FILMMAKER MAGAZINE | Spring 1997: PRODUCTION UPDATE

PRODUCTION UPDATE

Philip and Belinda Haas follow their Oscar-nominated costume drama Angels and Insects with another steamy adaptation: The Blood Oranges, John Hawkes' 1971 novel about the erotic entanglements among a pair of bohemian couples sharing a villa in a remote tropical paradise. Shot in Mexico, where the filmmakers found the decayed remains of an abandoned estate for their critical villa location, The Blood Oranges stars Charles Dance (Michael Collins) and Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks) as a pair of charismatic sexual predators who ensnare a couple (stage actors Colin Lane and Laila Robins) vacationing in Mexico with their three young children. As with Angels, the Haases collaborated on the script; Philip directs and Belinda, his wife, is the editor.

Philip Haas was already a well known documentarian when he made his feature debut with an adaptation of Paul Auster's The Music of Chance in 1993. The new film is financed by the recently formed Ark Pictures, a partnership between Patricia Kluge's Kluge Invest-ments, Gotham Entertainment Group, and Kardana Films; Ark is capitalized to the tune of $10 million by Kluge. Oranges' five-week shoot rolled January 13 in Cuernavaca, a landlocked two-phone town 90 minutes from Mexico City, with the Haases' two small daughters playing the story's younger children. The filmmakers hope to premiere Oranges in May and all rights are available.

Cast: Charles Dance, Sheryl Lee, Laila Robins, Colin Lane, Rachael Bella. Crew: Producers, Tom Carouso, Belinda Haas, Philip Haas, Hector Lopez; Executive Producers, Chris Daniel, Patrick J. McDarrah, Joel Roodman, Barry Schindel; Screenwriters, Philip and Belinda Haas; Director, Philip Haas; Editor, Belinda Haas; Cinematographer, Bernard Zitzerman; Production Design/Costumes, Paul Brown. Contact: Tom Carouso, Ark Pictures, 99 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: (212) 376-6063, Fax: (212) 376-6067.