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Interview - Director Steve McQueen On 12 Years A Slave
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
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I was thrilled to be able to speak to director Steve McQueen about 12 Years A Slave just a few hours after the film received 10 Academy Award nominations. You can download a short audio extract from the interview by clicking here.
Matt: The Academy Award nominations were revealed less than 12 hours ago. Congratulations I should say – firstly for your film and also for your nomination for best director.
Steve: Thank you very much. We were pleased with the 9 nominations and I’m very happy for my crew and the cast.
Matt: Did you watch the nominations or did you wait for the phone calls and messages to start coming in?
Steve: I did watch it live and it was kind of surreal to be watching television and seeing your name called and your film called. It was one of those “once in a lifetime” situations.
Matt: You’ve made two terrific features – Hunger and then Shame, my favourite film of 2011. They picked up their fair share of awards but with 12 Years A Slave, that you’ve been thrown full on into the madness that is the Hollywood award season. What’s the experience been like so far?
Steve: What’s been great about it is the conversation and dialogue. Every Q&A I’ve been to for this film has felt like a town hall meeting. People are very passionate about the subject matter and there’s been a huge amount of discussion.
Matt: I heard your speech at the Golden Globes. The last person you thanked was Brad Pitt and you said this film would never have been made without him. Can you tell us about the extent of his involvement in the project?
Steve: He’s a producer who also acted in the film. To be honest, without Brad’s clout I don’t think the film would have got made. He’s definitely someone that people listen to and respond to. He has a stature in Hollywood where if he says something then people listen. He was a huge part in this film’s success.
Matt: Did he approach you or did you approach him? How did you guys get together on this?
Steve: It was his company. Plan B and Brad approached me and we’d been having discussions since I made Hunger. They were very supportive and they asked me what I wanted to do.
Matt: To talk quickly about the cast. You’ve got Michael Fassbender, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch… but the performance that seems to be sticking with everyone is that of Lupita Nyong’o. I’d never even heard of her name 3 months ago. Where did you find her?
Steve: She was a Yale drama school student who auditioned before she even graduated. I saw a tape of her and then I asked her to come over. She was amazing. She’s an incredible actress and I was just very pleased to hear that she’d received an Oscar nomination.
Matt: When you set out with a role like that, are you trying to discover a new actress?
Steve: I don’t really mind. I was very fortunate to find Michael Fassbender and Lupita N’yongo. I’ll work with anyone. It was just one of those things.
Matt: With both Shame and Hunger there was a noticeable lack of dialogue. It felt like that again here with 12 Years A Slave. Yes, there are conversations but it feels like no one says anything unless they absolutely have to. Am I right in saying that?
Steve: Yeah. Most of the time when we speak to each other, we say a lot of rubbish. We never really know how we feel verbally. We never tell each other how we feel. We often use our mouths to get out of situations or to just get by.
I’m more interested in how we feel and how we act as human beings. Therefore, what we say isn’t all that crucial. It’s what we do that provides the evidence.
Matt: So much of the story, so much of the content in 12 Years A Slave was new to me. Watching it, looking back at this piece of history, I was just shaking my head and wondering how it happened. Was it new to you when you came across Solomon Northup’s book?
Steve: Not really. I’d done a lot of research into slavery before. What’s been interesting for me is how many people didn’t know about kidnapping and didn’t know that African-Americans lived free in the north. The fact they didn’t know tells me a lot about the education of slavery in schools.
Matt: Our perspective of events can change over time with the benefit of the hindsight and so it’s remarkable that this book exists – written by Solomon back in 1853 just after he’d escaped – particularly as well because so few of those who were kidnapped could read and write. Aside from Solomon’s words, is there a lot of other material written in that era, that you could draw on to help create the film?
Steve: Yes and that’s what we did. There were a lot of academics who had studied Solomon’s work for a long time. We also went to a few museums and looked at artefacts and whatnot. It was pretty amazing.
Matt: It’s easy to look back at a piece of history like this and say “thank goodness things have changed for the better”. But then I wonder if people in 100 years time are going to back at us today and shake their heads. Are wars, oppression, discrimination something that we’re never going to be able to truly defeat?
Steve: I don’t know and it’s a sad thing. Will people look back 100 years from now and shake their heads at the fact our clothes were made in sweatshops all over the world? I don’t really know.
Matt: And I have to ask, I’m a huge fan of film scores and I was curious about your choice to use Hans Zimmer as the film’s composer. I always associate him with big, loud, epic action type scores but here he’s a lot softer, a lot subtler.
Steve: Hans is a talented artist and I was very lucky to meet him and I was very lucky for him to accept. He wanted to be involved with this project and I was very pleased.
Matt: You’ve certainly got a fan in me and so I’d love to finish up by asking what’s next? Do you have any projects in the works?
Steve: I want to do a musical.
Matt: Really? Have you got a particular one in mind?
Steve: I’m still looking and trying to figure things out.
Matt: I’ll finish up by looping back to the Academy Awards which will be held on March 2. I always like to have a punt on the Academy Awards every year so I have to ask – what do you think of your chances for the film and yourself?
Steve: Not bad but then I’d say that about everyone else too. One can never predict what will happen at the Oscars. Anyone that says they know later end up not knowing so I won’t even try to predict anything… but please go ahead, have a flutter!
Quick Golden Globe Wrap: Oscars Still Up For Grabs
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
If the results of this year’s Golden Globes are anything to go by, this year’s Oscars are well and truly up for grabs. The only certainty is Cate Blanchett for best actress. They’ve already engraved the statuette. I said on the ABC last December that I’d walk to Sydney if she lost. Thankfully I won’t have to follow through on that promise.
I’ve been on a losing streak at the Globes for the past 2 years but thankfully that’s been broken this year. I backed winners Amy Adams ($100 at $2), Leonardo DiCaprio ($100 at $1.80) and super smokey Matthew McConaughey ($80 at $4.35). I’m still bummed that Gravity didn’t come through but I’ll happily take the $328 profit.
I’ve decided to roll the dice and go for broke at the Oscars. Based on their wins today, I’m on Matthew McConaughy for best actor ($200 at $3.50) and Jennifer Lawrence for best supporting actress ($200 at $3). They’re not sure things but I think the value is great. Best actor is very open with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leonardo DiCaprio still well and truly in the race. Jennifer Lawrence will have to beat off Lupita Nyong’o but her star power might just get her over the line.
I still think Gravity is a decent shot for best picture at Academy Awards and so I have $300 on Gravity to return $1,450. I keep coming back to the rule that he who wins best director, wins best picture. You get the odd year where the rule doesn’t hold up but it doesn’t happen very often. With Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron looking stronger and stronger in the best director category, I do think the film’s best picture chances are enhanced. That said, I realise American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave will be tough to beat.
The Oscar nominations are revealed this Thursday night at 11:38pm (Brisbane time) and will be read by Australian Chris Hemsworth. There’s likely to be a surprise or two and I’m particularly interested in seeing which films make the cut in the best picture category.
Brisbane Film Critics Select Gravity As Best Of 2013
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
Since 2011, I have been pulling together a list of the best movies of the year according to the Brisbane-based film critics who I run into regularly at preview screenings. Drive topped the list in 2011 with Argo taking the honours in 2012. To come up with an overall top 10, I’ve used a simple points system and applied it to the list of each critic. It is as follows: |
| 3 points – the top film on each list. | |
| 2 points – the films ranked between 2nd and 5th on each list. | |
| 1 point – the films ranked between 6th and 10th on each list. |
If two films finished on the same score, the film that appeared on the most number of top 10 lists is ranked higher (as an indication of wider approval). The results have now been tabulated and... Gravity is the clear cut choice as the year's best film. It featured in the top 10 list of every Brisbane critic who was surveyed (that's a first). The film has pulled in more than $20m at the Australian box-office (including 3 weeks in the #1 spot) highlighting its strong appeal with the broader public. Taking the runner up prize was another popular film - Django Unchained. It made its way onto 10 of the 13 lists. It was followed by the best of the foreign language contingent, The Hunt. Only a small number of Australian films were released during 2013 but one managed to sneak into 10th spot on the list - Mystery Road. More than 50% of the Brisbane critics thought it was the best of the local product. Asked for their favourite performance of the year, there were two popular choices - Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine and Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips. Both actors are on track to earn Academy Award nominations later this month. On that note, here are the top 10 movies of 2013 according to Brisbane critics… |
| Brisbane Film Critics - Top 10 Of 2013 | ||
| 1. | Gravity | |
| 2. | Django Unchained | |
| 3. | The Hunt | |
| 4. | Zero Dark Thirty | |
| 5. | Blue Jasmine | |
| 5. | Captain Phillips | |
| 5. | Frances Ha | |
| 8. | Mud | |
| 9. | Life Of Pi | |
| 10. | Mystery Road | |
You can view a table of all the votes and final scores by clicking here. A big thanks to all the critics who were able to contribute. Hopefully we'll do it again next year! You can check out information on all the Brisbane critics (along with their choices for the best and worst of 2013) below. |
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Matthew Toomey | Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Life Of Pi |
| 2. | Zero Dark Thirty |
| 3. | Blue Jasmine |
| 4. | Gravity |
| 5. | The Hunt |
| 6. | Philomena |
| 7. | First Position |
| 8. | Stories We Tell |
| 9. | The Heat |
| 10. | Django Unchained |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Nebraska |
| 2. | Saving Mr Banks |
| 3. | All Is Lost |
| 4. | The Past |
| 5. | Don Jon |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| The Rocket | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Frozen | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Stories We Tell | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Grown Ups 2 | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Pacific Rim | |
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Tim Milfull | Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | The Rocket |
| 2. | Rust & Bone |
| 3. | The Hunt |
| 4. | Fruitvale Station |
| 5. | Django Unchained |
| 6. | Amour |
| 7. | Gravity |
| 8. | Mystery Road |
| 9. | Drug War |
| 10. | 100 Bloody Acres |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | The Grandmaster |
| 2. | Borgman |
| 3. | Matterhorn |
| 4. | Blue Ruin |
| 5. | The Eternal Return Of Antonios Paraskevas |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| The Rocket | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Monsters University | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Stories We Tell | |
| Best Performance: | |
| James McAvoy (Filth) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| This Is The End | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Pain & Gain | |
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Sarah Ward | Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Frances Ha |
| 2. | Gravity |
| 3. | Stranger By The Lake |
| 4. | Pacific Rim |
| 5. | Only God Forgives |
| 6. | Enough Said |
| 7. | Mud |
| 8. | Spring Breakers |
| 9. | Drinking Buddies |
| 10. | Django Unchained |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Inside Llewyn Davis |
| 2. | Nebraska |
| 3. | Tom At The Farm |
| 4. | All Is Lost |
| 5. | The Paradise Trilogy |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mystery Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Frozen | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Stories We Tell | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Grown Ups 2 | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Pain & Gain | |
 |
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Baz McAlister| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Django Unchained |
| 2. | Stoker |
| 3. | The World's End |
| 4. | Gravity |
| 5. | Captain Phillips |
| 6. | The Place Beyond The Pines |
| 7. | You're Next |
| 8. | Evil Dead |
| 9. | Elysium |
| 10. | White House Down |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| 100 Bloody Acres | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Frozen | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| After Earth | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| White House Down | |
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Garry Williams| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Gravity |
| 2. | American Hustle |
| 3. | Lincoln |
| 4. | Django Unchained |
| 5. | Before Midnight |
| 6. | Mud |
| 7. | Prisoners |
| 8. | No |
| 9. | Flight |
| 10. | Rush |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Antarctica: A Year On Ice |
| 2. | The Pervert's Guide To Ideology |
| 3. | The Spirit Of '45 |
| 4. | I Am Devine |
| 5. | The Dance Of Reality |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mystery Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| The Croods | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Stories We Tell | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| The Lone Ranger | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Snitch | |
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Laurence Barber| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Laurence Anyways |
| 2. | Upstream Colour |
| 3. | No |
| 4. | The Hunt |
| 5. | Before Midnight |
| 6. | The Bling Ring |
| 7. | Mystery Road |
| 8. | Cloud Atlas |
| 9. | Gravity |
| 10. | The Heat |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | For Those In Peril |
| 2. | The Selfish Giant |
| 3. | Wadjda |
| 4. | Tom At The Farm |
| 5. | Gloria |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mystery Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Paranorman | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| The Impostor | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Paulina Garcia (Gloria) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Movie 43 | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| White House Down | |
 |
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David Edwards| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Blue Jasmine |
| 2. | Frances Ha |
| 3. | Django Unchained |
| 4. | Stoker |
| 5. | World War Z |
| 6. | The Heat |
| 7. | Mud |
| 8. | Hitchcock |
| 9. | Elysium |
| 10. | Gravity |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | August: Osage County |
| 2. | Prince Avalanche |
| 3. | Dallas Buyers Club |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mystery Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Paranorman | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Frances Ha | |
 |
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Michael Dalton| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Captain Phillips |
| 2. | Blue Jasmine |
| 3. | The Best Offer |
| 4. | Gravity |
| 5. | Blancanieves |
| 6. | Zero Dark Thirty |
| 7. | Tabu |
| 8. | Mystery Road |
| 9. | Enough Said |
| 10. | The Conjuring |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | The Past |
| 2. | Stranger By The Lake |
| 3. | Blue Ruin |
| 4. | Berberian Sound Studio |
| 5. | The Bay |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mystery Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Chico & Rita | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| First Position | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| I'm So Excited! | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Riddick | |
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Peter Gray| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Django Unchained |
| 2. | Captain Phillips |
| 3. | Prisoners |
| 4. | Gravity |
| 5. | Next |
| 6. | Zero Dark Thirty |
| 7. | Star Trek Into Darkness |
| 8. | The Hunt |
| 9. | Mud |
| 10. | Rush |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Nebraska |
| 2. | Don Jon |
| 3. | Oldboy |
| 4. | Saving Mr Banks |
| 5. | Blue Is The Warmest Colour |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mystery Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Frozen | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| The Armstrong Lie | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Movie 43 | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| The Call | |
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Gary McDonald | Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Rush |
| 2. | Life Of Pi |
| 3. | Django Unchained |
| 4. | The Hunt |
| 5. | Gravity |
| 6. | Blue Jasmine |
| 7. | Captain Phillips |
| 8. | Zero Dark Thirty |
| 9. | Barbara |
| 10. | The Best Offer |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | 12 Years A Slave |
| 2. | Saving Mr Banks |
| 3. | The Book Thief |
| 4. | The Nun |
| 5. | August: Osage County |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mystery Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| The Croods | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| 20 Feet From Stardom | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| The Loneliest Planet & Frances Ha | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Mr Pip & Meet The Millers | |
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Jason Reed| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Mud |
| 2. | Gravity |
| 3. | The Hunt |
| 4. | The Place Beyond The Pines |
| 5. | Django Unchained |
| 6. | Prisoners |
| 7. | Sightseers |
| 8. | Upstream Colour |
| 9. | Frances Ha |
| 10. | Silver Linings Playbook |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Blue Is The Warmest Colour |
| 2. | Don Jon |
| 3. | Blue Ruin |
| 4. | White Reindeer |
| 5. | Tom At The Farm |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Monsters University | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Stories We Tell | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Movie 43 | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| Frances Ha | |
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Jesse Thompson| Top 10 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Tabu |
| 2. | Frances Ha |
| 3. | Zero Dark Thirty |
| 4. | No |
| 5. | Mystery Road |
| 6. | Gravity |
| 7. | Before Midnight |
| 8. | The Hunt |
| 9. | The Counselor |
| 10. | Cloud Atlas |
| Top Unreleased Films: | |
| 1. | Laurence Anyways |
| 2. | Only Lovers Left Alive |
| 3. | The Selfish Giant |
| 4. | The Act Of Killing |
| 5. | Stranger By The Lake |
| Best Australian Film: | |
| Mystery Road | |
| Best Animated Film: | |
| Monsters University | |
| Best Documentary: | |
| Stories We Tell | |
| Best Performance: | |
| Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) | |
| Worst Film: | |
| Jobs | |
| Most Surprised To Enjoy: | |
| White House Down | |
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Des Partridge | Top 9 Released Films: | |
| 1. | Omar |
| 2. | Gravity |
| 3. | Life Of Pi |
| 4. | Zero Dark Thirty |
| 5. | Lincoln |
| 6. | Django Unchained |
| 7. | Barbara |
| 8. | The Great Beauty |
| 9. | Rust & Bone |
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Interview - Producer Ian Collie On Saving Mr Banks
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
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Saving Mr Banks is a big budget movie about the making of a big budget movie. I recently caught up with Australian producer Ian Collie to talk about the film and some questions I had about the real Pamela Travers…
Matt: This is a story you’ve been involved with a long time. You produced a documentary back in 2002 called The Shadow Of Mary Poppins and now here you are as a producer on Saving Mr Banks. When did you first become interested in the story of Pamela Travers?
Ian: It came about in 2000-2001. I was showing my daughter Mary Poppins for the first time along with a number of other classic family films. I remember being moved watching Mary Poppins again – particularly the part where Mr Banks reconciles with his kids.
Soon after, I came across a book that had just been published which was the first biography of Pamela Travers and written by Valerie Lawson. From reading the back cover blurb I learned she was Australian and that some of her experiences growing up in rural Queensland helped shape some of the characters and storylines in Mary Poppins. It was a curious footnote if nothing else.
That inspired me to read more and then as I was making the documentary, I thought in the back of my mind that this would make a really great feature film. People love biopics and while many won’t know who Pamela Travers is, everyone knows about Mary Poppins
Matt: You’ve been involved in a lot of Australian productions (and I’m a big fan of the television series Rake) but this is your first time acting a producer on a big Hollywood type movie. Was it what you were expecting?
Ian: It was actually my first feature film. I think the Americans call it “hitting a home run”. It’s been quite surreal to be honest. When we started out, I partnered with Troy Lum from Hopscotch and then we brought in Alison Owen who is a well-known producer from Ruby Films in the UK. She had produced films like Elizabeth and The Other Boleyn Girl – some wonderful female-centric films.
We looked at it as an independent UK-Australian co-production and we did a number of drafts of the script with Sue Smith, a local writer here in Australia. Perhaps naively we always thought this was going to be an independent film but as we went on, the bulk of the story seemed to be focused more on the Disney years as opposed to her childhood years which were now going to be told by way of flashback. We felt that’s what people wanted – the nostalgia of Mary Poppins and the gossip behind the making of the film.
The problem was that we were now starting to deal with what was intellectual property of Disney. The great man himself was becoming a bigger and bigger character. There was the music of Mary Poppins from the Sherman brothers. It was the elephant in the room. If Disney didn’t licence us the rights to use some of this stuff then we’re probably sunk.
Matt: Everything I’ve read suggests that P.L. Travers wasn’t a big fan of the cinematic version of Mary Poppins – despite its huge popularity and success. The ending of this film is kind of ambiguous and perhaps suggests otherwise. You’ve done a lot of research on Pamela so what do you think she made of the film?
Ian: I don’t think from the way we portray it that she embraces the film fully. You can see that she raises her eyes and that she scoffs at certain parts of it. She loathes some of the music, the casting of Dick Van Dyke and the animation.
Publically, she went on record as saying that she didn’t like the film that much but there’s a difference between what she said publically and what she said privately. Even in our documentary, The Shadow Of Mary Poppins, a number of her close friends said that she did like the film a lot more than she wanted to let on. She was a contrarian. She loved playing the curmudgeon… and she was also a snob. She felt that Disney was low-brow. She hung out with people like T.S. Eliot, Richard Yates and other literati and so she always made out that she was “above it”.
In one sense she was a pain in the bum but in another, you get to like her because she’s so defiant and so difficult. People will see in the film that what drove her to be so protective about her books and I think it all comes through Emma Thompson’s wonderful performance.
Matt: A nice touch in the film are the audio recordings we hear during the closing credits of the real Pamela Travers in the production meetings at Disney. It’s an incredible find. It’s got me thinking – how much of that material still exists from when Mary Poppins was made 50 years ago – whether it be the audio recordings, the original scripts, the storyboards and whatever?
Ian: The storyboards and the scripts where she has her notes were all kept. In terms of the audio, Disney never made them public before now because they were confidential recordings. We should tell filmgoers that are thinking of going to see the movie that they should not leave before the credits have finished because there’s a wonderful add on that gives some veracity to the film.
Matt: The film doesn’t seem to offer an unequivocal reason why Pamela decided to give up the rights and give Disney the green light to proceed. She was kind of driven by money, she was kind of buttered up by Disney, she kind of mellowed when she heard some of the catchy songs. Have you spoken to people close to Pamela Travers? Did she ever give a clear reason why she sold the rights?
Ian: Not really. I do think money was a key reason. In the end, I think money is often a good motivator when licencing their intellectual property for others to use. Walt Disney had been pursuing her for 20 years to get the rights because he’d made this promise to his own daughters who just loved the books. Pamela kept refusing but in the end, her manager told her that the royalties from her books were drying up and that she’d have to give up her house and her maid. She then decided to go along because she needed the money but only on the condition that she was involved as a story consultant in the room. Of course, that’s where the fun really started.
Matt: Now that Pamela Travers has passed on, who owns the rights to Mary Poppins? Is there ever a chance we’ll see more of her books transformed into films?
Ian: There’s a Cherry Tree Trust which has been set up that is administered by lawyers in London. It still controls the rights. Disney have the rights to some of the Mary Poppins books but Travers wouldn’t give up the rights to any others to be adapted after the release of the movie. Once was enough.