By Elizabeth Gracen:
An afternoon movie matinee all to myself, a tub of popcorn,
Red Vines, Venice, Italy, Hemingway . . . and Ken Gord.
What do all of these things have in common?
Well, just like the Sound of Music song says, "These are a few of my favorite things. . . . "
At the start of the pandemic that locked most of us away in our homes washing off delivery boxes with bleach wipes, dodging each other in grocery stores as we over-stocked our shopping carts, and gorging our way through far-too-much streaming content whilst trying to keep it together and not kill whomever we were living with (!), my friend Ken Gord had the good fortune to find himself suddenly sequestered away during a location scout for a then-upcoming film he was producing in what I consider the most beautiful city in the world: Venice, Italy.
I'm not exactly sure how we reconnected during that time, but when we did, we struck on a plan for him to document his three-month lockdown in my favorite locale. I admit, I probably pressured him to do so. He was "stuck" in Venice, for god's sake! What better person to live vicariously through during such a bleak time that felt like it was never ending?
Finally, as time passed, the pandemic eventually abated and life sputtered back to a somewhat normal rhythm (however short lived!). The entertainment industry eventually found its footing (once again, short-lived!) to churn out more viewing pleasures for our now-ravenous appetite to be forever and ever amused, enthralled, and engrossed with our screens, both large and small. Finally freed from lockdown, Ken began the arduous process of helping bring Ernest Hemingway's Across the River and Into the Trees to life on the big screen.
When the film arrived in cinemas at the end of August 2024, I wasted no time in reserving my row C center recliner seat in the nearest arthouse theatre to immerse myself in a satiating combo of my favorite things to revel in the film's final creation.
I recently reached out to Ken to talk about his adventures in filmmaking and how Across the River and Into the Trees finally came to fruition.
Elizabeth Gracen: Ken, congrats on a beautiful film! We sort of lost touch once you actually went into production, but because you were sequestered in lockdown in Venice for so long, I feel like you worked on the project forever! Can you share a brief timeline of how you got involved with the production from start to finish—including when the pandemic struck and you found yourself "stuck" in the most beautiful watery city in the world?
Ken Gord: I received a phone call from the lead producer, Robert MacLean, about 7 years ago. He and I had worked together on the film Criminal Law, which we shot in 1986 in Montreal, directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Mask of Zorro, etc.) and starring Kevin Bacon and Gary Oldman, in one of his first American films. At the time Robert called me about Across the River, it was to be directed by Martin Campbell, so this was kind of like a reunion. I went to Venice to start prepping right after the lockdown, and when people ask me what it was like to be “stuck” in Venice, I laugh. As you said, the most beautiful watery city in the world is not a place you get stuck in. It was a fantastic experience—no tourists!
Anyway, Martin and I prepped for a few months but, unfortunately, a piece of Robert’s financing fell through. Strike one. I went back to Venice a year later and started prepping again. This time we were only about 2 weeks from shooting, Pierce Brosnan (who was playing Colonel Cantwell) was just about to get on a plane to Venice when . . . crash. Part of Robert’s financing fell through. Strike two. A year later, we went at it again. Martin was replaced by Paula Ortiz, a Spanish director, and Pierce was replaced by Liev Schreiber. Although there were lots of hiccups in the financing and during the production—including having to test the entire cast and crew for Covid almost every single day, which takes at least an hour out of your shoot day—we made it through. Third time’s a charm! We finished shooting in March of 2021. But that was a long, arduous, painful journey.
EG: Having spent a little time with you in Spain when you produced Queen of Swords in Andalusia, Spain, I have a sneaking suspicion that you are a Hemingway fan. As I recall, you may have attended a bullfight or two? Am I wrong about all this?
KG: In actual fact, I have never read a Hemingway novel, not even Across the River and Into the Trees. I did attend a bullfight in Tabernas, the small town in Andalusia where we shot Queen of Swords. I thought it was awful. Horrible. I’m an animal lover, and all I could feel was empathy for the poor bulls. I’ll never do that again.
EG: What was it like bringing this quintessential Hemingway film to life? What were the biggest challenges? Was it difficult to film in Venice in general?
KG: This Hemingway book has been threatening to make it to the big screen for decades. Some very esteemed directors—such as John Huston (fun fact: we cast his son, Danny Huston, as an army medic in the film), Robert Altman, Michael Radford, and others—tried and failed. It was the only Hemingway novel never adapted to the big screen, which tells you what a challenge it was, the biggest being that it was a period drama-romance. Action, superheroes, horror, thriller—these genres all travel well (meaning they can easily be sold around the world). But drama is the least commercial genre, and period drama is even worse. As to the production, not only is Venice one of the most expensive cities in the world in which to shoot (remember there are only 260,000 actual residents and almost 6 million tourists per year), it’s also the most difficult. Think of the “circus,” what we call the long convoy of production vehicles, trucks, generators, motor homes, etc. on a normal production. Now, put that onto boats. Boats that carry a ton of electrical, grip, camera, sound gear, cables, special effects, set dressing, props, wardrobe, etc. We even had a dedicated Covid boat!
All these boats had to be docked at the locations (in a specific order!), gear unloaded, then loaded back onto the boats at wrap . . . every single day. Not only that, anything that could be done fairly easily on land, like setting up a cherry picker or crane, was 10X more difficult on water.
Here’s a shot of a boat crane holding up a black (which is used to block direct sunlight to create a dusky kind of look) for the scene where Cantwell and Renata find the boat with the dog and old man at the end of the movie.
EG: The Venice in the film has a mysterious, misty, moody winter feel at the end of WWII. I was struck with how peaceful and lonely the tableau was. What time of year did the film shoot? The locations are fabulous too. What was your favorite location? The Gritti Palace perchance? I think you told me that you had cocktails there on a regular basis during the lockdown? Maybe I have this wrong too! I tend to romanticize Venice!
KG: We shot in the winter—December, January, and February—when Venice is actually cold and gray, ergo the moody look. But we also had one of the world’s best cinematographers in Javier Aguirresarobe. Although he shot in digital colour, the film was designed to be delivered in black & white. Because of the (lack of) commerciality for a B&W movie, the film was turned back into colour. But Javier had designed all his lighting for B&W, which helps explain why the movie looks moody and misty.
It would be hard to find a bad location in Venice. Because the entire city is a [UNESCO World] Heritage site, it hasn’t really changed over the decades. Very few new buildings. So, all you have to do is point the camera anywhere and you’ve got a 360-degree vista that is period-proof. The only thing that caused us headaches was the graffiti—certainly wasn’t 1940s. And, yes, I love the Gritti Palace, especially their martinis. It was difficult to negotiate with them because they’re busy all the time, and a film crew does disrupt business and guests (especially the wealthy kind who can afford a hotel like the Gritti.) We did make sure the Gritti hotel sign is seen clearly in the movie when Cantwell and Renata first approach, because the fee would’ve been a lot higher if we didn’t guarantee seeing their sign.
Also, truth be told, the interior bar scenes were actually filmed at the Danieli, another 5-star joint in Venice. It had more room to work in, and Paula preferred its look, even though Ernest himself, like Cantwell, used to drink in the Bar Longhi at the Gritti. So, we “cheated” that interior. Also, even though Ernest actually wrote the novel in a suite at the Gritti (if you ever go there, it’s aptly called The Hemingway Suite, and they have a signed copy of the book under glass) and we were going to shoot Cantwell’s room there, as Hemingway wrote it, we instead cheated that location at another palazzo.
EG: I’m a big Liev Schreiber fan. What was he like to work with? The rest of the cast of characters are so varied and interesting as well. The Contessa mother [played by Laura Morante] looked like an Italian Juliette Binoche! Can you tell me a little about the cast?
KG: The only thing wrong with Liev is typing his name, because it always spell-checks to “live,” which is irritating. He is a true professional. He invested himself 100% in the Colonel Cantwell character, did a lot of research on PTSD, on the political and military situation in 1946, and on Hemingway himself (because this book was somewhat auto-biographical; Hemingway did have an affair with an Italian countess). Of course, we had tense moments because of the difficulty of shooting, which is totally normal. But, on his last day, we shared a few whiskey shots from a bottle the crew had bought him, and he was in a good mood, for a job well done, as was I.
The actress in the Gritti bar with the peacock general is Sabrina Impacciatore (who became pretty popular for playing Valentina, the hotel manager in season two of The White Lotus.) Matilda De Angelis, who plays the Countess Renata, is a sweetheart of a person and a very popular singer in Italy. I thought she gave a fantastic performance.
EG: You have such a varied resumé, from television series to art-house films. You always seem to be working on international productions as well. Do you have a preference between TV and film? Where is your favorite place to work on a project?
KG: The reason I seem to have worked on a lot of international productions is because I’m Canadian, and Canada has co-production treaties with most other countries in the world. So, many of the productions I was hired on were official treaty co-productions: Canada-Mexico-Hungary-UK-Spain-Israel-France-Luxembourgh-Germany-Brazil . . . you get the gist. I enjoyed some of the productions I worked on more than others. Highlander: the Series is probably my favourite (due to the warm and wonderful film family, including YOU!). Some of the productions I worked on I have never even watched. So, as a hired producer, you go where the work is, but it’s not necessarily your cup of tea. I think my favourite movie was an overlooked little thriller gem called Stuck, which starred Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea. I love that movie!
EG: Let’s talk a bit about Hemingway. Why bring an adaptation of this sad story to the screen? I had never read this particular novel, but from what I’ve researched, it doesn’t appear to be considered one of the author’s most successful books. What was it about the story of Colonel Richard Cantrell that needed to be told? The character has such an autobiographical quality to him—all the way up to the inevitable ending. Was there much changed from the transition from page to screen?
KG: As I said above, I didn’t read this book. I haven’t read any Hemingway. I’ve seen his movies, though, lol. I was a hired producer—the project wasn’t initiated by me. I signed on because I liked the team of MacLean and Campbell (who I worked with on Criminal Law) and because of the cache of the Hemingway name. I thought it might even give me some class. ;)
KG: I went to Zaragoza, Paula’s hometown in Spain, before I hit Venice for the third pre-production. It was just a few days before the European lockdown. I immediately bonded with her because of her passion, energy, dedication, talent—all qualities I admire. She had a very different vision of the movie from Martin Campbell’s. It became a more character-driven piece rather than a quixotic journey. Yes, we had some big disagreements over the shoot—again, normal. But I think she did a great job. (I also loved her movie The Bride, aka La Novia) That movie showed what kind of chops Paula has. I hope I’m fortunate enough to work with her again!
EG: I was lucky enough to have you use Flapper Press as a creative outlet during your Venice lockdown. What a unique experience you had! Luckily, you wrote about your adventures there as the silty city went quiet and then slowly came back to life. Do you miss it?
KG: Venice is one of the most fascinating, stunning, cinematic cities in the world. I had the experience of a lifetime. And what a wonderful opportunity you gave me to publish my blogs. I kind of poo-poo-ed the idea when you first mentioned it to me, but once I started to get into it, I embraced it. On every walk, every sight I saw became a “is this a good tidbit for the blog?” I dove in 100%. Flapper Press allowed me to concentrate a lot of pent-up creative and anxious energy whilst waiting for the lockdown to be lifted into something positive. I had a lot of fun! Thanks, Lizzie!!!
Read Ken's Flapper Press series here:
EG: Thanks so much for sharing this film adventure with me, friend. Last question: What’s next for you? What does the gallivanting Ken Gord have planned for 2025?
KG: I work as Head of Production for Global Genesis Group, headquartered in Henderson, Nevada. We have a plethora of projects in various stages of development and hope to start shooting some of them in early 2025. Stay tuned! And thanks for inviting me to do this interview!
Elizabeth Gracen is the owner of Flapper Press & Flapper Films.
Ken Gord has been producing international film and television for over forty years. Among his features are CRIMINAL LAW, starring Gary Oldman, and STUCK, starring Stephen Rea. He has produced over twenty television movies, mini-series, and series, including the syndicated cult hit HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES.
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