Korva is a scroll of the internet’s best ideas.
Soderbergh marched across the lot
Locked out of meetings
After Memento, Nolan was pitching Insomnia to the major studios and couldn't even get meetings. Soderbergh, an older and more experienced director, heard about the trouble getting in front of the Warner Brothers executives and went straight to the head of production.
He went further and offered to executive produce Insomnia himself, along with George Clooney, as a guarantee for the 31-year-old director. Soderbergh didn't have to do any of it, but he did, and he and Clooney became the film's executive producers.
Learning the studio system
The film was Nolan's introduction to how to work inside the studio system and with the big studios. By the end of the production he had learned that the efficiency of filmmaking is a way to keep control.
How did Soderbergh and Clooney back Insomnia?
Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney founded the production company Section Eight in 2000. Insomnia, released in 2002, was among its early productions. Having two established names attached as executive producers gave the studio reassurance that an experienced hand was watching over a young director. Insomnia starred Al Pacino and Robin Williams.
Why is Insomnia a remake?
Insomnia was adapted from a 1997 Norwegian thriller of the same name, directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg. Studios often look to successful foreign films when seeking stories with proven appeal. The remake moved the setting from northern Norway to Alaska. Both films center on a detective who cannot sleep during the weeks of continuous summer daylight.
More from Founders
