Although he has been making films spoken in English for almost 20 years (the first was The Faithful Gardener2005), Fernando Meirelles consider the series Sugar, of Apple TV+his first project “truly Hollywood” — and, in an interview with Omeletthe filmmaker confessed that it was a shock to come across the structure involved in the production.
“It’s the first time I’ve done something just for Americans. All the other international projects I’ve done have been co-productions between various countries, and many of them based in London“, said. “But this time it was really Hollywood, Hollywood in its veins! Trucks on set, negotiations with unions, a giant scheme. Sometimes it was even scary, I would arrive on set with my cart and see that crowd, it looked like a stadium… I thought: ‘Wow, and I’m running this little business here‘”.
This entire structure has its good side and its bad side, according to Meirelles. “In Brazil, I feel like I have more freedom to propose things… especially because, in general, I tend to produce my own national projects. Even if the platform or the client asks for something, I give a little bit here and there and that’s it, I do it my way”, he joked.
“In Hollywood, on the other hand, I’m more limited to a directing technician, you know? I was part of a gear, and if I wanted to change something very big it was a whole process“, continued. “I had to talk to the producer, who talked to the executive producer, who tried to talk to the Apple representative, who tried to talk to the head of Apple… everything is very difficult. So, knowing that I was just one part of the machine, I focused on doing my part well.”.
The filmmaker, however, said he was lucky to find the star Colin Farrell and the producer Audrey Chon two great creative partners. “We kind of joined hands and made some creative choices, like inserting classic noir scenes in the middle of the episodes. This wasn’t in the script, but we did it and sent it to Apple. Luckily, they came back saying: ‘Okay, keep going!’ But that’s not usual, you know? In Hollywood, it’s always a circus to do anything”.
Sugar debut in April 5th on Apple TV+, with the first two episodes of the season. The following chapters will be released weekly, always on Fridays.
