Sundance 2020: Interview With Producer Gary Hamilton Of POSSESSOR

Over the years, Australian producer Gary Hamilton has developed an impressively diverse filmography both at home and abroad, and has recently worked on such films as First Reformed and Hotel Mumbai. Through his production company Arclight Films, he’s produced award-winning films and served as an advocate for talented emerging filmmakers. He is currently at Sundance promoting Brandon Cronenberg‘s latest directorial effort, Possessor.

Wilson Kwong for Film Inquiry: Before we talk about Possessor, I wanted to ask you about your process in deciding what films you want to produce and help make.

Gary Hamilton: Well, I think it’s all about the idea and the concepts. And obviously the script has to be great too, but every great script has to be created. With Hotel Mumbai, for example, when we optioned that from the documentary, we loved the perspective of people who were working in the hotels. And we thought, wow, that’s a great angle. We look for really strong material that is different, that is potentially commercial but also critically based as well.

And I know you’ve also done projects from all over the world, including China, which must be a very different environment to work in.

Gary Hamilton: Yes, we did a movie last year called Triple Threat that did really well. And it was obviously a martial arts movie, but we really tried to do something with the genre that was very real and true, and not visual effects driven. The film paid off for us, so yes, we do like Asia. But we’re really looking at doing films everywhere. We love working in Canada and obviously with Brandon [Cronenberg], that was a very quick decision because of the script and Brandon’s vision of it. Having seen his earlier films, I was very, very much wanting to be involved in it.

And what exactly about the script or idea for Possessor attracted you to it?

Gary Hamilton: Well, I think it’s such an interesting concept. I mean, without giving too much away, there’s the whole thing of mind and body control, and then you put that in the form of an assassin. He’s creating, in a way, his own sort of comic book. It’s almost like he’s created this incredible world that comes from great comic books, and it’s totally in Brandon’s head and his own creation. I think it’s something that is so strong that when people see it at Sundance, they’ll very much be taken by the fact that it is a much bigger world than what they’re just seeing in the film.

Just because the concept of the film seems so unique, who do you think should be the intended audience of this film?

Gary Hamilton: Well, I think it’s very much an audience that is watching things like Joker, Black Mirror and the kind of films that have a little bit of a violent undertone to them, and have their own world. And I think this audience and the audience for the film is very broad. It’s definitely not a limited art house type of festival movie. It has a much bigger application because the film was made as a very commercial movie too.

You mentioned that there may be some inspiration from comic books, so would you consider this to be in the same vein as a graphic novel or comic book movie?

Gary Hamilton: I think it definitely has its roots in something like that. You could imagine that this was something that was a graphic novel. And although Brandon‘s approach is very different – it’s not Sin City or that kind of surreal world – it keeps it much more real. It’s definitely something that could have been out of that environment.

And what made you decide to premiere this at a film festival?

Gary Hamilton: Well, we think that Sundance is absolutely the right place for it. Brandon had just finished the movie, and we could’ve waited for other festivals, but the Sundance people saw it and they just absolutely loved the film. And their enthusiasm and I think placement of the film on Saturday night shows a lot of confidence that it’s an important film, which is great for Brandon as a filmmaker.

When you’re making a film like Possessor, as opposed to a film in China where censorship is more of an issue, is it a very different process for you?

Gary Hamilton: Oh yes. If you’re looking at a film for China, you have to be very much aware of that. That’s an important thing, and I don’t know the life of Possessor in China. I don’t want to say one way or another, but the movie is definitely an R-rated movie. There’s no question. But that doesn’t put us off. It may limit the chance of the movie selling in a couple of places like China, but that doesn’t matter. This film’s not being made specifically for China, that’s for sure. It’s definitely a worldwide film.

Possessor will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020.