When Rick Dugdale, president and CEO of Los Angeles-based Enderby Entertainment, first heard the pitch, he knew that he wanted to take on the film An Ordinary Man.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a story that is actually something we need to be aware of as a society,鈥� Dugdale said over the in-vehicle Bluetooth as he sat in classic Los Angeles traffic. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a film that鈥檚 led by a couple of wonderful actors.鈥�
Penned and directed by Brad Silberling (City of Angels, A Series of Unfortunate Events) , which was released on digital platforms April 17,follows the General (Ben Kingsley), an infamous Balkan war criminal who seeks refuge from the authorities with the help of his dedicated followers. After relocating to a new hideout, the General forms a relationship with his maid, Tanja (Hera Hilmar).
鈥淚t鈥檚 a project we immediately looked at because Ben Kingsley plays the lead,鈥� Dugdale said.
Kingsley, an English-product, has an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two BAFTA Awards under his belt for playing the titular character in Gandhi.
Iceland鈥檚 own Hilmar is a rising star in the European film industry who rose to acclaim following her lead performance in Life in a Fishbowl.
Star-studded cast aside, Dugdale said it was when he delved into the story that he knew it was a project worth producing.
鈥淚n today鈥檚 world, there鈥檚 a lot of things we need to be aware of. We want to be sure history doesn鈥檛 repeat itself,鈥� Dugdale said. 鈥淲hen you look at a pitch like that, it鈥檚 definitely up our alley. It kind of has everything we were looking for.鈥�
An Ordinary Man also marks an exploration of projects different from what the company often tackles, Dugdale said.
The film is slated for DVD and Blu-Ray release June 12 and a future Netflix release. And while An Ordinary Man won鈥檛 be hitting the silver screen in Canada, Dugdale is hopeful that North Okanagan residents will watch it on digital platforms.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be the beginning of the next chapter for us,鈥� Dugdale said.
Crews are currently working on the post-production of four different Enderby Entertainment projects in Sweden.
鈥淚t鈥檚 getting a little hectic,鈥� Dugdale said of post-production efforts.
Intrigo: Death of an Author the first part of the Intrigo series 鈥� three-films shot in succession based on Swedish author Hakan Nesser鈥檚 novels 鈥� is slated for its European debut in October, with the North American launch yet to be determined.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty unorthodox that we shot the film before the book came out,鈥� Dugdale said, noting that the first book鈥檚 North American debut is slated for August.
Also in post-production is Enderby Entertainment鈥檚 Second World War film Peace.
Filmed near the Allan Brook鈥檚 Nature Centre last winter, Peace follows four American soldiers tasked with ascending an Italian mountainside in 1944.
鈥淚t was great. You go from shooting in war-torn Yugoslavia, which is beautiful, to sitting in your backyard in Vernon,鈥� said Dugdale, adding that it was good to be home for the holidays.
Currently, Dugdale is in pre-production of Beneath, which is planned to be filmed in Canada this summer.
