CREATIVE IRELAND
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‘This is really theRollsRoyce ofBollywood films. SalmanKhan and KatrinaKaif areBollywood superstars. SalmanKhan is probably the hottest actor at themoment’
industry and just howsignificantYashRaj is as a company, so it was a little bit of a learning curve and quite exciting. Obviously it’s in the back of your mind that perhaps they won’t come be- cause that’s happened to usmany times before, butwe kept talk- ing andwe did a fewrecces and it gradually gained momentum, and became clear that they were very serious about this.”
A NEW GENRE The experience is a huge departure for Fantastic Films, contin- ues McCarthy. “As the name might suggest, we tend to look at films that would be very genre-based so horror films, science fiction films, that kind of thing,” he says. Indeed the aforementionedWakeWood features such stars as
Timothy Spall, and has had considerable international success, while another Fantastic Films horror productionOutcast,which stars James Nesbit, won a Scottish BAFTA. The company haswon over 50 international awards but a high
point was winning an Oscar in 2006 for Martin McDonagh's short Six Shooter,whichmarked the playwright’s first foray into filmmaking. So other than the track record as a film location, what drew Yash Raj to Dublin? “In essence itwasTrinityCollege,” repliesMcCarthy. “This is
an action romance and part of it takes place in a
university.They wanted to use an old European university, but felt that so many of theUKuniversities had already been used in Bollywood. The director Kabir Khan was familiar with Dublin and with Trinity and thought it might be an option. Trinity was delighted to get the opportunity to show off what a beautiful college it is, and I must say when we were shooting there it looked truly stunning in the autumn light.” Not only will the movie place Dublin in the spotlight among
Bollywood afficianados, butYashRaj too can see further poten- tial. “Yash Raj makes an action franchise called Doom and they’re planning tomake their third one,” saysMcCarthy. “They think theymay shoot a segment of it here inDublin,whichwould be great news.”
EVOLUTION OF AN INDUSTRY Working in the industry since he was 23 years old, McCarthy says he has seen a remarkable evolution over the years. “The Irish Film Board has played a significant part in that, as has the Irish tax incentive, Section 481, which is an amazing thing, and will help us continue to punch above ourweight as a location. If
L–r:BrendanMcCarthy, Fantastic Films; JohnMcDonnell, Fantastic Films; JohnGleeson,HowarthBastowCharlton; SalmanKahn (actor);KabirKahn ( director); andYogendreMogre ( line producer), YashRaj Films
the incentives didn’t exist then we wouldn’t have the infra- structure and people couldn’t come, and if they did come it would be of no benefit to us because they’d have to bring every- thing with them. I think the way we’ve set it up is quite clever and it does serve us very well. “It is terribly well constructed, and really is unique because
normally countries have a tax credits system,whereas the Sec- tion 481 investment comes in at the start. There is no other tax incentive that’s constructed like this where the money is ready on the day of closing, before the first day of filming.” Indeed, in 2008 the Irish Government strengthened the Sec-
tion 481 tax incentive, and today projects can derive a benefit of up to 28pc of their eligible Irish
expenditure.This,marriedwith an experienced and skilled industry and Ireland’s scenic and his- torical locations, should help us to continue to attract movie- makers fromHollywood to Bollywood.
Issue 3 Autumn/Winter 2011 INNOVATION IRELAND REVIEW 61
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