“This is not a national treasure, this is business”

Film producer Robert Halmi Sr., Chairman of Hallmark Entertainment Network

(Budapest) “Another couple of weeks and I will give up.” said Hungarian-born television producer Robert Halmi Senior on his plans to finance a five million dollar film production studio outside of Budapest, “I’ve been pursuing this for about six months without any luck and pretty soon I’m going to give up. I will continue to come here to make movies, but will forget about the big dream.”

After having invested almost twenty million dollars producing films in Hungary to date, Halmi, the head of Hallmark Entertainment Network- is frustrated. The seventy-six year old producer wants to finance a studio that he claims will benefit not only his company, but bring about the renewal of the tattered and under-financed Hungarian film industry. While the government provides tax incentives for international investors in a host of industries, Halmi claims that the film industry has been left out of the loop.

Halmi has built an empire producing award winning, high profile, multi-million dollar stories for the small screen staring actors the likes of Gregory Peck, Katherine Hepburn and Paul Newman. With twenty projects in various stages of development around the world, Hallmark has become known for its made for television versions of classic literary works that have included Gulliver’s Travels, Moby Dick and the Odyssey.

On the first days of the shooting of his latest production in Hungary, “The Prince and the Pauper”, staring Aiden Quinn and Alan Bates, we spoke to Halmi on a two day visit to Hungary on set at the Fot film studio, just outside of Budapest.

Princz: A few months ago you announced that you wanted to build a new studio here in Fot. What is the intent of this project?

Halmi: I have been filming in Hungary constantly now for the last three or four years and have been spending quite a bit of money in Hungary. However, the facilities are not big enough or good enough to bring a big picture here. I produce many much bigger and more expensive productions. I’m doing a production for television in England now that cost 78 million dollars using the stages at Pinewood Studios.

I thought that if the Hungarians would cooperate, I could build a studio here that would be big enough to bring large productions. This would not only benefit me, but also the Hungarian movie-making community, which is very talented but have no work.

Hungarians are too involved in politics, though, and they don’t trust anybody. They think that if I suggest building a studio here, I must have some horrible ulterior motive to take over the Hungarian movie production industry, which I have absolutely no idea to do. All that I want to do is to bring business here, and to have a place where I can make big movies and have control over the space. It’s difficult, though. I’m getting to the end of my career anyhow, so I’m not going to fight this too much.

Princz: Does this desire to build a studio here have to do with your Hungarian roots?

Halmi: Of course, I can speak the language, and I know all of these people going way back when I was ten years old I was serving coffee in the Hungarian studios when my father was a photographer of stars. It always felt good for me when I could do something good for the place where I came from. My first years when I went to America were the best years of my life. My schooling contributed greatly to my success in America. I went to Sarospatak, which was a good school, and I tried to give back a little bit. I donated a huge English library to the school. Everybody gets nostalgic towards the end of ones life. But it’s very funny why the Hungarians are suspicious of everybody who wants to come back here and do some good. I have no idea why.

Princz: What kind of difficulties have you been running into?

Halmi: I have no idea. All I know is that people who are working on my behalf, negotiating with the government, come back saying that half of the people say ok, and the other half are afraid of I don’t know what. They should ask the people in the industry if they want me here or not, and everybody in the movie business will say yes. There are talented directors who didn’t work for years here because there are no movies to be made.

Princz: What is the precise stumbling block that stops you from going ahead?

Halmi: I have two lawyers working on it, and they report back to me that it’s not going to happen because certain people are against the idea of bringing foreign capital into this industry. This country is begging for foreign investment on the industrial level. This is another industry.

Princz: Would a five million dollar studio be enough of an investment to attract larger projects to Hungary?

Halmi: It is a big difference. They have two stages and a back lot here now, and for a small movie this is enough. For anything bigger, you really need more of an infrastructure. These facilities are getting older, and are not in the best of conditions.

Princz: What kind of investment would this studio in Fot cost?

Halmi: I would build a big studio here, which is much needed, and would cost about five million dollars to build. I don’t even want it. I will give it back to the state or to MaFilm when I’m finished with it.

Princz: Why wouldn’t you invest directly into MaFilm directly?

Halmi: I don’t want to get involved in institutions, and that is even more complicated. I just want to build a studio here that I can use, and if I don’t use it, anybody else can use. Because I like the people, I like the workforce and the talent that is here, and I would like to work here. But, if they don’t want me, then I won’t. There are so many other places in the world. Prague has gorgeous facilities with eight or nine big studios. Romania also has big facilities. I film in Turkey, and I’m going to India because there is a very unique studio there. Nothing is going to change, or the world won’t come to an end if I don’t build a studio here. For me, it was an idea, and I thought it is a good idea. But if they think it’s not a good idea, I’m going to keep making movies anyhow and do my big stuff somewhere else. And as I said, it’s limited how many years I’m going to work.

Princz: What kind of cooperation with government are you looking for?

Halmi: It is what most countries have. Governments help the movie industry to come into a country because they realize that movies are good for many reasons. They bring in a lot of money for a very short period of time and are very cash intensive. They are also great publicity for the country and for tourism when a movie is produced here. Most countries give tax incentives to attract producers. They do it for industry here, but somehow they don’t do it for the movie industry. This is not only for me, but also for every producer who might consider coming here. It would benefit the whole industry, and all of the producers. I would build a studio that anybody could benefit from.

Princz: If the government would give a tax incentive, then you would invest in this studio- otherwise you take your project elsewhere?

Halmi: If they don’t, there is no point. If I have any incentive, then I would invest here, otherwise I don’t. I just want them to treat it like any other business. They give tax incentives to everybody else who wants to come in here to work. This is not only for me, but overall it is for any other producer who wants to come here. They would increase their production facility by a hundred percent, maybe more. It’s not that it would only benefit me.

Princz: Is it the tax credit system for film production that you think should be introduced in Hungary?

Halmi: Sure, it would bring other productions here. They have tax incentives for film production in Germany, England, France, Canada… everywhere. That is basic to bring productions. I’m here for four or five weeks and am spending five million dollars. Not too many industries do that. It’s a very funny thing in this country, everybody is waiting for the next government. Ok, we won’t do anything now because I’m sure the government is going to change in six months, and let them worry about it- they say. All of this, I think, is growing pains. After the war this country was such a mess, and it will take a while for it to catch up in every which way to the rest of the world. This is one of them. If you want to join the EU, where every other country does this, and you’ll probably have to.

Princz: Is this all about the level of control over the film industry that the government may not want to give up?

Halmi: Traditionally, governments stay out of arts, besides supporting them. The governments’ job in most every other country is to encourage and support it in one way or another. In Hungary seemingly it goes a step further. They want to be involved in something that they have no idea what it is and no knowledge about, so it’s more complicated. It takes time to grow, and figure out that the governments’ job is really running a country. In Hungary, it is relatively new. Hopefully, by joining the European Community and by watching what other people do, it will eventually happen here too that they realize that it is a good thing if people come here to make movies. They have to understand that. I have seen it happen in many other countries.

I remember in Kenya where I used to have a house, the government was almost against movies entering the country. Then, when the film Out of Africa happened, the tourist industry increased by eighteen percent, which is a huge number. They woke up. They began to subsidize movies and movies are now going into the country ten at a time. This is not only an industry of its own, but is one that helps others. If it becomes known that Hungary is a small new Hollywood, it will help many other industries besides the movie industry, including tourism.

Politics should not even be involved in these kinds of decisions. This is movie-making, it’s art, it’s giving jobs. It has nothing to do with politics. I think that in this country more than any other place, politics are involved in every decision. They don’t ask the people who this would benefit from it, they don’t ask the movie community: they ask themselves.

Princz: Some argue about the need to protect the national film industry.

Halmi: What national film industry? Hungarian movies, made for Hungarians… how many movie theatres do you have in Hungary? How successful can a Hungarian movie be? How much money can one spend on a Hungarian movie? Not much. What you want to do is Hungarian movies that are accepted around the world. In the foreign language nominations at the Oscars you see every language but Hungarian. So this is not a national treasure- this is an industry.

Princz: There are some examples of directors that have reached international markets. Take Istvan Szabo, for instance.

Halmi: Istvan Szabo is a man who is handicapped because the only financing he has is from outside of Hungary. He has to do what are almost non-Hungarian films. Every film of his that was famous, was non-Hungarian. So this is not a national treasure, this is business. It is an industry that calls itself a little bit part of the world of art, but it is not. This is business.

Princz: There are art films, however, that live their cycle through the international festival circuits.

Halmi: But the commercial films support the art films. With the art films you would starve to death. The commercial films encourage the young people to write scripts and put movies together. For that you need the support of major productions. It’s the same in Canada, the United States, in Germany and England. In England the movie industry was almost dead ten years ago because the labor unions drove themselves out of the market, and the government didn’t help. As soon that attitude turned around and there were no labor unions left in the film industry and the government gave major tax benefits for anyone to go to England to film, it started to boom. Now you cannot get space in the studios there, and that is a lot of money.

Princz: We know that North America is the movie capital of the world. Why Hungary?

Halmi: Now that there is no longer a so-called studio system most movies are produced independently, and they go to the best places they can to shoot their productions. Very few productions are being made in Hollywood now. They go to Canada or to Spain, or to other locations. While television shows are still done in Hollywood, movies are leaving. It costs so much money, so if they can save money and put it on the screen, they will go wherever it takes. In Morocco, where there is nothing but sand, and they flock there. Large films, like the Gladiator for instance was shot there because of cost, and for no other reason.

Princz: What advantages does Budapest have over the competition for film production?

Halmi: You can build anything here and do what Hollywood does. With the talent here, you can make medieval England, Russia… you can build anything and imagine anything from medieval England to modern times. The costume department is wonderful, they are doing English costumes on this set that they don’t even have in England. It’s a bunch of talent, and that is what you want to exploit. But the talent is just living on social security now because they don’t have work.

Princz: How long are you going to continue with the negotiations?

Halmi: Another couple of weeks and I will give up. I’ve been pursuing this for about six months without any luck. Pretty soon I’m going to give up. I will continue to come here to make movies, but will forget about the big dream.

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