Rhode Island International Film Festival - The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
In 1982 Peter Brosnan heard a story about an ancient Egyptian city buried in the California desert. For thirty years he’s been fighting to dig it up.
Interview with Director Peter Brosnan
Watch The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille on Tubi, Plex, Kanopy, iTunes, Vudu and Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
This began purely as a filmmaking enterprise with a couple of friends: “Let’s find this old movie set, get some archaeologists to dig it up… and make a movie about it.” That was in 1982. We thought it was a neat idea for a documentary film. We just never dreamed it would take 30 years.
As we got deeper into the project, we began to realize that it was a lot more than just a “neat idea.” It was the chance to save a rare and precious piece of American Cinema History – the last of the “great sets." It had to be saved.
Along the way, we got to meet and interview so many people who worked with DeMille, on both versions (1923 and 1956) of The Ten Commandments. These people were elderly — it was the last chance to save their stories. To anyone who cares about the history of Hollywood, that is a priceless experience.
This has also, in many ways, been a really enjoyable project: movies, Cecil B DeMille, a cast of thousands, Hollywood history… and a touch of Indiana Jones.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you like Hollywood History, archaeology, detective stories, exposés of bumbling bureaucrats — and the proverbial “cast of thousands” — you'll enjoy this film. And we try not to take ourselves too seriously. This is a fun film to watch.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
“Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” — Cecil B DeMille
Creativity and perseverance in pursuit of your vision are what this story is all about.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
In 1982, this was to be a film about an archaeologist digging up the set from the 1923 version of DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments.” The working title then: “Uncovering DeMille.” After that, as the film makes clear, things got complicated — and the film took 30 years to complete. The tale took on its own life. And here we are now.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
People appear genuinely entertained by the film's interweaving of DeMille’s legendary career with our own serio-comic efforts to save a piece of his “City of the Pharaoh.” Audiences seem to really enjoy it. We hope that continues to be so.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
When I first heard the tale of “DeMille’s Lost City” back in 1982, I thought it would make for a great documentary film. Feedback on the completed film so far has confirmed that. I’m just a tad sorry it took three decades.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Would it be a cliché to say: “A wider audience and distribution?"
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
By some estimates, 95% of all the silent movies made in the US are lost. That is a cultural loss of epic proportions. What if we’d lost 95% of everything Mark Twain wrote? As for artifacts from that era – actual tangible relics – there is almost nothing. At the Smithsonian in Washington DC, you can see Benjamin Franklin’s printing press and the Wright Brothers’ airplane. But artifacts from the early days of American Cinema? There is almost nothing.
If this film helps bring about a greater awareness of America’s vanishing cinema history — and sparks new efforts to recover what’s left — it will have achieved its aim.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
"Does the American film industry care enough (or at all) about its own heritage?"
Would you like to add anything else?
We hope people enjoy our film and appreciate the pivotal role that Cecil B. DeMille played in the birth of the Hollywood Film Industry.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Peter Brosnan continues to work in the field of child welfare in Los Angeles.
Interview: August 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
In 1982 Peter Brosnan heard a story about an ancient Egyptian city buried in the California desert. For thirty years he’s been fighting to dig it up.
Length: 88 minutes.
Director: Peter Brosnan
Producer: E Francesca Judge (Executive Producer)
Daniel J. Coplan (Producer)
Peter Brosnan (Producer)
Bruce Cardozo (Associate Producer)
Richard Eberhardt (Associate Producer)
Writer: Peter Brosnan
About the writer, director and producer:
Peter Brosnan is a writer, filmmaker and, since 1995, a social worker. His work has appeared
in national publications, on PBS and HBO.
Key cast:
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Funders: E Francesca Judge; Cecilia DeMille Presley
Made in association with: Cecilia DeMille Presley
More info:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Lost-City-of-Cecil-B-DeMille-1614033822253579/