The directors: Franc Roddam on Harvey Weinstein

In our continuing series of articles in collaboration with Direct, the magazine of the Directors Guild of Great Britain guest edited by filmmaker Don Boyd, Franc Roddam, the director of ’Quadrophenia‘, recalls working with Harvey Weinstein on his 1992 film ’K2‘

‘Harvey, it’s Franc.’
Silence. Is he going to hang up?
‘Franc… Do you hate me?’I talk fast.
‘No, Harvey, I don’t hate you. I just want to get this movie right, I heard about the cuts. They are never going to work. I’ve come up with a plan that will work for both of us. I must see you.’

Long pause.
‘Look, Franc, I’m going back to New York. Call my office, we’ll talk about it.’
He hangs up.
I paced around my house in the Hollywood Hills, I’m desperate. I can’t let the film go out like this.
‘I can take my name off – no, no… I owe it to the actors.’
Gotta do something…
Harvey always flies on that fancy boutique airline, MGM Grand Air; mahogany panelling, the whole nine yards. I book myself a return ticket to New York, it’s fucking expensive, I grab a bag and dash to the airport.

I’m sitting in my plush seat, contemplating the cost and my ludicrous plan, Harvey’s not on the plane and the door is about to close. I’m watching the door like a hawk, no Harvey. At the last second, like the finale of some Hollywood movie, a bedraggled, heavy-breathing Harvey pops through the door, struggling with his carry-on. Bingo!

I let him settle in, give him time to order his Diet Coke and just when I see there is a danger of him falling asleep, I leave my seat and slide in next to him. He almost dies of shock – what pleasure, what fun, but now down to the pitch.

The upshot was, Harvey liked my ideas and agreed to most of them on the condition that I let him sleep.

I paid for my trip back to the UK and started to work with the editor. Before we could finish the cut, we got a call from Harvey. Paramount had a six-week gap in their schedule before the next Harrison Ford film; they had bought ‘K2’ as a filler. The executives at Paramount kicked out the Hans Zimmer score and let us put back a few of the deleted scenes and also made a few demands of their own.

The film I made, the one that got the standing ovation at Cannes, has never been seen. I’m working on a new project now, it’s a superb script, actors are throwing themselves at it. It’s low-budget, edgy, a cross between ‘Sideways’, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and ‘Boogie Nights’. I need a hot producer, someone with guts, someone who takes risks… Better call Harvey.

‘Hey, Harvey, it’s Franc, you owe me one…’