Producer Iain Smith began his filmmaking career by working on storied projects like Chariots of Fire and Local Hero. As his skills as a producer developed, Iain’s had the opportunity to produce for world-class filmmakers including Darren Aronofsky, Luc Besson, Alfonso Cuarón, George Miller, Anthony Minghella, and Oliver Stone. He is also the head of the British Film Commission, has spoken to international organizations like the World Intellectual Property Organization, and has even received a special honor from the Queen of England.

Iain has worked on so many notable films, that there was no way we could touch on all of them, but we were able to have an extended conversation about a few of them, mainly The Fountain, Children of Men, and Mad Max: Fury Road.

Some of the things that we discuss include

• Iain’s memories from working on Chariots of Fire and Local Hero
• Building trust between studio and filmmaker
• What it was like working with Luc Besson on The Fifth Element
• Why protecting intellectual property ensures that the next generation of talented filmmakers can have viable careers
• How he helped Darren Aronofsky keep The Fountain within its budget even though the film is a sweeping epic that spans hundreds of years of time
• The collaboration process that made possible all those signature extended takes on Children of Men
• How the filmmaking team was able to capture all those insane stunts in Mad Max: Fury Road while ensuring that there was no serious injury on set
• The way that the various departments on Mad Max worked together to world-build the film’s ornate cosmology.

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Films & Shows Mentioned

• 1492: Conquest of Paradise
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Chariots of Fire
• Children of Men
• The Fifth Element
• The Fountain 
• The General
• Intolerance 
• Local Hero
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Mary Reilly
• Seven Years in Tibet

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