English Audio Request

MARTYN: Mr Dagar, you have a good track record of producing unexpected and remarkable hits at the box office. What for you is the most important element in a successful film?
DAGAR: A lot of things are very important, but I'm basically just a writer of action movies and so it's got to be story-line for me, even though most directors wouldn't agree with that input, they usually prefer the visual angle.
MARTYN: You are well known for disagreeing with directors, sometimes very publicly: does that worry you?
DAGAR: No, not at all. You see, I've often felt the director's role is overstated. Not that he's unimportant, but we must never forget that generally it's usually the actors that pull the crowds in initially, and they keep coming if the story is good. When it comes down to it, the director is just a technician.
MARTYN: Just a technician? That's a bit extreme, isn't it?
DAGAR: Not really. You see, you need story- but actors are also vital to a film's success. Nine times out of ten, no famous actors means box office failure. It's not that the director isn't important- but the contribution that an actor makes is just so much more visible. That's why we look for names to top the bill on any new production.
MARTYN: So for you it's just actors, is it? Isn't that rather reductive?
DAGAR: No, there are actresses too! But seriously, characterization is also significant. Characterization is where the actor meets the story, and a good script has a very strong sense of characterization and that will allow the actors to get off, to pull it off.
Soap opera is a good case in point. Soap opera is just actors, and story. The director is last on the list, it's situation, story and acting that count. Ham acting if you like- but that's what the punters want. In fact, thinking about it, soap is true art: just like sonnets, it operates under strict constraints and conventions to get its message across.
MARTYN: Soap opera as art? That's a bit strong, isn't it?
DAGAR: Not at all. Art is about constraints, limits: artifice and artifact are closely related concepts, if you think about it. And film is a strongly constrained medium: much more so than a book, let's say. You can always add a few chapters in a book. It's easier to write a book than to make a film.
MARTYN: And the film of the book? What about that?
DAGAR: The book always succeeds better. Maybe not always but certainly usually, at any rate: because film-making is tough, it's difficult to get it right
MARTYN: So what is your favorite film viewing then?
DAGAR: Like I said, I'm a story buff. I like car chases and steamy love scenes. Martial arts and special effects turn me on. Give me a good solid well-constructed blockbuster any time!