Budgets and Markets

Chapter 12 Meeting Venus

Summary

Meeting Venus was a brave experiment, bringing together artists and film-makers from all over Europe to make what was essentially an allegory of the problems of European unity. The ambitions of the producer and director appear to have been achieved in the production, which, apart from some difficulties with the medley of different accents, was mostly well received by critics.

The $9.7 million budget allowed for the casting of a major American star, Glenn Close, and for the achievement of the glossy production values needed for a film about opera. Warner Bros were sufficiently impressed by the package to take the film for worldwide distribution, thereby freeing the producer, David Puttnam, from the energy-sapping ...