'Dead Of Night" Enjoying Omnilab's Riches
Tue, July 7, 2009 
Rodney Appleyard of Inside Film had a chance to toss some questions at "Dead of Night" producer Gilbert Adler and Omnilab's The Lab Sydney general manager Lewis Pullen regarding investors, special effects, and filmmakers.
Gil Adler:
On Investors:
“The way movies are pieced together these days, in regards to the financing, is not like the old days when you used to visit four dentists in Michigan or Sydney and ask them to write you a cheque,” he told IF FX from the set in New Orleans last month."
“It's far more sophisticated because of the interest in the picture from around the world. We found out about Omnilab – they loved the script, had the right attitude, were very clued up about making sure the quality would be of a certain standard and have been great partners all the way.”
On The Storyline:
“In our movie, Dylan Dog is retired but decides to come back to work because something bad has happened to a person he cares about a great deal. His friend Marcus works alongside him on the investigations, making it a terrific buddy movie.”
On Special Effects:
“It features plenty of great make-up effects created by DRAC Studios, who won an Oscar for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. They have created some really cool transformations for some of the characters – the likes of which we haven't ever seen in movies before. I always like to do something a bit different on each movie and to push the envelop a little bit because nobody wants to see the same old thing all the time.”
“I don't think any movie can sustain itself just by using one type of effect. We basically look at the character and allow everything to grow from there. For instance, a certain effect will be needed to create an emotional connection with the audience – so we think about how we can accomplish this in the best way.
“But we won't be using any fully CGI creatures because that kind of effect is used too much in the world of commercials and I think it is more than a turn off than an enhancement to the movie. You really have to make sure the quality is there in all areas to make it feel like its real. Once the audience does not feel like it's real, it all over.”
Lewis Pullen:
On Filmmakers:
“We are interested in filmmakers with credibility who have done a good job in securing finance for a movie. One of the ways in which we help local filmmakers get their project off the ground is by cash flowing the Tax Offset.
“I'm also happy to work with local filmmakers in the domestic market on lower level budget movies too. We are definitely planning to lift our involvement in this area too. Supporting filmmakers to get their films up is as good as it gets and we want to continue to work hard in this area.”
On Past & Future Projects:
“Bran Nue Dae is another movie we helped to get off the ground. Without our help it would never have got up and running. It's also great to be working in a joint venture with George Miller on Happy Feet 2 because we do actually see a chance of building a world class film industry here.”
