would have proved distracting, I believe. Bravo on a really quietly suspenseful film. Not one single moment was wasted. It seemed realistic and was concise and to the point. Well done . A solid 8/10, I wish I could give it a 10/10 but some parts confused me, ( who were the KGB , who weren't ) I am going to investigate the true nature of this incident.

There are no enemies in science, only phenomena to be studied.

[–] Pippy-4 11 years ago

I'm a big fan of Duchovny and i think he was very good, but this was Ed Harris film all the way. It held my interest from start to finish. To bad hardly anyone will get a chance to see it on the big screen

[–] magentamarzipane 11 years ago

I came from the era of "duck and cover" under your school desk in elementary school.

Lol! Yes, I too was taught that my ancient wooden desk was going to protect me from nuclear fallout! I went to Catholic school so in addition to the fear of the bomb dropping, I also had to deal with the possibility of Russian soldiers storming my classroom and forcing me to deny Christ. This was troubling since I knew that the very second torture was put on the table I would have been all "Christ who?" thus condemning myself to hell unlike all the martyrs who endured unspeakable pain with serene smiles on their faces that we were always learning about.

To confess an even further weakness, the Russian soldiers in my textbooks were always kind of hot looking. Jackboots will do that for a man. I wasn't clear about the specifics of what being "violated" meant but I was kind of ok with letting them do it.

(Not to make a jest about wartime rape or rape of any kind, just looking back now I realise that those jackboot wearing alpha males stirred sexual feelings before I really knew what sexual feelings were. But I digress.)

[–] lennonforever 11 years ago

Jackboots, huh LOL!

This movie wasn't marketed well, but I suspetc that we "older types" may be the audience for this film. I really think the youngins would not
feel the angst' of the Cold war - having not been in it! Just a thought.

There are no enemies in science, only phenomena to be studied.

[–] BudderBean 11 years ago

Jackboots, huh LOL!

This movie wasn't marketed well, but I suspetc that we "older types" may be the audience for this film. I really think the youngins would not
feel the angst' of the Cold war - having not been in it! Just a thought.

I also grew up during that time period. Bomb shelters were a big deal back then. During the Cuban Missle Crisis I lived in Florida so bombs were very much on our mind. I enjoyed the movie a lot. It was so nice to see a movie with a good story that has just enough special effects to make it realistic without overdoing the CGI. I agree this was more for an older audience. I think if it had been marketed on tv, more seniors would know about it. It's a real shame. They shot themselves in the foot, imo.

The opposite of Progress is Congress

[–] Pi_1 11 years ago

I saw the film this evening with my fiance and we thought it was wonderful! Among the best we've seen in the last year to be honest. I also find it refreshing that a producer of a fairly large project came to the IMDB boards to chat about it. There are a few trolls and a-holes that are always lurking, but I sincerely hope their efforts to be negative don't deter you from stopping by in the future as it is much appreciated by most of us! I hope the film does well - I certainly think success is well deserved in this case and see big things in your company's future if all your projects are of similar quality to this one.

Thanks for a great film. It was well worth our $20 and I hope others will support it and enjoy it as as much as we did so it can achieve the success it deserves.

Oh, and just let me also add that I only stumbled upon Phantom the other day and bookmarked the IMDB page so I wouldn't forget about it when it came out on Blu-Ray. I was very pleasantly surprised when I scanned the movie times this evening and actually saw it playing in theaters! I didn't expect that, but after seeing it it CERTAINLY belongs. So again, I hope it does well and I also hope you'll be able to continue releasing your films, despite their relatively small budget, to a wide number of theaters.

[–] Pippy-4 11 years ago

One of the workers at the AMC we went to came in to clean up after the film. He said, from what i've seen this looks like a terrific movie. To bad most people don't even know about it. I told him that I agree, it was very well done. I think the only way it might have done well was if the "big critics" didn't put it down which many did. I really didn't see what they did. I loved the film from start to finish. I'm going tonight with my husband to see it a second time.