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About The Production The not so long history of the Working Title Films romantic comedy Wimbledon began around 120 years later in the late 1990s, when screenwriters Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin came up with the idea of a love story set amidst the world of professional tennis. They approached Working Title, whose list of successful films, particularly their romantic comedies, had established them as the pre-eminent production company in Europe. The company was intrigued by the project and snapped up the story. “We loved the idea,” says producer and Working Title Films co-founder Eric Fellner. “The way in which the characters were set up, the fact that it was an ‘underdog’ type of story and the idea of professional tennis serving as the backdrop for this love story—it had all the ingredients to make a great film. It provided us another opportunity to tell an interesting story in an appealing way.” “Whether you love tennis or hate tennis, it doesn’t matter, because this is a story that will entertain audiences,” says producer Liza Chasin, herself an avid player who grew up in Forest Hills, N.Y., near the prestigious West Side Tennis Club (former site of the U.S. Open). “Not only do people love an underdog story, but they love it when the underdog just might end up with the girl, too.” Balancing all of the elements present in the story would prove a challenge for the filmmaker who would ultimately occupy the director’s chair—someone adept at handling the romantic, comedic and dramatic aspects, as well as someone who could capture the sport filmically, presenting it in a way that would “open up” the expected and stereotypical back-and-forth nature of the game. Known primarily for his dramatic films and television projects (My House in Umbria, Richard III, The Gathering Storm), Richard Loncraine might not have seemed at first glance as a perfect fit for the job. Loncraine himself professes, “I am not an avid sports fan and I haven’t really done that much that could be termed romantic comedy. But I was really excited by the project—it had an energy and a freshness about it. And I have to admit that my kids had been saying to me, ‘Dad, can you make a movie that we might want to go and see?’” Fellner and the producers felt strongly that Loncraine would be an excellent choice to helm the project and cemented his participation. Fellner offers, “Richard is a great storyteller. He’s a fantastically visual storyteller and we wanted someone who could not only tell the story with depth and emotion, but also tell it in an interesting, cinematic way. Richard was a marvelous choice to direct.” Loncraine embraced the challenge of not only working in the genre, but also overcoming many obstacles in filming scenes involving tennis, most of which would be played on some of the most honored ground in sports. “I really wanted to have a go at doing a comedy of this sort and I thought it would be new and a bit difficult for me. I mean, with a comedy, if they don’t laugh, it’s not funny, then you’ve screwed up. It was a real challenge making a romantic comedy like this—probably as hard as anything that I’ve done. It’s been hard sometimes, but marvelous as well.” And the tennis element? “If you’re doing a monster movie about a 50-foot-high pterodactyl, nobody really knows what that looks like. But they know exactly how a tennis ball bouncing on Centre Court looks,” observes the director. “Basically, it’s almost like making two movies. Doing a romantic comedy, you think, ‘Fine, the comedy comes out of reality, it springs from the truth.’ Good, I can film that, no problem. Then, you’ve got a story involving tennis, which seems somewhat straightforward but is really a complex game to photograph—you haven’t got a team of people, you’ve got two trained, almost ballet dancers who don’t move much from beyond the base line, at least in more modern tennis.” But before tackling the challenges of on-court filming, Loncraine and Wimbledon’s producers proceeded with moving the script forward, ensuring that the world of professional tennis would be rightly served, and filling the roles with actors at home in both worlds presented in the story. Adam Brooks—the screenwriter of such romantic comedies as French Kiss who also worked on the upcoming adaptation of Helen Fielding’s bestseller, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason—was brought onboard to update the script. Brooks observes, “Working Title brought me in to work on this fantastic story. I have to say it’s been one of the most productive development processes that I’ve ever been involved with. Wimbledon, I think, really fits very strongly into their tradition of charming English romantic comedies that also travel well abroad, particularly in the States.” As the script crept towards finalization, the filmmakers sent copies to a number of top tennis players and others heavily involved in the sport, including Wimbledon champions Pat Cash and John McEnroe. “What was great was they came back with very few notes—that in fact, most of it was, in spirit and in detail, true to the life that they knew on the tour and the actual mechanics of tennis,” says Brooks. Pat Cash, the Australian who won Wimbledon in 1987 and eventually came aboard the project as tennis consultant, remembers, “Obviously, since it’s a movie, there is some artistic license. But it was pretty accurate with regard to the world of the players and the atmosphere at Wimbledon it portrays.” Loncraine adds, “If you’re going to make a film about tennis, you could possibly get away with it not being precisely accurate—but why would you? McEnroe, Cash and other tennis players contributed. Adam Brooks, our screenwriter, and producer Liza Chasin are big fans of the sport, so their knowledge—along with the players’ thoughts— all added to trying to make the atmosphere, the circumstances, some of the things in the players’ lives as accurate as we could make them.” Your Comments and Suggestions are Always Welcome. © 2010 8®, All Rights Reserved. |
