Absolutely. Internationally I think it’s the same. Knowing what audiences want year on year is the holy grail. What has been good about the number of films we have made in the last five years is there a lot more data now so one can be more analytical about it. It’s possible now to draw more educated conclusions about why audiences choose one film over another.

There's a steady stream of local films hitting the big screen. Have you found competition for an audience to be more difficult than previously — that, with the increase in SA movies, people aren’t just going to a movie because it's locally made?

People definitely aren’t generally watching local because it’s local. I think we need to make more films and probably better films before this happens, before we have something like the French who freely chose films made by their countrymen. The challenge right now is that Hollywood has increased its volume with a lot of film money flushing about there the last 1-2 years, so each week it’s getting more competitive as a local film is going up against 5-6 new international films.

Are you happy with the box office numbers 'Big Fellas' has done?

It’s too early to tell. My ambitions were pretty modest. I believe you have to grow an audience and get better with each film, so I wasn’t aiming to shoot the lights out with this one. We can still make our target if the holiday audiences kick in and there is decent word of mouth.

As the boss of Rogue Star what do you look for in a movie? From 'Story of An African Farm' and 'U-Carmen' to 'Big Fellas', the only real common denominator seems to be "South African stories".

I would also be keen to make something not South African but those projects don’t come along readily. I’m looking for either an outstandingly original idea with a great talent behind it which can travel, or something less likely to travel that I think will appeal to local audiences. 'U-Carmen' had the former, and the idea with 'Big Fellas' was more the latter.

Art versus commerce — where do you stand? Is it a gamble that more artistic films may not do so well locally but might be big at overseas festivals? Do you need to make more commercial projects like 'Big Fellas' to make less "mainstream" films like 'Confessions of a Gambler'?

Not at all, the two films have different markets. In film, art and commerce co-exist. If you ignore one element, you will have a disaster. I am not particularly interested in making a film that will do the festival circuit because of its political ticking of boxes but that audiences don’t respond to. 'Confessions' has more potential to travel than 'Big Fellas', and in theory 'Big Fellas' is a more commercial film for the local market. But both have markets, and I wouldn’t have gone into them if I didn’t think that. So you start with the art (idea, script, director, cast) but almost immediately you are thinking of the commerce (budget, market, audience). It’s been like that in Hollywood for a century and in every other country whose film industry has prospered.

Local films seem to be either comedies or dramas. Do you think there's room for an SA action or sci-fi movie, for example? Would it be viable?

I would love to make one but it’s an almost impossible genre to pull off at this early stage of our industry’s development. How do you compete with 'Bourne Ultimatum' in the action thriller genre on our budgets? It will happen over time as we get better at making smaller local films. Asia was where we are ten years ago, and now they are making $50 million martial arts epics.

Congratulations on landing the film rights for 'Spud' — a major coup considering the book's huge popularity. How's that coming along?

Thank you. We have been monitoring the book’s recent release in the US, and slowly developing the screenplay which will be ready in the new year. Then we need to decide on a director with the possibility of shooting the film in late 2008.

Was filmmaking a dream you had as child? Or when you were a barrister, or an investment banker, did you dream of trading the office for the stage or movies?

From when I was 17 I wanted to be an actor, so I went to drama school, and I’ve been doing something to do with entertainment ever since. Even on Wall Street I was working in an entertainment finance team. I didn’t know specifically where I would end up but this has been a long standing pursuit.

What excites you most about your current job?

You make a little film in Cape Town, and then you end up in a tuxedo at a premiere in snowy Berlin or the deserts of Dubai.

SIX QUICK ONES

Best movie of the year?

'Bourne Ultimatum'. Bringing art house filmmaking into the mainstream. Every time I watch it I can’t believe [director Paul] Greengrass got away with so much in such a big budget film.

What movie would you like to make if money was no object?

I would exchange one big one for 'Lost in Translation', 'The Thin Red Line', and 'Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'.

Most overrated film of all time?

What’s Hollywood releasing this week?

How do you dethrone Leon Schuster as the "SA Box Office King"?

Time, time, patience and more time. He started in the '80s so we have a lot to learn and there are new young audiences we need to connect with. It's not so much dethroning him as try to dissect what he got right and seeing if there is space for other local filmmakers up in those lofty heights of the box office.

How would you do in the Gatberg darts championships?

Not great. Louw Venter’s character’s Bullseye has got some serious talent. No one is going to beat him easily.

Who has more gadgets — you or Colin Moss?

If Colin went into a coma for some reason, the entire gadget industry would collapse. I feel like an old man next to him, constantly saying embarrassing "dad" things like "what do you do with that thing?"