I am Simon
I am ten years old
I am a serial killer, ...
2011 will definitely be the year of the child. Not only am I going to be a father again in November. Now „The Child“ is also being made into a movie. I used to play Casino slot games with my best friend, when this new movie idea came up.
And this is how it happened:
Ten months ago, my best friend asked me, „Fitzek, four major production companies have been trying to bring your books to the screen for five years now – why don't you just do it yourself?“
And I replied, „Are you crazy? As a film producer, you have to deal with investors, get calls from frantic actor agents at 2:30 AM, and throw money out the window like there's no tomorrow because everything ends up costing three times as much. No, filmmaking is only for crazy people.“
Today, I'm excited to announce that I'm wrestling with investors, on the phone with crazed actor agents at 2:30 AM, and throwing money out the window – because in a few days, filming begins in Berlin for the movie adaptation of my psychological thriller: Das Kind.
The Story: Simon Sachs, a ten-year-old boy who is terminally ill, is firmly convinced that he was a serial killer in a past life. And he can prove it, as he leads his lawyer, Robert Stern, to the locations of bodies. People who were brutally murdered, exactly as the child described beforehand, long before his birth.
Filming will take place in Berlin in English with an international cast. Principal photography officially begins on May 20, 2011.
So, my friend and director Zsolt Bács apparently not only has great persuasive skills, but he has also managed to assemble a fantastic cast – and that's not just against the backdrop of us having less money available for this international independent production than for a small television play.
The adult lead role, lawyer Robert Stern, is played by Hollywood actor, Golden Globe and Oscar nominee Eric Roberts, well known from box office successes such as „The Pope of Greenwich Village“ or „The Dark Knight“. The role of Borchert is taken by Ben Becker, „Comedian Harmonists“, „Against the Current“. The child Simon is played by Christian Traeumer. The eleven-year-old Californian, who has already proven his skills in numerous films such as „Disney Toystory Mania Wii“ or „Redemption“, has „eyes that captivate you!“
Peter Greene („Pulp Fiction,“ „The Usual Suspects,“ „Training Day“) will play Engler, and Sunny Mabrey („Species III,“ „xXx2,“ “CSI Miami”) will play the female lead role of Nurse Carina.
An excerpt from the further cast:
Dieter Landuris (“Waste Your Youth,” “Bloody Money”)
Clemens Schick („Casino Royale“)
Reiner Schöne („Sliders,“ „Babylon 5,“ „Teufelskicker“)
Daniela Ziegler („Solo for Clarinet,“ „Real Guys“)
Producer, co-screenwriter, and director is Zsolt Bács, who made his directorial debut at the Berlinale with the film „Esperanza.“.
This adventure is only possible because friends and acquaintances have poured a lot of time and even more money into this project. I'm curious to see how many of them will still want to be my friends after the premiere. And whether I'll still like Zsolt afterward – after all, I'll be broke too if no one wants to see this ;)
You can find more information and updates about the film starting now on the Facebook page „The Child.“ It's still a bit empty there, but that will surely change dramatically in the coming months. I would be happy to welcome you there soon as well.
Warmest regards
You
Sebastian Fitzek
Our Fanpage
Facebook page for THE CHILD/DAS KIND
Cast links
Eric Roberts, Sunny Mabrey, Christian Trauemer, Peter Greene, Ben Becker, Yvonne-Maria Schaefer, Dieter Landuris, Reiner Schön, Luc Feit, Daniela Ziegler, Clemens Schick
If you want to write to me, please use the following email address: fitzek@sebastianfitzek.de
