The Hollywood Reporter – 28.02.2018

T

he mention of Holly wood movies conjures up images of glitz

and glam — but not for the physical production managers and

film commissioners tasked with the nitty-gritty of filmmak-

ing. They might not have the sexiest industry jobs, but they play a

crucial role in turning a script into an actual production. This year, for

the first time, the Association of Film Commissioners International, a

group made up of more than 300 commissioners on six continents, is

launching AFCI Week (Feb. 28 through March 3), with a mission of con-

necting its members with producers, distributors, financiers and other

Hollywood decision makers. “It’s one of the first key initiatives we’ve

done,” says AFCI board chairman Kevin Jennings. Among the events is

a March 1 brunch (co-hosted by THR) honoring some of the top produc-

tion executives at the major studios, including a panel moderated by

THR editorial director Matthew Belloni. Ahead of the event, those execs

shared info on their top projects, onscreen and in the works.

↑ Filming on A Wrinkle in

Time spanned the globe, from

California to New Zealand.

PAR AM OU NT

LEE ROSENTHAL

He headed up Mission:

Impossible — Fallout

and December’s

Bumblebee. “With

six M:I movies, our

mission has been

to film places rarely

seen,” he says.

“Nothing matched

the high of filming

Fallout in Paris.”

LIONSGATE

DONNA SLOAN

Last year, Sloan shot

in three U.S. states

and 12 cities across

eight countries

— Budapest was

a favorite — for

September’s Robin

Hood and 2019’s

Chaos Walking.

DISNEY

PHIL STEUER

On top of Pirates of

the Caribbean: Dead

Men Tell No Tales and

A Wrinkle in Time,

Steuer’s schedule

has been filled with

December’s Mary

Poppins Returns and

the 2019 live-action

remakes of The Lion

King and Dumbo.

AMBLIN

SHELLY STRONG

Strong split time in

the past year between

2019’s The Turning,

with Finn Wolfhard,

and A Dog’s Purpose 2.

NETFLIX

TY WARREN

Warren has shep-

herded such original

movies as Bright

and Okja plus series

Altered Carbon and

Ozark.

and Furious movies,

LaPlante has a knack

for franchises. He’s

still surprised by how

easy it was to film The

Fate of the Furious in

Cuba: “We shut down

busy streets with

the help of the Cuban

government and

local police.”

AMAZON

MARY ANN MARINO

After Todd Haynes’

Won d erstr u ck, Marino

turned her attention

to October’s Beautiful

Boy, starring Steve

Carell and Timothee

Chalamet, and Gus

Van Sant’s Don’t

Wor r y, He Won’t G et

Far on Foot (May 11).

LUCASFILM

JASON MCGATLIN

McGatlin handles all

the Star Wars movies,

including spinoffs

like Solo (May 25),

which shot scenes in

the Canary Islands.

“Deserts, waterfronts,

cliffs — I was amazed

at the diversity of

landscapes we were

able to achieve within

a short range.”

MGM

PETER O I LL ATAG U E R R E

With his purview

extending to MGM’s

motion picture

and TV group, he

went from Hulu’s

Handmaid’s Tale

in Canada to To m b

Raider (March 16)

in South Africa,

where he learned

about the water

rationing happening

in Cape Town.

HBO

BRUCE RICHMOND

On top of such series

as Game of Thrones

and Westworld,

Richmond handles

the studio’s movies.

Next up: Al Pacino

vehicle Paterno.

MARVEL

VICTORIA ALONSO

May’s Avengers:

Infinity War and

Captain Marvel (2019)

are up next, but

for now, her crown

jewel is Black

Panther, which shot

in Zimbabwe and

Argentina (along

with Atlanta) to “cre-

ate a photorealistic

Wa kandan Fa l ls.”

SONY PICTURES

ANDY DAVIS

In 2017, Davis super-

vised Baby Driver

in Georgia, Jumanji

in Hawaii and The

Dark Tower in South

Africa, where he

learned “there are

penguins!” He also

oversaw October’s

Tom Hardy starrer

Ven om.

WARNER BROS.

BILL DRAPER

From Ready Player

One (March 29) and

December’s Aquaman

to Dunkirk, Draper’s

had his hands full:

“You wouldn’t believe

how a 13-foot dif-

ference in the tides

at Dunkirk could

impact a tight shoot-

ing schedule.”

STX

ROSS FANGER

Molly’s Game, A Bad

Moms Christmas

and Den of Thieves

rounded out the

studio’s 2017 slate,

and Fanger wrapped

Shailene Woodley’s

Adrift in September.

2OTH CENTURY FOX

JOE HARTWICK

Hartwick was point

person on The Post,

along with Deadpool 2

(May 18) and Red

Sparrow. He’s also

currently juggling

four Avatar sequels.

UNIVERSAL

JEFF LAPLANTE

Between Jurassic

World: Fallen Kingdom

(June 22) and the Fast

Faces Behind the

Places Physical production

execs talk their top projects

and the locations that bring

them to life By Bryn Elise Sandberg

↓ Lucy Fry

in Netflix’s

Bright.

Alonso

Davis

Draper

Warren

Fanger

Hartwick

Oillataguerre

LaPlante

Richmond

Steuer

Rosenthal

Strong

Sloan

Marino

McGatlin

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 198 FEBRUARY 28, 2018

AFCI Week

Backlot

DUVERNAY: COURTESY OF DISNEY. ALONSO, DAVIS, DRAPER, MARINO, RICHMAN, HARTWICK, STRONG: COURTESY OF SUBJECT. FANGER: ERIC CHARBONNEAU/COURTESY OF SUBJECT. LAPLANTE, SLOAN: ALEX BERLINER/AB IMAGES/COURTESY OF SUBJECT. OILLATAGUERRE: COURTESY OF MGM.

BRIGHT

: MATT KENNEDY/NETFLIX. MCGATLIN: JOEL ARON/COURTESY OF SUBJECT. ROSENTHAL: CHRIS WHITAKER/PARAMOUNT PICTURES. WARREN: JORDAN S

TRAUSS/INVISION FOR PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA/AP IMAGES. STEUER: ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/WIREIMAGE.