Werner Herzog is a filmmaker first and foremost. However, he’s been known to dabble in acting from time to time. One of those instances is in the upcoming “Star Wars” live-action streaming series, “The Mandalorian.” But according to the filmmaker, he didn’t tackle the Lucasfilm role because he was itching to act again. The main reason he took the role was simply for the paycheck.
According to an interview in Vanity Fair, Herzog admits that he took the role in the “Star Wars” series because of the money. No, not because he’s a greedy Hollywood type that can never say no to a nice paycheck, but because the Lucasfilm money could be put to good use. Namely, to make his Cannes film “Family Romance, LLC.”
Herzog says that most of the money he’s received for “The Mandalorian” was immediately put into the production of his Japanese-language film that is premiering as part of the Cannes Film Festival. Herzog joked, “The only thing I have not done so far [to make money for movies] is bank robbery.”
Of course, he is still an artist and not someone that takes a role ONLY because of the money. The filmmaker says that he didn’t immediately leap at the chance to work on a “Star Wars” property. Instead, he did his due diligence.
“I asked for the full screenplays, and I looked into the part, and it looked good and interesting,” he said.
But again, Herzog knew that he needed to earn the money for “Family Romance, LLC,” his film which is based on the true story of a Japanese business that allows customers to hire a man to fill a void in their family, whether that’s as a surrogate father figure or someone to walk their daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. Once Herzog became aware that this business actually exists, he knew it would be a hot property to buy the rights to, so he had a plan to beat the major players to the punch.
“I know that the company of Steven Spielberg, Amblin, wanted to buy the rights to it,” said Herzog. “I think Ryan Gosling wanted to buy the rights. But they moved slowly. By the time they put together a 140-page contract, I was already done filming. I was my own legal department, and wrote a legal memo that I sent to Mr. Ischii that was only two or three pages. He answered back, ‘Finally, a real summary!’ Speaking to me in very clear, very simple language impressed him, and we had an immediate rapport.”
So, the production of “Family Romance, LLC” was ready to begin. However, with the lack of studio backing, that meant that Herzog had to take on multiple roles with the film.
“I financed it myself, and I wrote and directed, and I was my own cinematographer. So, of course, that way you can be fast,” he revealed.
There’s no word on when “Family Romance, LLC” might be released, but we do know that “The Mandalorian” will arrive on Disney+ when the streaming service launches in November.