Robots in disguise

The man to blame for over a hundred music video clips and dozens of popular advertisements, Lebanese Said el Marouk has taken his show to the silver screen with a $200 million film.

Translated from its original Arabic

Let’s start with the basics; what’s your favorite place in Lebanon?

There are plenty of places. I’m always amazed by this country, especially since I work a lot behind the camera. I love fish restaurants, especially the ones by the sea. There’s a place in Maameltein, a place in St.Georges, and the lighting is amazing just before the sunset. The contrast between the green of your vegetables and the blue of the sea is spectacular. I often eat with my eyes before anything else. But each place has its signature feel and I’m constantly amazed by Beirut and its many contrasts.

It’s a pretty amazing city…

It’s a crazy city. The contrasts of the old styles and streets with the modern, the houses built in the 1930s and 1940s, they all give you a sense of pride. Beirut was built by its children, not some foreign architect. It has a lot to offer for the filmmaker.

That’s right, finally done with the music videos aren’t you?

First of all, you don’t ever really specialize in video clips. You study TV or cinema, but you don’t have many chances here as a film producer. In the Arab world it doesn’t matter how educated you are, or how good your degree is, they need to see work, a lot of work. Music videos were a bridge here, but my dream had always been movies. But you have to wait for the right moment.

You also mass produced some commercials, didn’t you?

Those I did for the money. Your name doesn’t show up on the ads but everyone in the right circles knows what you’ve done. With video clips you get to put your name in the credits, and with ads you get paid well. There are plenty of local and regional ads — especially in Egypt — that I’ve made and you wouldn’t know to attribute to me. Oh yeah, I made a lot of ads.

But no more; now it’s the silver screen or bust!

Yes. I think I’ve made one too many clips, over 120 to be sure. Now it’s a matter of timing, and now I have a good booster. I worked on Transformers 2, after all.

Which is why I’m here, and that’s pretty incredible. How on earth did that happen?

I went to the States the other year and took my showreel along. Now, I’ve always followed up on the few people who I felt were key in the industry. One of them was a very famous colorist who worked on movies like Pearl Harbor and Pirates of the Caribbean. I contacted him and we became friends over time.

I’m sorry, but a colorist does what?

Well, he colors. Think of that scene from King Kong, the one where the taxi is driving by the port, a blue background and an extremely yellow cab; you could never get that with a camera, warm and cold colors? It’s unbelievable. And this guy was one of the best; so I gave him my showreel.

Then you get the call…

About a year later I get a call from Michael Bay around midnight. At first I didn’t believe it was him — I mean c’mon, hello this is Michael Bay? — but he asked me to be the second unit director in Transformers 2. Before you ask: say you need two shots set at 5pm, to save time, he shoots the cars and then sends me the cars and I continue the shot, get it?

Got it, and thanks. So you actually got to meet Michael Bay…

Yes, I was also a consultant on the team. I’ve shot in a lot in Egypt before and my experience made me an asset to Michael. I shot some car chase scenes, some running scenes and some plate shots of Abul Hol – shots that will later be included in Transformers 2. You can’t give these to an assistant director, you have to give them to another director.

Stop acting all cool, weren’t you thrilled?

Unbelievably! I have shots in a $200 million movie — I mean wow. We were even shooting in Luxor at one point and I suggested a different way to take a scene and he actually took my advice. It’s surreal.

So what really is the difference between low budget movies and a $200 million movie, umm, besides the 200 million dollars?

Man, I discovered that 70 per cent of making the movie is the amazing equipment. Compared to their equipment we’re using sub-standard student equipment. It’s amazing. They have tiny skin-colored wires that act as wireless microphones. The actor is speaking, on a windy Egyptian night, near the pyramids in the open air and you couldn’t hear anything except the crystal clear voice of the actor. It’s incredible. It’s all about budget — I mean my impossible local dream is to make a $3 million movie. They had $200 million!

You’re talking about Cinema Rivoli I presume?

Yes, and now everyone knows I have a movie that I’ve stopped; for many reasons, including budget. I need to build the Downtown in 1975, that’ll cost me a million dollars alone and that’s on a budget. Michael is a producer and director and he’s asked me several times to send him my movie. He’d like to produce a horror movie and my movie is a horror movie, a classical horror. Cinema Rivoli has been around for a while, as a dream at least… Four years now, and it took me three years to write. I’m rewriting it now and when this new draft is done I’ll send it to Michael. It’ll have to be in English though. But that’s not a bad thing. Chinese cinema for instance was unheard of until the Chinese started creating movies in English. It’s about communicating your mindset, your ideas, and it doesn’t matter what language you use to communicate. English is the most used language in entertainment, so why not? If Michael takes it I hope to take double shots of everything, once in Lebanese Arabic and once in English.

Sounds complicated; the actors would have to be Lebanese then?

Not entirely, you’ll have to add some internationals in the international version because they are the names that will sell the movie. Each international actor can carry several locals on his back. You’ll drop a couple of locals for the English version but that won’t matter. But our name will be out there!