The film, a cheeky comedy on media, lobbying, PR corruption, and manipulation, and is being shot in Prague and the Austrian Alps. Billionaire, starring Tomáš Matonoha as a businessman framed by media reports and Jiří Mádl as a PR manager, was written by former theater director-turned-journalist/lobbyist/PR manager/lawyer Martin Nezval. Vorel drew on his own past examinations of manipulation pre-1989.
"Dictatorships use not PR but propaganda. Everyone knew about propaganda but nobody believed it. Nobody knows about PR but everyone believes it," he noted. To Catch a Billionaire is the first Czech film shot by Red One 4K digital camera.
"A picture made by this camera has a 35mm film quality and the viewer is not able to differentiate if it is a 35mm or a digital picture," To Catch a Billionaire cinematographer Marek Jícha says.
Budgeted at 850 000 Euro (23 million CZK), Billionaire is produced by Vorel´s production company VorelFilm (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and co-produced by commercial CME TV channel Nova (www.nova.cz).
"I made all my previous films with the state owned Czech Television and now I just wanted to try another direction," Vorel told FNE. The film will open October 1, 2009, released by Bioscop, a leading Czech independent film distribution company.
Vorel, who struggled to find his footing after the fall of the wall, is now in upbeat mode. His 2005 film Skritek had a modest 120,000 admissions but was celebrated by Czech film critics. His next film The Can (Gympl, 2007) rose to fourth position among domestic films, with 450,000 admissions as well as critical acclaim.
Asked if the coming up film will be suited for mostly domestic or international audience, Vorel answers with his typical personal humor: "It will be a film for the cosmic audience." Meaning both enormous and space-like.
Director: Tomáš Vorel
Producer: Tomáš Vorel
Co-production partner: TV Nova
Cameraman: Marek Jícha
Cast: Tomáš Matonoha, Jiří Mádl, Ester Janečková, Josef Carda, Kateřina Sedláková, Josef Carda, Milan Šteindler, Radomil Uhlíř, Miroslav Etzler, Tomáš Vorel jr., David Vávra, Bolek Polívka
Distributor: Bioscop
Contact information:
VorelFilm
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Telephone +420 244 466 005
Bioscop: MAGIC BOX, a.s. - divize Bioscop
Managing direktor Adam Dvořák
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Telephone +420 221 436 320
Film festivals representative Irena Prokopová,
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Telephone +420 221 436 255.
