Germany backs Polanski, Tarantino

'Ghost,' 'Bastards' receive government funds

By ED MEZA

Roman Polanski and Quentin Tarantino will receive coin from the Teutonic government for their upcoming productions “Ghost” and “Inglorious Bastards,” respectively, which are set to shoot in Germany.

“Ghost,” an adaptation of the Robert Harris novel starring Pierce Brosnan and Nicolas Cage, was to begin lensing in Berlin and Studio Babelsberg in September but will now begin production in January.

Tarantino is prepping his World War II actioner “Inglorious Bastards,” which will film at Babelsberg in October.

The pic has raised eyebrows in Germany after an article in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung took issue with a leaked script of the film, about a group of vengeful Jewish-American GIs hunting down German soldiers.

Tarantino’s take on the Third Reich doesn’t seem to trouble officials at the DFFF (German Federal Film Fund), however.

“Without a doubt, these two productions would not be made here without the DFFF,” said fund topper Christine Berg.

The Polanski and Tarantino films are just two of several high-profile international productions that have been lured to Germany by the E60 million ($85 million) fund, set up last year.

While neither has been allocated coin yet, the fund has so far this year handed out $62 million to 70 films including Stephen Frears’ romantic period drama “Cheri,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer; Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist”; and Christian Alvart’s sci-fi thriller “Pandorum,” starring Dennis Quaid.

This has pumped more than $370 million into the Teuton film industry.

Peter Dinges, head of the German Federal Film Board (FFA), which oversees the DFFF, said the “spirit and purpose” of the fund was to generate a positive economic effect, and that goal had been fully achieved.

Berg added that this year’s DFFF budget “would be more than exhausted.”

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