The Producer of “Young Victoria” dishes about the Duchess and the Queen

King was in town recently to promote “The Young Victoria,” an Oscar-touted romantic costume drama starring Emily Blunt in the title role. It’s a milestone for King. “Victoria ” is the first film to be released by his newly-formed independent production company GK Films. He appeared at the AMC La Jolla as a guest of the Cinema Society of San Diego, and after the screening Mr. King took questions from the crowd. Here are some highlights:

Emily Blunt won’t take no:
“We had not yet cast either Albert or Victoria. I got a call one day that Emily Blunt wants to come and see me. She literally walked into my office and said, ‘I’m not leaving here till you put me in this movie.’ I know it sounds very corny and predictable, but she was serious and that’s exactly what happened … The film was actually released in the UK last March. It was so incredible to go there and see Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria on every single bus. I couldn’t get it released in the States. No one believed in it. That’s due to the economics of this business. Everyone looked at it as a period piece. This movie called “The Duchess” came out and it failed in a big way. A lost of people just weren’t interested in a period piece. It took a lot of determination (and a little blackmail) on my part to get the film released.”

Finding the right director:
“I was looking for something different from the typical British BBC-type period piece. This Jean-Marc Vallée guy comes into my office and quite honestly I had never heard of him before. He gave me this low-budget movie that he had shot called “C.R.A.Z.Y.” He won the Toronto (Film Festival) Audience Award with it. I fell in love with the film and sent it to Scorsese, who is producing this with me. Jean has so much passion for the material.”

About Sandy Powell’s costumes:
“Costume designer Sandy Powell doesn’t cheat very much on any movie. In this case she spent a lot of time going to palaces and studying books. When you are working on a small indie picture where people are doing it for the passion of the material, everybody finds a way of getting it done. The costume department didn’t have that big of a budget. I worked with Sandy on ‘The Aviator’ and ‘The Departed’ where she has a huge budget. This one was teeny-tiny, but she hustled and got it done. You have to on a smaller film. The costumes have actually been on display all over the country. They were in Beverly Hills last week.”

The Dutchess of York has a suggestion:
‘Sarah Ferguson pitched me this along with about 200 other ideas. She had written a couple of books about Queen Victoria many years ago … She was really instrumental in helping us out. Being on the set at Lincoln Cathedral for the coronation scene and seeing Sarah’s daughter Princess Beatrice, who played an extra in a film we were doing about her great-great-great-great-grandmother, was really quite special. “

What exactly does a producer do?
“You got a spare three hours? I generally like to get a book or a two-page synopsis and turn it into a completed project. That’s what really excites me. Some producers are on the set every day while others are more creative and stay behind the scenes. None of my movies are studio movies. They are all financed by one guy, my partner. I just left Warner Bros. after six years and I got a deal with Sony where I can make a movie and they’ll distribute it worldwide. They don’t tell me to change the script or who to cast. I am truly independent now.”

A royal review:
“The Queen saw the movie was really proud of it and gave us her blessing. I got an email from the Queen. (Laughing) That was pretty amazing.”

“The Young Victoria” is currently playing at AMC Fashion Valley 18 and the La Jolla Village Cinemas.

Scott Marks was born and raised in some of the finest single screen movie theaters in Chicago. He moved to San Diego in 2000 and has never looked back. Scott authors the blog emulsioncompulsion.com and is co-host of KPBS-Radio’s Film Club of the Air. Please address any bouquets or brickbats to [email protected].