How did the distributors come on board?
What I did was very simple. Two years ago, I went to Cannes and asked all the distributors from around the world to come in for a presentation. Dane and Cara joined me on stage and I showed something like 60 or 70 drawings, explaining the details of the different aliens and the concept for the film.
Then they went into a room and had two hours to read the script and make a proposal if they were interested. We got the immediate backing of some 140 distributors and locked down financing in one day.
Why do you think independent distributors were so hungry for this production?
Unless youre Disney and Warner Bros, most distributors just watch these big films passing by. But for nearly 30 years, Ive been bringing films like Leon [aka The Professional], Nikita and Lucy to the market, and this in turn has created good relations with the distributors who like the fact that once in a while they have access to something of this calibre.