IN his almost two-decade Hollywood career, Laurent Bouzereau has finished more than 150 documentaries that he either produced, directed and/or wrote.
He has forged relationships – and worked – with some of the giants in tinsel town. But, above all, he has earned respect for the authenticity of his storytelling.
And TCM have approached him to contribute to their menu. Aside from producing The Horrors of Stephen King for them, on July 26, Cops and Robbers premieres on the channel and, by year end, a Star Wars offering will do the same.
Commenting on his collaboration with the channel, Bouzereau praises: “It’s been a privilege to work with TCM. The network offers the most perfect environment for a successful collaboration. At the same time, you have great autonomy as a film-maker to follow your vision. I think TCM is the greatest invention since cinema. The idea of staying connected to the heritage of world film-making through one channel, is a gift.”
On pursuing this career path as opposed to making movies, the documentarian shares: “I don’t recall the first movie I ever saw, but I remember the first time I went to the movies; I kept looking back to see how images were projected on to the screen. The notion of behind-the-scenes stories and what it takes to create magic on screen has always interested me. So, when Steven Spielberg gave me the opportunity to start documenting his films twenty years ago, I jumped at the chance and made it a career.”
His career took off in a big way and his legacy in the genre has been admired, given the myriad subjects covered. His other works include Roman Polanski: My Inspirations and 12 Years a Slave: a Historical Portrait.
“I have been very lucky that projects come to me. Film-makers, studios and networks just call and say: ‘Would you be interested in…’, and I always say ‘yes’ because everyone has a story to tell. I love the diversity of films I’ve worked on this past year. I went from Fifty Shades of Grey to Jurassic World to Bridge of Spies, with my Night at the Movies episode about George Lucas and Fantasy Cinema in-between. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Expanding on the conception of The Horrors of Stephen King, he offers: “We really wanted to do something about horror films. I said I don’t want to go the usual path. I want to focus on Stephen King. And everyone agreed, including Stephen King. To get to sit down with him over a few days and just chat about horror films was fascinating. And he is one of the nicest men I’ve met in the business.”
The process of making a documentary isn’t without its tricks either.
He notes: “I start by doing tons of research. I literally surround myself with books on the subject, I watch everything I can get my hands and eyes on. And I take a lot of notes. I love doing the interviews because it’s like directing – you have to adjust to the person’s sensibility, you have to modify your vision on the spot if necessary and you can only do that if you are well prepared.
“Once I have all of my interviews, I write and structure a script. I then work very closely with my editor who, of course, brings a lot of magic to it all. And I maintain dialogue with my network/studio and producers through the process so there are no surprises when they watch the cut.”
He is also working on another King project – Bad Little Kid.
“I can’t tell you too much about this at the moment. Basically, I was visiting Le Louvre in Paris with Stephen King and I told him I wanted to direct features. And explained that each time I have a meeting and I’m asked what kind of film I want to make, I always say: ‘Something like Stephen King’. Later on, I asked him point blank if he’d entrust me with something. And he sent me Bad Little Kid, a short story he wrote for the French and German markets. I loved it and am working hard at trying to bring it to the screen. Fingers crossed.”
With his work spurred on by influential names in showbiz – not to mention critically acclaimed offerings – he opens himself up to much criticism. However, he navigates his way around that.
He laughs: “You know, I don’t read reviews. I made that mistake at the beginning of my career and regretted it because everyone has an opinion and they always think they can do better. I do the best I can and I do it with great respect for the film-makers and studios I work with. I don’t over-think things too much and I hope some of what I’ve done will inspire future generations to understand what it takes to make a film. In fact, some people have told me that their film school was watching some of my documentaries. That, in itself, is a great compliment.”
His career highlights include working with Spielberg as well as documenting the works of Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Polanski, Dick Zanuck, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron and “getting to know iconic figures like Michael Crichton”.
And that, in a nutshell, is Bouzereau’s story for now!
• For viewers who missed The Horrors of Stephen King on TCM (DStv channel 137), there is a repeat on August 10 at 9pm.