Netflix’s next “exterritorial” project and the director

EXCLUSIVE: Christian Zübert, the writer and director of the successful film Netflix Exterritorial I couldn’t believe when his German action thriller has set the streamer’s film graphics to scale. “I told my wife, I hope we don’t have a moment like La la Land In 2017 because I thought: “It’s quite incredible,” he said.

“I was really happy with the film, it turned out that I wanted, a mixture of a really emotional story and a gender story. I thought we may get the number one in Germany and other countries, and I hope that we will not do too much on the big markets, such as the United States and Great Britain. ”

Exterritorial In fact, sitting at the top of the Netflix films list in 88 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. It was the most watched film of the non -English -speaking tongue paintings for the streamer for three weeks. Having put the heights on the scale, the film produces Constantine’s film is now a fifth non -English -speaking language film most watched on Netflix with more than 85 million views and is closer to fourth place.

“You are starting to achieve, and I am not saying that to boast, but more because Netflix has such a huge range, perhaps at that time, it was the most seen film in the world,” said Zübert.

The story follows the former elite soldier Sara Wulf, played by Jeanne Goursaud (Barbaric), whose child mysteriously disappears to the US consulate labyrinstlain in Frankfurt, Germany. Forced to switch to battle mode after the authorities refused that his son is there, his search for his disappeared child leaving a concealment which dates back to his time in Afghanistan.

Zübert remembers that the idea of ​​the show came while working on the successful German series Bad banks. He was in the American consulate while trying to obtain visas for his family. He has lost no offspring and did not start two hours to recover them to recover them, according to the film, but the idea was born.

The boss of the German language programming of Netflix, Sasha Bühler Greenlit, Green the film. “We have said that we may be trying to make this emotional vision Die hard Located in a consulate, ”explains Zübert.

The elements of action were married to the emotional attraction of a disappeared child is the secret sauce of the film, adds the director-director. “You have this framing of Die hard– Type film, but there is also this mother looking for a child, and who must overcome her own self -doubts. These two elements were really important to me. If you had just taken an element, it would probably not have had the same impact, people would have said: “I saw this a million times.” “”

Casting: German American challenge by Dougray Scott

The director had seen many actors, but until he saw Goursaud had not found one who could live in the role of Sara Wulf, a mother and a former soldier haunted by memories of his time in Afghanistan. “It was the first time that I could really see and feel the role. She is not a trained fighter but she was able to train [the character] And also get the movements. For me, from the start, I wanted her to do everything. I didn’t want to use duplicates of cascade.

Goursaud is in a cat and mouse game with the Dougray Scott Consulate security manager Erik Kynch.

“His brain must be really very up, because he is Scottish and he had to play an American with an American accent but who can also speak German, but with an American accent,” said Zübert. “He worked really, really hard, and it was in addition to the combat formation. On the set [in Vienna, Austria]He always said: “Please speak to me German.”.

The success of the film is a chicken for the German company and other writers and directors. “We do not have the Hollywood budget, I would not have had the money to let the whole consulate explode,” explains Zübert. “We cannot count on the budget and the big show; We must use the story and the emotional angles to do something special. ”

Equestrian embassies

Zübert is in Bratislava, Slovakia, when he speaks on the deadline and the preparation of a television drama in the jump world. He has the working title Northhof And comes from the German novelist Julie Zeh. The series is for the German public broadcaster ZDF.

“It presents the whole world of these really expensive horses which are sold to billionaires,” explains Zübert. “He was written by a famous German novelist called Juliet Zeh and this is his first series. She knows the scene very well. There have been movies on horse racing, but I haven’t seen [a project] Like that where you really see this world of jump [represented] If visually and in such a exciting and new way. »»

Aside Exterritorial Universe, after all, industry likes a suite?

“I always like to do something new and challenge myself in a new way. I wouldn’t say no, but I would say that we had to have a very good idea for that first. I wouldn’t do it just for the sacred, or simply because the first succeeded. ”