NAPOLEON

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NAPOLEON

Production Notes

November 22, 1968

LENGTH

180 minutes.

SHOOT

1.3 minutes average per day.

LENGTH SCHEDULE

150 days, allowing 10 days lost to travel.

START DATE

July 1 - September 1, 1969

SCHEDULE

DAYS TYPE OF PRODUCTION COUNTRY

30 Battles and marches Yugoslavia

40 Location exteriors Yugoslavia

40 Location interiors Italy

30 Front projection Yugoslavia

10 Lost to travel

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150

TREATMENT

Fifteen sequences which will approximately average 12

minutes per sequence, giving 180 minutes finished length.

COST

The four principle categories of cost which represent the

largest proportion of any spectacle film are:

1. Large numbers of extras.

2. Large numbers of military uniforms.

3. Large numbers of expensive sets.

4. Over-priced movie stars.

I intend that, for 'Napoleon', these four categories be

handled in a financially advantageous manner, which will

result in substantial savings to the budget, allowing the

film to be produced for a much lower cost than I had first

envisaged, without any loss of quality, size or substance.

EXTRAS

The daily cost of a costumed extra in England is $19.20,

in Spain $14.28, in Italy $24 and France $24.30.

We have received bids from Romania to provide up to a

maximum of 30,000 troops at $2 per man, though it is

unlikely that we will ever exceed 15,000 men on the

largest days.

We have also received a bid from Yugoslavia to provide up

to the same numbers at $5 per man. Both prices also apply

to lesser numbers.

I have personally met with representatives of both

countries and they are all extremely anxious to have an

important film made largely in their country.

They are also very, very interested in getting dollars,

and can give us very generous deals for their services and

man-power that they can pay for with their own currency,

and which have little relationship to the dollar

equivalent they receive. They have almost the same

freedom to trade, in this respect, as they would if they

were swapping monopoly money for dollars.

Effective guarantees of their performance on this, or any

other deal made with a Socialist country, can be obtained

through the Cyrus Eaton Organization, who have worked with

us in arranging the Romanian contact. They guaranteed

performance on the "Fixer," filmed in Hungary, and

regularly preform this function for important business

deals of every type between East and West.

UNIFORMS

Both countries have offered to make military uniforms and

costumes for us at a very reasonable rate, about $40 for a

first-line military uniform, compared with about $200 for

a normal European costumier.

But, in this area, the most significant break-through has

come through a New York firm, who can produce a printed

uniform on a Dupont, fireproof, drip-dry, paper fabric,

which has a 300-pound breaking strength, even when wet,

for $1-$4 depending on the detailing.

We have done film tests on the $4 uniform and, from a

distance of 30 yards or further away, it looks marvelous.

Naturally, in a large crowd scene, these cheap uniforms

will be seen from a much further distance than 30 yards.

I should point out that renting uniforms for this film is

not a viable proposition, because the numbers available

are totally inadequate, and for a long, rough usage, it

is cheaper to make them.

SETS

Building and decorating a large number of Palatial sets

for Emperors and Kings would be a formidable expense

indeed, somewhere, I should say, between $3 - $6 million.

Fortunately, this will not be necessary to do. A number

of authentic Palaces and Villas of the period are

available for shooting in France and Italy. There is even

one in Sweden, built and decorated by Bernadotte and

Desiree. These locations can be rented for a daily fee of

between $350 - $750, and in most cases are completely

furnished, requiring only the most minor work on our part

before shooting.

In addition to this, I intend to exploit, to the fullest,

the Front Projection techniques I developed during the

production of '2001.' I have several new ideas for

enhancing its usefulness and making operations even more

economical.

CAST

I think sufficient proof must now exist that over-priced

movie stars do little besides leaving an insufficient

amount of money to make the film properly, or cause an

unnecessarily high picture cost. A recent 'Variety'

study, published during the past year, showed the domestic

grosses of the last four films by a group of top stars

were not sufficient to return even the star's salary,

computed at a recoupment rate of 2.5 to 1.

On the other hand, films like 'Dr. Zhivago', '2001', 'The

Graduate' and many others show that people go to see good

films that they enjoy, and that the main impetus of going

to the movies is word-of-mouth recommendations from

friends.

As was discussed in our first meetings about 'Napoleon',

my intention is to use great actors and new faces, and

more sensibly put emphasis on the power of the story, the

spectacle of the film, and my own ability to make a film

of more than routine interest.

I have not completed my casting survey, but I expect to

have this done shortly. I will then send you a list of

actors' names, broken down by parts.

I would like to give you some idea, however, of my general

thinking about some of the more important characters in

the story.

Napoleon was 27 when he took command of the Army of Italy,

and 30 when he became First Consul. He was 35 when he was

proclaimed Emperor, 45 at Waterloo, and 51 when he died.

I want an actor between 30-35 who has the good looks of

the younger Napoleon and who can be aged and made-up for

the middle-aged Napoleon.

He should be able to convey the restless energy, the

ruthlessness, and the inflexible will of Bonaparte, but,

at the same time, the tremendous charm which every

contemporary memorist attributes to him.

Josephine should be five to six years older than Napoleon,

beautiful and elegant.

The most important supporting characters will probably be

Talleyrand and Fouche, and there are untold numbers of

actors who can play parts like these.

There are excellent younger parts for Napoleon's aides,

staff officers, and Marshals: Junot, Marmont, Ney,

Berthier, Murat, Eugene, Caulaincourt. These parts should

be played with virile, fit, military types; again, there

is considerable choice.

Important younger women will be Maria Walewska, Hortense

Beauharnais, Marie-Louise and Napoleon's sister, Pauline.

All of these women will be attractive and should lend

luster to the cast.

Napoleon's mother is very important, and again a great

deal of choice exists.

Czar Alexander, Francis Joseph of Austria, Kutusov,

Wellington, Blucher, all of these represent important

supporting roles.

PREPARATION THUS FAR

A great deal of preliminary preparation has already taken

place and I would like to briefly outline what this has

been.

1. A picture file of approximately 15,000 Napoleonic

subjects has been collected, cataloged and indexed, on

IBM aperture cards. The retrieval system is based on

subject classification, but a special visual signaling

method allows cross indexing to any degree of complexity.

2. David Walker, who is a leading costume designer in

England, has been preparing research and making sketches.

Because of the very provocative, see-through dresses and

bare bosoms of the Directoire period, the film will have

some very notable costumes.

3. Military uniform prototypes of the different nations

involved have been manufactured and these will serve as

quality control comparisons in the subsequent mass

production of uniforms of all grades.

4. Extensive location research photography has taken

place in France and Italy, covering the possible interior

locations in which we might wish to work. A team is now

in Yugoslavia doing the same thing, and another team is

about to leave for Romania.

5. The services of Professor Felix Markham have been

engaged as principal historical advisor, and the rights to

his biography of Napoleon have been purchased.

Professor Markham has devoted some 30 years of work to the

period, and is one of the outstanding living Napoleonic

scholars writing in English.

The rights to his book also establish a known work on

which to legally base the screenplay, and should help to

avoid the usual claims from the endless number of people

who have written Napoleonic books.

6. A master biographical file on the principal 50

characters in the story has been prepared by graduate

history students of Oxford University. They have taken

the highlights of each person's life, putting a single

event and its date on a single 3 x 5 index card. These

cards have all been integrated in a date order file with

special signals indicating the names of the characters.

The system allows you to instantly determine what any of

the 50 people were doing on any given date.

7. A library of approximately 500 Napoleonic books has

been set up, cataloged and indexed and is available for my

own use and anyone else on the production. These books

contain the key memoirs and the principal biographies

available in English.

8. A Production Designer and Art Director have been

engaged, as well as the necessary Production staff and

Location research staff.