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00:00:00When you come to those camps, what do you feel there?
00:00:08It sounds absurd, but I feel hunger.
00:00:14Every time I come to Vavša, I feel hungry.
00:00:24Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Branko Lustig.
00:00:31Vavša, Serbia
00:00:43Good evening, welcome.
00:00:46You know this studio, you used to work here.
00:00:49I used to shoot here 20 years ago, but I can't remember what.
00:00:53You shot so much that you can't remember.
00:00:57We weren't really coordinated when it came to clothes for this show.
00:01:01We agreed.
00:01:04I wanted it to be this way, so I thought it would be appropriate.
00:01:09I have a store in Los Angeles.
00:01:12Ever since I won the Oscars and all those festivals,
00:01:16I've always worn a tie, a white shirt, a smock.
00:01:20The best thing is the slippers and the shirt.
00:01:23You won the Order of Prince Trpimir.
00:01:27What does that mean to you compared to the Oscars you won a day earlier?
00:01:36The Oscars are an American award, a world award.
00:01:41And the Order of Prince Trpimir is a recognition
00:01:46that I spent here for 30 years.
00:01:4931 years, 32 actually.
00:01:52In the Adriatic, around the Adriatic, and in this city.
00:01:56I've never received a single award.
00:01:59I've never been thanked.
00:02:02So for me, it's more important than the Oscars.
00:02:07This is my city.
00:02:10And when someone gives me an award on behalf of this city,
00:02:14on behalf of the Croatian government, the Croatian people,
00:02:16it's a greater recognition than when someone gives me an award
00:02:20that I only got to know 7 years ago.
00:02:23Yes, and your recognition is perhaps even greater
00:02:26because in spite of the Jewish people,
00:02:29President Tudjman spoke in favor of you winning the Order of Prince Trpimir.
00:02:35That night, after receiving the Order,
00:02:40and after I heard the contradiction of the President,
00:02:44I couldn't sleep at all.
00:02:47That contradiction is perhaps more important than the award.
00:02:53And I'm very grateful to the President for saying that.
00:02:58And I think it will help Croatia.
00:03:02That contradiction, more than anyone thinks.
00:03:06The President referred to the Order of great statesmen.
00:03:10Yes, Willy Brandt, Lech Walesa,
00:03:12the Pope.
00:03:15The Pope also referred to Lech Walesa,
00:03:18on behalf of all Christians.
00:03:21Mitterrand.
00:03:24It was all very good.
00:03:27And not only that, I got so many phone calls
00:03:30immediately after the World Agency accepted it.
00:03:34And it was very well received in the world.
00:03:37Let's go back to the Oscars.
00:03:39In the film, there was a showcase
00:03:42with a golden globe and a golden lion.
00:03:46There was a cleaning lady who constantly
00:03:50cleaned the showcase.
00:03:53You often asked yourself,
00:03:56will I ever get the Golden Lion and Golden Globe Oscars?
00:04:00I didn't get the Golden Lion.
00:04:03We didn't go to the Venice Film Festival.
00:04:06But I got the Globe.
00:04:09It was for the film,
00:04:12The Road to the New Year.
00:04:15I got the nomination for the Golden Globe.
00:04:19Every morning, when I was passing by,
00:04:22I thought to myself,
00:04:25will I ever get the chance to hold it in my hands
00:04:28and write on it, Brandt, Kostik.
00:04:31It happened. I have to build a showcase at home.
00:04:34There are so many small awards.
00:04:36What happened between the moment
00:04:39when you said, God, will I ever get it,
00:04:42and now? What was crucial?
00:04:45A lot of work.
00:04:48Work and a little bit of luck.
00:04:51Mr. Spielberg, when he says why he decided
00:04:54to work with you, he says it was because
00:04:57you were a victim.
00:05:00Because you were in Auschwitz,
00:05:03because you have that experience.
00:05:06Because you were able to save a lot of money
00:05:09with very voluntary arrangements
00:05:12on the filming of the film.
00:05:15Because you work 24 hours a day.
00:05:18I've been working like that for 38 years.
00:05:21But he...
00:05:24When we first talked about it,
00:05:27he called me for an interview,
00:05:30and when we first talked about me
00:05:33becoming the producer of his film,
00:05:36he asked me about my past.
00:05:39I told him everything, and we only had to talk
00:05:42for 10 minutes, because he didn't have much time.
00:05:45And then slowly, slowly, he stayed for an hour and a half.
00:05:48And in the end, we got along so well
00:05:51that I sang for him on a sad Sunday,
00:05:54because he didn't even know what a sad Sunday was like.
00:05:57And then we got along very well.
00:06:00And what I saved, money,
00:06:03I've tried all my life to spend money
00:06:06and I think that it doesn't matter
00:06:09whether it's paid or not,
00:06:12it should go to a minimum.
00:06:15And we had very voluntary arrangements
00:06:18with our Polish partners,
00:06:21because we managed to choose
00:06:24not to pay taxes.
00:06:27The state didn't take taxes,
00:06:30but we spent about 6 million dollars in Poland,
00:06:33and if we followed the rules,
00:06:36it was about 25-30% tax.
00:06:39More, about 40% tax.
00:06:42And they forgave us,
00:06:45and that actually led us to go to Poland
00:06:48and to shoot in Poland.
00:06:51Why didn't you shoot that film in Zagreb?
00:06:54I wanted to shoot in Zagreb.
00:06:57However, there are no such facilities there.
00:07:00I mean, Stephen wanted everything to be
00:07:03original, historical.
00:07:06I was very afraid when we shot scenes
00:07:09in his apartment, because you know,
00:07:12there were big scenes there,
00:07:15even some that didn't go into the film.
00:07:18And when you bring it up and down,
00:07:21when you bring the camera,
00:07:24when you shoot the sunrise,
00:07:27it's on the fourth floor of an old building,
00:07:30so the whole building was shaking.
00:07:33I was afraid, so I gave up.
00:07:36I was afraid that something would happen
00:07:39and that everything would collapse.
00:07:42Especially when we shot on the balcony.
00:07:45But Zagreb had already acted in Krakow, for example.
00:07:49I shot a film about...
00:07:52I was in a film about the life of the Pope.
00:07:59He was from Krakow, the Pope.
00:08:02And we had to shoot a film in Zagreb,
00:08:04and Zagreb had to be Krakow.
00:08:07And then we found all the locations.
00:08:10All those middle European, baroque cities
00:08:13are mostly the same city.
00:08:16I mean, it's like they were built by the same architects.
00:08:19First of all, the signs above the market and the streets
00:08:22change, and that's Krakow.
00:08:25And nobody will tell you that it's not.
00:08:28They say that Zagreb is too expensive
00:08:31and that the Poles, regardless of everything,
00:08:34we didn't have enough money for that film.
00:08:37What Spielberg did for that film doesn't mean
00:08:40that it's a film that costs 23 million dollars altogether.
00:08:43And in Zagreb, the prices jumped a lot.
00:08:46Today, Zagreb is not as it used to be.
00:08:49It's not competitive.
00:08:52It's one of the cheapest cities to shoot.
00:08:55What should be changed to make it competitive again?
00:08:58Well, some laws should be changed.
00:09:01First, in cinematography.
00:09:04Some cuts should be released.
00:09:07The so-called VAT law should be introduced.
00:09:10I don't know how to say it in Croatian.
00:09:13The cut should be so that when the film is released,
00:09:16the producer who comes from abroad
00:09:19gets the cut back.
00:09:22If I come from America,
00:09:25I don't work as an American producer.
00:09:28I don't make a film for Croatia.
00:09:31I make a film for America.
00:09:34I export negative VAT,
00:09:37so there's nothing left.
00:09:40If I pay 22% or 30% of the cut,
00:09:43when I buy something, I take it abroad
00:09:46and I have the right to get 22% back.
00:09:49That way, the expenses could be reduced by 20%,
00:09:52not all, but 22%.
00:09:55The same goes for the cut for social security and statistics.
00:09:58I've never heard of it.
00:10:01Social statistics are not paid anywhere in the world.
00:10:04They are used only once a day,
00:10:07and that's 36%, which is impossible.
00:10:10There are a lot of things that could be done
00:10:13with a little bit of attention.
00:10:16For example, you go to a big company like Arri
00:10:20or a big studio like Pinewood
00:10:23and you work five days a week,
00:10:26but they don't count five days, they count three.
00:10:29Arriflex even counts one day a week,
00:10:31just to get things out of the storeroom.
00:10:34People don't use it.
00:10:37It's a big competition.
00:10:40New reflectors are produced every day
00:10:43and they want to sell them.
00:10:46If all those little things,
00:10:49stone by stone,
00:10:52if all those little things could be organized,
00:10:55if there was a reasonable leadership,
00:10:57then all those laws could be applied
00:11:00and prices could rise again.
00:11:03No one wants Zagreb to be like Lithuania or Ukraine,
00:11:07because that's the cheapest.
00:11:10But at least it should be at the level of Prague
00:11:13or Bratislava or Budapest.
00:11:16At least that.
00:11:19People would come to Zagreb more often
00:11:22and spend more dollars,
00:11:24because they had a good airport,
00:11:27good hotels,
00:11:30rather than going to Lithuania or Ukraine.
00:11:33But they still go to Lithuania or Ukraine
00:11:36because it's too expensive here.
00:11:39I heard they want to privatize Jadramfilm.
00:11:42What do you think about that?
00:11:45I'll tell you.
00:11:48Bratislava was one of the cheapest studios in the world.
00:11:51When they privatized it,
00:11:54the prices were like in a Bavarian film.
00:11:57That's why people still go there.
00:12:00Why?
00:12:03Because they make a co-production with Mr. Kirch.
00:12:06He gives them his share.
00:12:09You can use the studio,
00:12:12because it's not a direct expense,
00:12:15it comes from the income.
00:12:18But they accept it,
00:12:21because they don't have money to pay.
00:12:24Do you understand what I'm saying?
00:12:27Yes.
00:12:30But if it's a state-owned studio,
00:12:33like Croatia,
00:12:36then the state decides
00:12:39if it wants to have a name in the world,
00:12:42if it wants to hire its own film crew,
00:12:45if it wants to bring its own movies,
00:12:48if it has the capacity,
00:12:51then the state can lower the price,
00:12:54because what it loses there,
00:12:57it gets on the other side.
00:13:00You can't pay for an image.
00:13:03What does it mean?
00:13:06It means a lot for a private company,
00:13:09but not for a state.
00:13:12The image of Croatia in Cannes or Oscars
00:13:15means more than millions of dinars.
00:13:18Would you accept to be the director of a big film?
00:13:21I thought about it.
00:13:24I've been through a lot.
00:13:27I wouldn't accept it.
00:13:30I would accept to be an advisor.
00:13:33That's a sound name.
00:13:36But I would be very happy.
00:13:39I'm already retired in Croatia.
00:13:42I have a high pension of 85 dollars.
00:13:48But I would be very happy
00:13:51to go there in the morning
00:13:54and have a cup of coffee.
00:13:57You are 62 years old.
00:14:00I'm very happy.
00:14:03I have a dear wife.
00:14:06I have a beautiful daughter.
00:14:09She is 14 years old.
00:14:12I'm a happy man.
00:14:15I have a friend.
00:14:18I made an appointment for a dinner
00:14:21in a book club.
00:14:24I met a lot of people there.
00:14:27I'm a happy man.
00:14:30I'm happy because I have friends.
00:14:33I have a peaceful life.
00:14:36I can still work.
00:14:39That's wonderful.
00:14:42You went to America 7 years ago.
00:14:45I went there a little earlier.
00:14:48I went there in 1984.
00:14:50Then I went to America again.
00:14:53I got a TV series there.
00:14:56I wanted to go back to Zagreb
00:14:59and make my first film.
00:15:02I was 85 years old.
00:15:05Why did you go to America?
00:15:08I was invited by Dan Curtis,
00:15:11the director of War of Memories.
00:15:14He asked me to help him.
00:15:17I went to Hawaii for 3 months.
00:15:20Then I went to Midway.
00:15:23When I met people there,
00:15:26I thought why not stay for 2 years.
00:15:29I decided to go only for 2 years.
00:15:32I couldn't find a movie for 2 years.
00:15:35I wanted to work on a movie.
00:15:38When I got my first Emmy,
00:15:41no one wanted to offer me a movie.
00:15:44I said I would stay for another year
00:15:47to get a movie.
00:15:50The first series I made in America
00:15:53got me an Emmy.
00:15:56The first movie I made got me an Oscar.
00:15:59When I got the Oscar,
00:16:02I thought it would be stupid
00:16:05to go to America now.
00:16:08I needed at least one or two more movies.
00:16:11Then I would see what would happen.
00:16:14You made those series in Croatia.
00:16:17You specialized in war movies.
00:16:20You made a lot of movies for Europe.
00:16:23Your ambition was to make movies
00:16:26that were played all the time.
00:16:29We made a lot of movies,
00:16:32such as Deps, The Saviour, Nikola Tesla.
00:16:35I made Deps and The Saviour
00:16:38as assistant directors.
00:16:41Nikola Tesla was a series.
00:16:44He was my first private producer.
00:16:47He was a freelancer.
00:16:50I wanted to make a 10-hour series.
00:16:53But I didn't make Deps.
00:17:02You didn't work with Neretva Kozara.
00:17:05No, I didn't work with Neretva.
00:17:08They didn't invite me.
00:17:11They invited me because they offered me
00:17:14to be the director of a sector.
00:17:17Veljko Puljarić helped you a lot.
00:17:20He helped me a lot when he invited me to Kozara.
00:17:23I was working in a nuclear company.
00:17:26When I came back from the army,
00:17:29I became a freelancer.
00:17:32But they didn't want me in the company.
00:17:35I complained to some people there.
00:17:38They said that I didn't deserve
00:17:41to be in the company of a movie producer.
00:17:44Veljko helped me.
00:17:47He saved me.
00:17:50You were on the blacklist.
00:17:53Yes, I was on the blacklist.
00:17:56It was about Jews.
00:17:59I was always on the blacklist.
00:18:02I was on the blacklist in Germany.
00:18:05I was promoting Israel in a public place.
00:18:08I didn't like it.
00:18:11But Veljko helped me.
00:18:14I worked with Veljko on two movies.
00:18:17Kozara and Skopje.
00:18:20Skopje 1963.
00:18:23You remember it very well.
00:18:26Yes, not only the shooting,
00:18:29but everything that happened after that.
00:18:32We were awarded in Cannes.
00:18:35One of my favorite movies was
00:18:38Neokreči za sinec with Branko Bauer.
00:18:41He was a wonderful man.
00:18:44I learned a lot from him.
00:18:47I worked with him on another movie
00:18:50about the roots.
00:18:53Samo ljudi.
00:18:56It was 1957-58.
00:18:59Half of the people
00:19:02from Samo ljudi are already dead.
00:19:05A lot of people died.
00:19:08How much did you learn from the Oscars
00:19:12after 30 years?
00:19:15I learned almost everything.
00:19:17You can't learn everything
00:19:20about the movie business
00:19:23at the Academy.
00:19:26You can only have an education
00:19:29and access the material.
00:19:32But experience is what makes you
00:19:35the best at your job.
00:19:38I'm not saying I'm the best,
00:19:41but that's what it is.
00:19:43The experience you gain
00:19:46little by little.
00:19:49Let's go back.
00:19:52I graduated from the Academy.
00:19:55I was asked to go to Hungary
00:19:58and Germany to make a movie
00:20:01on the Hungarian border.
00:20:04I went there for the first time
00:20:07to one of the workers
00:20:09who were Germans.
00:20:12There were electricians,
00:20:15aggregatists, scene workers.
00:20:18I learned everything I could
00:20:21from those guys
00:20:24who are no longer there.
00:20:27I owe them a lot.
00:20:30I owe them a lot.
00:20:33I owe them a lot.
00:20:36I owe them a lot.
00:20:39The firstkhara
00:20:42he taught me
00:20:45to be an aggregatist.
00:20:48I was slowly becoming
00:20:51one of those people
00:20:54who come after cameras.
00:20:57I owe them a lot.
00:21:00The oscars
00:21:03were gifted
00:21:06by the President
00:21:09Today's Oscars are dedicated to people who are behind the camera.
00:21:14I don't know if you noticed that.
00:21:16That was his speech.
00:21:18And he was thinking about those people.
00:21:20Those cable guys, Marcius, and all those people who are behind the camera,
00:21:27who are moving down.
00:21:29At first, they are not on the screen, but when they pass, they are on the screen.
00:21:33But you don't remember them. Without those people, there is no film.
00:21:36I have a specific question.
00:21:38These people who are working with us on this show,
00:21:40can they become Oscars winners?
00:21:44I don't know if there is a category for a Farmeister.
00:21:47But if there was a category for a Farmeister, then yes.
00:21:53First, it is important that the film gets an Oscar.
00:21:56Because that is a kind of a lunch reaction.
00:21:58When a film gets an Oscar as the best film, the best speech,
00:22:02then automatically some things start to go.
00:22:04I personally think that the film Age of Innocence,
00:22:10by Martin Scorsese, Jalic, if I were to vote,
00:22:15because I haven't voted yet,
00:22:17I have become a member of the Academy.
00:22:19That is automatic.
00:22:21As soon as you are nominated for an Oscar, you become a member of the Academy.
00:22:24I would vote for the set design and equipment for the film.
00:22:32But when it starts, the whole film gets an Oscar.
00:22:38People automatically vote for the film they voted for as the best film.
00:22:44You mentioned earlier that you graduated from the Academy.
00:22:47You studied acting.
00:22:49Some people who studied with you,
00:22:51who are very famous in Croatia today,
00:22:53for example, Mr. Martin Sagner,
00:22:55Mr. Anton Vrdoljak,
00:22:57Mr. Buzančić,
00:22:59No, my generation is only Sagner.
00:23:02But with Mr. Vrdoljak,
00:23:04I don't know if he was sick or something,
00:23:07so he didn't take the exam on time,
00:23:09I took the exam for acting,
00:23:12then I added him to the schlagwort.
00:23:14I had the honor of killing Dostoyevsky at night,
00:23:17when I was standing on the bridge,
00:23:19playing a drunkard, and adding him to the schlagwort.
00:23:22But, you see, I remember everything.
00:23:26But, the guys like Buzančić,
00:23:29they were one class older than me.
00:23:32I was in the second year.
00:23:36You were with Professor Gavela, right?
00:23:38I have a diploma, it's unique.
00:23:41My diploma says that I am a professor of acting,
00:23:44on the left, and a rector, on the right, of Branko Gavela.
00:23:47What does that mean to you today?
00:23:50As I said at the beginning,
00:23:52that academy is for me...
00:23:55I have a common culture there.
00:23:58I have learned, in my life,
00:24:01what the board means in life.
00:24:04We acted there, we had professors like
00:24:07Professor Škiljan, Professor Habunek,
00:24:10Rector Škavić, who was incredible.
00:24:13Listen, you get an education,
00:24:16which later in life, in certain moments, is very useful.
00:24:19When I graduated from the academy,
00:24:22I was supposed to become an actor.
00:24:25Why didn't you become an actor?
00:24:28Why didn't I become an actor?
00:24:31Simply because I went to the Hungarian border
00:24:34to meet those guys behind the camera,
00:24:37and I really liked that.
00:24:40When I came back, they offered me
00:24:43a son, and that's how it started.
00:24:46How many movies do you act in?
00:24:49I act in every movie.
00:24:52If you look at any movie I play in,
00:24:55I play some role.
00:24:58I don't know if you remember the movie
00:25:01Liman and the Drums.
00:25:04In Liman and the Drums, I play the director of the circus,
00:25:07who represents that little Oscar.
00:25:10That movie also won an Oscar.
00:25:13In the movie Schindler's List,
00:25:16you play Kornobar at the beginning.
00:25:19That was one case.
00:25:22One actor didn't show up in the morning.
00:25:25He was supposed to come from Warsaw.
00:25:28As Spielberg once told me,
00:25:31one night I changed the order of filming,
00:25:34without telling him, or it started snowing.
00:25:37I decided not to go outside,
00:25:40because I knew that the snow wouldn't last.
00:25:43We had that scene for three days,
00:25:46and I knew that the next day it wouldn't snow again.
00:25:49I woke up at two in the morning,
00:25:52and I heard an unusual silence outside.
00:25:55The silence woke me up.
00:25:58I opened the curtains, and outside,
00:26:01the snow was falling like crazy.
00:26:04Without asking Spielberg,
00:26:07I called him.
00:26:10I told him that he was the same producer,
00:26:13and that he wanted to be involved.
00:26:16He agreed with what I had done.
00:26:19When he came at seven o'clock,
00:26:22I told him that we didn't have an actor.
00:26:25He said that he had a solution.
00:26:28I told him to take off his glasses.
00:26:31I took them off and told him to get dressed.
00:26:34I got dressed, and I left.
00:26:37My late father was a smoker in Osijek.
00:26:40He was always as elegant as you are now,
00:26:43in smoking.
00:26:46He had a light shoe.
00:26:49When I got dressed,
00:26:52I told him that I would play this role.
00:26:55I remembered my father.
00:26:58He was my late father.
00:27:01Let's look at your portrait.
00:27:11If Branko Gavela were alive today,
00:27:14after winning the Oscar,
00:27:17he would say,
00:27:20I've always said that.
00:27:23Branko Lustig, one of the most successful
00:27:26Hollywood producers,
00:27:30never became an actor,
00:27:33because his talent for money laundering
00:27:36enabled him to work in Adrenaline,
00:27:39where he was engaged in organizational
00:27:42and production work.
00:27:45He participated in the creation
00:27:48of some very successful Croatian,
00:27:51but also foreign films,
00:27:54which were shot in then very cheap Croatia.
00:27:57He was also involved in American TV projects,
00:28:00like Vjetrova Rata,
00:28:03which ensured him access to work
00:28:06on many American projects.
00:28:09For his work on the miniseries Narkoratovi,
00:28:12Priča o kamareni,
00:28:15he won the Emmy Award.
00:28:18He decided to produce a film,
00:28:21but because of the financial problems
00:28:24he couldn't do it.
00:28:27Then he heard that Steven Spielberg
00:28:30had bought the rights for the screenplay.
00:28:33Branko Lustig was seriously ill at the time,
00:28:36so he had to undergo a heart surgery.
00:28:39Steven Spielberg's letter arrived
00:28:42a few days after the surgery.
00:28:45You've probably heard the story
00:28:48about a golden carriage that goes around the world
00:28:51Branko Lustig didn't wait.
00:28:54He went to talk to Spielberg,
00:28:57got a job as a producer,
00:29:00and won one of seven Oscars.
00:29:03He worked on many previous co-productions,
00:29:06including 18 Croats.
00:29:11We wanted to shoot the film in Zagreb,
00:29:14but Steven insisted on historical locations,
00:29:17so we shot it in Zagreb.
00:29:20We shot it in Krakow,
00:29:23and the film turned out well.
00:29:26Branko Lustig says it wasn't easy
00:29:29for him to participate in the shooting
00:29:32of the scene of the execution of Jews.
00:29:35This film is about a part of my life,
00:29:38a part of my stay in concentration camps.
00:29:41That's why the Oscar I won
00:29:44is ten times more important
00:29:47than the Oscar for any other film.
00:29:50The ten-year-old boy was a witness
00:29:53to everything that happened in Auschwitz,
00:29:56which is what Spielberg's film is about today.
00:29:59Branko Lustig is at the top right now.
00:30:02This may change his decision
00:30:05to leave the film industry and go to peace.
00:30:08But Branko Lustig is certain
00:30:11that when he no longer wants to be a Hollywood producer,
00:30:15let's go back to your childhood.
00:30:18You were born in Osijek, right?
00:30:21Yes.
00:30:22And when you were ten, you left Čakovec.
00:30:25No, I left Osijek when I was ten.
00:30:28Actually, when I was nine,
00:30:31in 1941.
00:30:34I went to Čakovec, which was Hungarian at the time.
00:30:37I was in Čakovec for a while
00:30:40and then I was taken from Čakovec
00:30:43to a camp in Šopron and Šopron to Auschwitz.
00:30:46I parted there,
00:30:49a man and a woman,
00:30:52depending on how it went.
00:30:55I stayed in a small camp
00:30:58near Auschwitz,
00:31:01where I worked as a coal miner.
00:31:04Then I returned to Auschwitz
00:31:07and took part in the Great March for Gleiwitz
00:31:10in the winter of 1945,
00:31:13in January.
00:31:16I came to Dora and worked there.
00:31:19After Dora, I went to Bergen-Belsen,
00:31:22where I was released by the British.
00:31:25By chance, I met my mother again,
00:31:28with whom I had grown up in Auschwitz.
00:31:31And then I returned to Čakovec,
00:31:34which was Yugoslavia at the time.
00:31:37Then I came to Zagreb,
00:31:40where I went to secondary school.
00:31:43Tell me, what happened to your parents?
00:31:46Your mother was also taken away?
00:31:49Yes, my mother was with me.
00:31:52When we were selected in Auschwitz,
00:31:55she went to a weapons factory in Essen.
00:31:58Her father was taken to a Hungarian unit
00:32:01so that he could escape to the Partisans.
00:32:04They killed him on the 15th of March.
00:32:07The Russians, when they shot the Germans
00:32:10who were chasing the Partisans,
00:32:13they found him among them
00:32:16and, unfortunately, they killed the whole unit.
00:32:19What happened to your relatives?
00:32:22Most of them died in Auschwitz.
00:32:25Not most of them, but some of them.
00:32:28When you return to Auschwitz,
00:32:31what do you feel?
00:32:34It may sound absurd,
00:32:37but I feel hungry.
00:32:40Every time I return to Auschwitz,
00:32:43I feel hungry.
00:32:46That is probably a reaction.
00:32:49But the first time I was there,
00:32:52with the war and the memory,
00:32:55it was very hard for me.
00:32:58I survived some moments.
00:33:01This time it was easier
00:33:04because I got used to it.
00:33:07I have another very memorable story
00:33:10that happened in Auschwitz in 1986.
00:33:13I was in the war memory
00:33:16as a stunt director,
00:33:19social producer,
00:33:22and when Milan Stanišić came to me,
00:33:25he told me to go to the side
00:33:28because he had something to tell me.
00:33:31I went behind some barracks
00:33:34and he told me that my mother died
00:33:37in a hospital in Zagreb
00:33:40and that my wife was on the phone
00:33:43and that she needed me.
00:33:46I went to the phone
00:33:50and that phone was in the office
00:33:53of the commandant of the camp Rudolf Hess.
00:33:56It was a strange coincidence
00:33:59that happened in connection with Auschwitz.
00:34:02I got used to walking around Auschwitz
00:34:05as if I were at home.
00:34:08Do you still have your number?
00:34:11The number is not strange.
00:34:14We agreed to meet
00:34:18but I think it is very important
00:34:21to keep that number.
00:34:24It is A-33-17.
00:34:27That is the name of this show.
00:34:30I want to say that it is very important
00:34:33to keep your number.
00:34:36It can be removed,
00:34:39but I think the number should remain
00:34:42so that people remember it.
00:34:46People all over the world
00:34:49forget it very easily.
00:34:52We made the movie Schindler's List
00:34:55so that people remember it.
00:34:58A lot of people say
00:35:01that we made it
00:35:04so that it never happens again.
00:35:07It was very convenient
00:35:10that it never happens again.
00:35:13That is why we continue to appreciate it.
00:35:16I hope that the children
00:35:19from the age of 15 will not forget it.
00:35:22In the countries where you were
00:35:25at the premieres,
00:35:28you promised that you would send
00:35:31a part of the school building.
00:35:34I did not promise, but I kept it.
00:35:37In Austria and in Germany
00:35:40I read that the Austrian newspaper Krone
00:35:43bought 5,000 tickets
00:35:46and distributed them to schools.
00:35:49There are more than 10,000 volunteers
00:35:52who are waiting to come
00:35:55and watch the movie.
00:35:58In Germany, we started to show it
00:36:01to schools as a mandatory part of the show.
00:36:04People not only forget it,
00:36:07but also remember it.
00:36:10I was on a TV show in Berlin
00:36:13called
00:36:16Is there a good Nazi?
00:36:19I was invited to that show
00:36:22and I heard about my opponent.
00:36:25His name is Erich Nolte.
00:36:28He is a well-known historian
00:36:31and a well-known right-wing
00:36:34republican and right-wing radical.
00:36:37Right-wing radicals in Germany are neo-Nazis.
00:36:40One of his theses is that there was no Holocaust.
00:36:43Unfortunately,
00:36:46it was not recorded,
00:36:49but I will tell you.
00:36:52I told him a joke.
00:36:55In 1565,
00:36:58the Turkish army and monarchs
00:37:01lost a battle near Malta.
00:37:04Suleiman the Magnificent
00:37:07forbade his court to mention Malta.
00:37:10All the Turks said Malta yok, Malta yok.
00:37:13Suleiman printed a new Atlas of the Mediterranean
00:37:16that did not have Malta on it.
00:37:19But Malta is there.
00:37:22So, Mr. Nolte, the Holocaust cannot be denied.
00:37:25The Holocaust was planned
00:37:28and with the conference in Wannsee,
00:37:31they just legalized the killing.
00:37:34It was inevitable that it would happen.
00:37:37Therefore, every act of the Holocaust
00:37:40is planned and made.
00:37:43That's it.
00:37:46Was Schindler expelled just now
00:37:49because these things began to repeat themselves
00:37:52here in our area?
00:37:55I think so,
00:37:58because a stubborn Jew from Poland
00:38:01told every visitor
00:38:04that he wanted to be a writer.
00:38:07One day, a man answered that he was a writer
00:38:10and he persuaded him to write that book.
00:38:13That book was written in 1882.
00:38:16Universal, which buys good books,
00:38:19immediately bought it.
00:38:23Spielberg could not decide.
00:38:26He did not feel strong enough
00:38:29to make that film.
00:38:32At that time, Steven did not have children yet.
00:38:35He told me that the moment he had children
00:38:38and when he began to think about his Jewishness,
00:38:41which at one time even ashamed him,
00:38:44he felt the need to make a film
00:38:47about the Holocaust.
00:38:51He felt the need to make a film
00:38:54about the Holocaust
00:38:57in order to atone for those who died.
00:39:00Then he began to think
00:39:03and it took him 10 years
00:39:06to make that film.
00:39:09I think that Steven is a great director
00:39:12and all these attacks on him
00:39:15in various newspapers,
00:39:18such as Vuku on the right,
00:39:21convinced him
00:39:24that he was not a good director,
00:39:27that he was a Hollywood director,
00:39:30that he was sentimental
00:39:33and that the film had to end with a happy ending.
00:39:36I asked him what a happy ending meant to me.
00:39:39I asked him what a happy ending meant to me.
00:39:42I asked him what a happy ending meant to me.
00:39:45I asked him what a happy ending meant to me.
00:39:48How was the film received in Germany?
00:39:51The same way as it was received in Austria and the Netherlands.
00:39:54The same way as it was received in Austria and the Netherlands.
00:39:57People watched it,
00:40:00cried,
00:40:03lost themselves in the mass of other people on the street.
00:40:06There is only one question.
00:40:09Are they going to watch it
00:40:12and spend 5 hours and 15 minutes in the cinema
00:40:15as part of their punishment
00:40:18for what their fathers did?
00:40:21Or will they spend those 3 hours and 15 minutes
00:40:24on their further activities?
00:40:27on their further activities?
00:40:30We will see.
00:40:33It cannot happen overnight.
00:40:36People think that anti-Semitism will disappear
00:40:39but we made this film to slowly share it with all people.
00:40:42But we made this film to slowly share it with all people.
00:40:45Until now, the film has been watched by more than 35 million people.
00:40:48We know that by how much the box office is.
00:40:51We share it with a number of distributors.
00:40:54We are hoping to have another 30 million
00:40:57so that everyone will watch it.
00:41:00so that everyone will watch it.
00:41:03Maybe we will change something with this film.
00:41:06For me, it is extremely important that there was no film...
00:41:12In fact, I am sure that there was no film where our president said what he said.
00:41:18It was only a matter of time.
00:41:20It was only a matter of time, and that film also contributed to it,
00:41:23and that is why it is such a great film.
00:41:25Tell me, in America, for example, there is this war that is happening here,
00:41:29which is just as brutal.
00:41:31Have you already made some films?
00:41:34In America, there is a constant war.
00:41:39In Oakland, near San Francisco, there was a group of children who went to watch a film,
00:41:47and in the middle of the film, they started laughing.
00:41:50When the Germans were killing a woman in the film,
00:41:55the children started laughing.
00:41:57The screening was interrupted, and the children were taken out.
00:42:02When the children were later taken to the Simon Wiesenthal Center
00:42:06and shown all the crimes committed by fascists and Nazis
00:42:11against the Jews in the camps,
00:42:13the children started crying.
00:42:15They told us that they did not know, that no one had prepared them.
00:42:19What they saw in the film, they considered normal,
00:42:22because in the streets of America, there is a constant war.
00:42:25You turn on the radio, and someone is always being killed.
00:42:28For them, it is normal.
00:42:30Do we need to make films about the war that is happening here?
00:42:33I think we need to distance ourselves from it.
00:42:36But there are things that happened a long time ago,
00:42:39that could have been made.
00:42:43But for this war, I think we need to distance ourselves.
00:42:46You need to make a novel, a script.
00:42:49You can't talk about something like that.
00:42:54For you, you came to the conclusion that the script is very important,
00:42:58that it is the most important thing.
00:43:00I think it is the most important thing.
00:43:02I think it is the most important thing.
00:43:05When the script is good, it is much easier for the director
00:43:09to direct the film.
00:43:11On a good script, rather than on a bad one.
00:43:16Our problem is that these scripts were written by people
00:43:19who do not know the media at all.
00:43:21In America, being a screenwriter is a profession.
00:43:25You can't write a script for a painter,
00:43:28you can't write a script for a doctor,
00:43:32you can't write a script for a screenwriter,
00:43:34you can't write a script for a bookseller.
00:43:36A screenwriter who knows the law of dramaturgy
00:43:38writes a script.
00:43:40Steven Zillian, who won an Oscar for the best screenplay,
00:43:43he is a director, but he said that he would never again.
00:43:46It is his job to write a script.
00:43:48Steven Spielberg, who I believe knows how to write.
00:43:51When he got an idea, he told me that he had to send a fax to America
00:44:00to Mr. Zillian so that the dialogue would come in the morning.
00:44:04When I say dialogue, I mean dialogue.
00:44:06Let him in.
00:44:08Two sentences.
00:44:10But Steven did not do that.
00:44:12If his screenwriter did not write it for him,
00:44:15he did not send it.
00:44:17He respects that profession so much.
00:44:19In our country, everyone writes.
00:44:22In America, there is a very common practice
00:44:24when it comes to some kind of misfortune, some kind of tragedy,
00:44:27then the rights of the screenwriters are immediately taken away
00:44:31from the people who had that misfortune and their families.
00:44:36That is television.
00:44:38Yes, that is television.
00:44:40I don't know if it exists, but that is television.
00:44:42I remember, in the days of Italian neorealism,
00:44:45Giuseppe De Santis,
00:44:47I worked with him all day long.
00:44:50He invited me to Rome.
00:44:52I came to Rome and I was in his house.
00:44:55He had a large space outside the house, like a studio,
00:45:00where they worked like slaves.
00:45:04Elio Petri, who later became a very important director,
00:45:08and some others, I can't remember their names.
00:45:13They were journalists.
00:45:15They started their work by reading the morning papers.
00:45:18Giuseppe sat with them and they surrounded me with a black pen.
00:45:23They sat together and surrounded me with a black paper
00:45:26with some events.
00:45:28Then they went to their little boxes
00:45:30and wrote outlines all day long
00:45:32to see where they could make the scenario.
00:45:36That is how they created many neorealistic films
00:45:39based on small events that took place in Italy.
00:45:42In America, everything has to go very fast.
00:45:44Life is short.
00:45:45That is why it is television.
00:45:47It is not like that in films.
00:45:49Films are made mostly based on books.
00:45:52In the part of the Oscars,
00:45:54there is a screenplay for the original screenplay
00:45:58and a screenplay for the screenplay based on a novel.
00:46:03The original screenplay is usually made
00:46:07either by the scriptwriters who are in charge
00:46:10or by the director, like Piano,
00:46:13where she wrote the script and made the film.
00:46:16You worked as a producer and as a director's assistant.
00:46:21Can you explain the role of a producer and a director's assistant
00:46:26in America and the one they have here?
00:46:29It is not the same.
00:46:32In America, I worked as a director's assistant
00:46:35and a producer only on television.
00:46:37It is very difficult for me.
00:46:39It is almost impossible.
00:46:41On television, it is easy in America
00:46:43because if I am the assistant director
00:46:45and you are the director,
00:46:47and you tell me something,
00:46:49and I immediately realize that it is not in the budget
00:46:51and I know it,
00:46:52then I tell you,
00:46:53you know what, dear,
00:46:54don't be like that.
00:46:56I was joking when I was working on the TV series
00:47:00that I received an Emmy Award for.
00:47:03I had a hat,
00:47:04so I kept the hat forward.
00:47:06Then I was a producer.
00:47:08When I turned the hat back,
00:47:10I was a director, so the director knew.
00:47:13And that director, Brian Gibson,
00:47:15who is now a very good TV and film director,
00:47:19he made a story about Simon Wiesenthal
00:47:23and made it for television.
00:47:26He made Josefine Becker
00:47:28and now he made a film about Tina Turner,
00:47:33the life of Tina Turner.
00:47:35And he listened.
00:47:37When I told him,
00:47:39I made him a plan
00:47:42what to shoot in a day.
00:47:44We made a number of shots.
00:47:46And I knew that if he didn't make
00:47:49a certain number of shots by noon,
00:47:51I would cross the shots.
00:47:53As a producer on television,
00:47:55you have the right to cross,
00:47:57you command the director.
00:47:59He doesn't have as much copyright as he has.
00:48:02And you take responsibility for the quality.
00:48:05And that's why you can be an assistant director.
00:48:08It's perfectly connected.
00:48:10You can be an assistant director
00:48:12and a producer on television.
00:48:14Because you know what's going on.
00:48:16You prepare as much as you have money,
00:48:19as long as you can move.
00:48:21While on film, it's almost impossible.
00:48:24Either an assistant or a producer.
00:48:27These people who were in the team from Croatia,
00:48:30I can list them.
00:48:32Mr. Miki Stanecic,
00:48:34he also worked in the production of the film.
00:48:37Mrs. Nada Pinter,
00:48:39supervisor of the script.
00:48:41Sergio Mimica, the first assistant director.
00:48:44Zdravko Mađarović, the second assistant director.
00:48:47Zoran Mikničić, assistant camera.
00:48:49Tomislav Pogret, assistant tone.
00:48:51Vili Matula, in a smaller role.
00:48:53There were cooks who took care of the food,
00:48:56drivers, masters for special effects.
00:48:59They are one of the best in Europe.
00:49:02Are they in the film because you hired them
00:49:05or because they are really great workers
00:49:08who are competitive on the market?
00:49:12Both.
00:49:14They are my friends.
00:49:16I brought them to the film
00:49:18and introduced them to Steven
00:49:20and guaranteed that they would be good.
00:49:23But I didn't hire them just because they are my friends,
00:49:26but because they are my friends and good workers.
00:49:29You can't separate them.
00:49:32Do you want them to be involved in the next projects?
00:49:35Look, Sergio Mimica,
00:49:44he is already very famous in America.
00:49:47Now he is working on a film with Penny Marshall.
00:49:50Now they call him to go to Hawaii
00:49:53to shoot a big American film
00:49:56that costs 90 million dollars with Kevin Costner.
00:50:03He is one of the best assistant directors
00:50:06on the western coast.
00:50:09He did very well.
00:50:12Steven promised him that he will hire him again.
00:50:15It is 100% sure that he will work with Steven again.
00:50:18Steven liked his work style,
00:50:22his calmness, his thinking.
00:50:25He is very good.
00:50:28Mildan Stanišić is so good
00:50:31that he has been working with me for 24 years.
00:50:36Our cooperation started when we were working
00:50:39on the film Goose on the Roof.
00:50:42He developed a lot.
00:50:45He became the director of the film
00:50:48and supervisor of the production.
00:50:51I brought him there
00:50:54and he was the director of the team.
00:50:57He was preparing everything.
00:51:00I was offered to work as a line producer.
00:51:03I didn't want to work as a line producer
00:51:06because I couldn't be a producer.
00:51:09When they asked me if I had anyone to offer
00:51:12to shoot in Europe, I offered Miki.
00:51:15Miki packed his things, got in the car
00:51:18and went to Bratislava.
00:51:21He met the director and producer Rafaela De Laurentiis.
00:51:24They accepted him.
00:51:27Now he is the director of the team
00:51:30and a line producer in Bratislava
00:51:33on a huge film that costs 50 million dollars.
00:51:36In America it is much easier to work 24 hours a day
00:51:39than to sit at home and wait for someone to call you.
00:51:42100%.
00:51:45When you want to, you just bite your nails and get fat.
00:51:48Your status in Hollywood
00:51:51can be seen
00:51:54from the room you have there.
00:51:57How many windows do you have?
00:52:00That is in the office.
00:52:03The first time I came to America, I had a room without a window.
00:52:06I was surprised to find a room without a window.
00:52:09I had never seen a room without a window in my life.
00:52:12There were even windows in the camp.
00:52:15I asked him why.
00:52:18He said he knew why the buildings were built
00:52:21and the space was saved.
00:52:24All the military offices have executives
00:52:27and these slaves have middlemen.
00:52:30I put up with it.
00:52:33One day we promoted a little.
00:52:36In the beginning I had a room without a window.
00:52:39In the beginning I had a room without a window.
00:52:42When I became a member of the Association,
00:52:45they gave me a smaller room with a window.
00:52:48They saw how I worked.
00:52:51One day I came to the office and found
00:52:54that there was no name on my room.
00:52:57I thought I was in a hurry.
00:53:00I went to a room that I always passed by.
00:53:03There was a huge room with a table.
00:53:06You had to wait for someone to come
00:53:09and think about what you were going to say.
00:53:12It was very important.
00:53:15When someone came to the office,
00:53:18you had to stand up or sit down.
00:53:21These were the psychological differences.
00:53:24I called Serge to help me.
00:53:27He was from Dravko Madjarevic.
00:53:30There are a lot of people here
00:53:33who say that they want to go to America.
00:53:36What can you advise them?
00:53:39I can advise them to stay here.
00:53:42Why?
00:53:45Only those who are 20, 22 or 23 can go to America.
00:53:48Today, when you come to Universal Studios,
00:53:51there are a lot of people who have white hair,
00:53:54but they can't go to America.
00:53:57Those people who have white hair
00:54:00are either in a very high position
00:54:03and sit very high.
00:54:06In addition to the room,
00:54:09there is a management tower in the big houses.
00:54:12The boss sits on the 14th floor.
00:54:15Those who have gray hair sit high.
00:54:18The others are younger.
00:54:21Today, if you come to America,
00:54:24in the years from 1945 to 1935,
00:54:27that's it.
00:54:30It's over.
00:54:33You have to be young.
00:54:36I came here and I was lucky.
00:54:39It's not just laziness, it's luck.
00:54:42If someone is over 25,
00:54:45I advise them to stay here.
00:54:48It's very difficult to get a green card.
00:54:51You can't work if you don't have a green card.
00:54:54The American law is strict now.
00:54:57A new law was introduced on April 1st.
00:55:00That law will definitely make it impossible
00:55:03for people to come to America.
00:55:06You can't come until now.
00:55:09You have a driver's license.
00:55:12In America, with a driver's license,
00:55:15you can go and open a bank account.
00:55:18From now on, only people with a green card
00:55:21and a driver's license can apply for a driver's license.
00:55:24In other words,
00:55:27it will be reduced.
00:55:30It helped you a lot because you speak many languages.
00:55:33In America, I can speak English.
00:55:36But it helped me so much that
00:55:39when I first came to America,
00:55:42I spoke foreign languages.
00:55:45How many languages do you speak?
00:55:48About 7 or 8.
00:55:51You have worked with many stars.
00:55:54You have also worked on other films.
00:55:57Who did you like the most?
00:56:00Or who did you dislike the least?
00:56:03I graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts.
00:56:06According to my diploma,
00:56:09I am a certified actor.
00:56:12When I graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts,
00:56:15I said to myself,
00:56:18I will put this diploma on my door.
00:56:21I made friends with all the actors.
00:56:24When I make a film,
00:56:27I make friends with all the actors.
00:56:30I never got angry with any actor.
00:56:33I always found a common language.
00:56:36I remember that in London,
00:56:39Robert Mitchum drank a glass of cognac
00:56:42and he couldn't stand up.
00:56:45I said, I will do everything.
00:56:48I pulled myself under him
00:56:51and held his legs.
00:56:54I understood that.
00:56:57He waited for a long time.
00:57:00I never got angry.
00:57:03When the actors didn't want to come to the set,
00:57:06I always found a way
00:57:09not to get angry with them,
00:57:12but to explain to them.
00:57:15On the first day of filming,
00:57:18I always send flowers,
00:57:21a basket full of fruit.
00:57:24I care about the actors.
00:57:27I treat them humanly.
00:57:30I think it depends on them
00:57:33and that is the most important thing.
00:57:36That's why I think that the actors
00:57:39are the most important part of a film.
00:57:42We were very good friends.
00:57:45We lived in a small house on the shore.
00:57:48She came there.
00:57:51I was good with everyone.
00:57:54We had a very good relationship.
00:57:57I don't know if I fought with anyone.
00:58:00The actress John Shane said
00:58:03that she was very excited today
00:58:06because one of her producers
00:58:09was nominated for an Oscar.
00:58:12I got a Golden Globe.
00:58:15Jane Seymour got up and came.
00:58:18Sharon Stone hugged me and kissed me.
00:58:21That was the best part of the Oscars.
00:58:24I never had problems with the actors.
00:58:27After the Oscars,
00:58:30you plan to make at least two more films.
00:58:33At least two or three films.
00:58:36You don't do series anymore.
00:58:39No, I don't do series anymore.
00:58:42Do you know what you want to do?
00:58:45I have a contract with Assembly Entertainment.
00:58:48It's a family of Spielberg's.
00:58:51They say that only the lion roars.
00:58:54The lion roars inside or outside?
00:58:57Both ways.
00:59:00That's a good question.
00:59:03Steven once told me
00:59:06that if I made a phone book,
00:59:09people would watch it.
00:59:12I had several offers.
00:59:15I even hired my own agent.
00:59:18He offered me to make two films.
00:59:22He is a great director.
00:59:25He controls everything.
00:59:28He knows that the script is the most important.
00:59:31There is a script called The Legend of Zoran.
00:59:34Zoran is riding a black horse.
00:59:37He has a sword, a floret.
00:59:40I was in Zagreb last year.
00:59:43He told me that he would start
00:59:46when I came back on September 6th.
00:59:50I came back on September 6th.
00:59:53Today is April.
00:59:56They have changed the script three times.
00:59:59They can't make a story.
01:00:02But they are working.
01:00:05We have a meeting with the scriptwriters.
01:00:08Then a film called Don Juan came out.
01:00:11It is based on a novel from 1620.
01:00:14I like it very much.
01:00:18I asked him if I could work on it.
01:00:21He agreed.
01:00:24I think it will be done sooner than Zoran.
01:00:27I am very happy about it.
01:00:30It will be in Spain.
01:00:33I will hire someone who is free.
01:00:36Miki Stanišić was hired for Bratislava.
01:00:39There are a lot of people from Zagreb.
01:00:43You will stay in Zagreb for a few more years.
01:00:46As long as my health allows me.
01:00:49Then you will return to Zagreb.
01:00:52I have an apartment in Zagreb.
01:00:55I have a small house in Zumberko.
01:00:58I will go there with my friends.
01:01:01We will drink some rakija.
01:01:04We will walk around Zrinjac.
01:01:07We will see each other.
01:01:10You are here with us.
01:01:16Congratulations.
01:01:19I hope we will see each other again in Zagreb.
01:01:22Next time I will be in Smokinja.
01:01:25Thank you very much.
01:01:28See you next Friday.
01:01:43Subscribe to my channel.
01:01:46Good luck.
01:01:49Goodbye.
01:02:10Next Friday.
01:02:13Subscribe to my channel.
01:02:16Good luck.
01:02:19Goodbye.