It's lights, camera, action, all over the Romanian capital, but there's danger ahead for the film-making boom, writes Ann McElhinney
When Nicole Kidman and Jude Law were in Romania filming Cold Mountain, the American civil war epic, most media coverage focused on whether or not they were having an affair. Perhaps the strangest fact in the whole saga went unnoticed. Few newspapers remarked that Cold Mountain, one of the year's most expensive movies, was being filmed in Romania.
For years, the country was better known for its "orphans", beggars and communist bureaucracy than its movie industry. However, walk through any Bucharest hotel these days and there is a movie star in every corner. Jeremy Irons and Denis Hopper have just left. But Hopper liked the country so much he is planning to come back and direct a film starring Sean Penn. Andy Garcia can also be seen walking around Bucharest and Liz Hurley is due to arrive in the next few weeks.
Bucharest is being described as the new Prague or Ireland, both of which saw movie booms in the 1990s. But rising costs have led to these locations losing out to the much cheaper Romanian capital.
Originally producers came for the cheap labour. Romania was seen as the place to make low-budget movies but gradually the infrastructure has expanded to allow blockbusters to be made. The producers have also found it to have a diversity of locations, avoiding the need to film in several countries.
Michael Flannigan, a producer of very low-budget disaster movies, has been coming to Bucharest for years. His films would cost twice as much if they were shot in the US. However, he is now facing competition from big spenders who he fears will squeeze out the smaller filmmakers and push up prices.
"Word is getting out. For most people Romania is not synonymous with film-making yet but, unfortunately for me, that is changing," he said.
Barry Mulligan, an Irish producer based in Romania, is hoping to exploit the growing interest. "I was recently in Cannes meeting other film-makers and it was the first time I didn't have to sell Romania as a location, No one was put off by its reputation. Everyone knew it is now the place in Europe to make movies," he said.
Mulligan's film, Stuff That Bear, which was showcased in Cannes, featured Bucharest's varied architecture to produce an atmospheric post-communist story of two young men trying to escape Romania's low-wage economy and illegally emigrate to the UK.
According to Bogdan Moncea, the marketing manager of Castel Studios where Cold Mountain was filmed, it is not just the low cots which are attracting producers but also the different locations on offer, which Prague, albeit a beautiful city, cannot offer.
"Romania is the most cost-effective place in Europe to shoot a movie today and we also we have beautiful landscapes with mountains, hills and the sea," he said.
During the communist era, parts of Romania suffered from over-development and the pollution which accompanied it, but much of the country escaped unscathed. Transylvania, most of which is undeveloped, worked perfectly for the makers of Cold Mountain, who needed a location that looked like the US 150 years ago.
According to Moncea, Romania's Saxon towns are also in heavy demand and parts of Bucharest, which was known as the Paris of the East, double perfectly for a turn-of-the century-French city. Producers are also taking advantage of Romania's plentiful natural resources. The country is still extensively wooded and the timber industry is one of its few growth areas.
"For the locations that have to be made - the raw materials are very inexpensive and very plentiful," said Moncea.
Of course no movie can be made without the stars to act in it. And stars need star treatment. Romania could be a tough sell to those who are used to five-star service. However, Bogdan Moncea says this is not a problem. "Six years ago there were no top-class hotels. Now we have a Hilton, a Marriott and Sofitel. Also there has been an explosion in quality restaurants to cater for the growing number of expatriates and Romanian middle-class," he said.
Moncea points out that movie-making is not new to Romania. The industry thrived during the communist period but many of the films sacrificed entertainment for a political message. They did, however, leave a legacy of a reasonably experienced workforce. "Before 1989, there were 30 to 35 feature films made here every year. Of course, most of them were propaganda but there were also big budget," he said.
Another remnant of communist propaganda is the magnificent lobby of Bucharest's Marriott Hotel. Several mountains of marble went into its creation. Originally built to house the party elite, it now is home to Andy Garcia, who is starring in Modigliani, a film about the tortured life of Picasso's great artistic rival.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Garcia said he has enjoyed working in the country. "It has been an adventure. It has been an extraordinary experience. The Romanian people are wonderful. There is a great kind of spirit in the people," he said.
Mick Davis, director of Modigliani and a colourful Glaswegian, said the country has been a special place to make a movie. "Romanians went through this whole Ceausescu period and the whole dictatorship thing. The place is a mess. It's dank and horrible with it's grey masses but the heart's still there with the people. That's what makes the country special," he said.
Nevertheless, Romania risks losing out on the boom because of over ambition, leading to an overstretched workforce, and the more traditional problems of corruption and petty theft. Some crews are finding equipment is disappearing and complain they are being overcharged for simple, inexpensive services.
According to Andy Garcia, there are also too many projects arriving for too few skilled workers. "There are a lot of movies going on, so the experienced people are spread very thin. You have people working on productions who have no experience and who are just learning the process," he said.
"This happened in Canada too, when a lot of productions were going there with only a certain number of people who were experienced. It meant there were new people who were educating themselves as they were making the movie," he added.
Mick Davis, who has struggled with the "on-the-job training" of some of the staff, is less diplomatic.
"Everything you need, especially for period films, is here and it can be cheap but you just have to be sure you bring in enough experienced crew, especially in the props and assistant director department," he said.
"Basically you have got to be sure you cover your ass, otherwise you're f**ked."
