Filmpjekijken.com sat down with Martin Koolhoven over lunch and spoke about Brimstone. Here are some interesting extracts (no Rob mentions) but it gives us a little more information about the film. I’ve used Google Translate obviously, but you should click on the link to read the entire article:
“In December 2012 you spoke extensively with filmpjekijken.com about Brimstone . Why has it taken more than two years before you can finally start producing?Â
First there was a large part of the funding round and when I went to cast. I sent the script to various agencies in Hollywood. But I just did not intervene. Still I was fobbed off with comments like ‘next week we read the next week. “ That weird guy with the beard from the Netherlands was simply not taken seriously.
How did you end up anyway with your foot in the door?Â
My partner Els Vandevorst befriended producer Nik Powell who had read the script, he was thrilled and immediately offered his help. “You have to ask a good casting director,” he said and gave me a list of names. One of them I found very interesting: Des Hamilton, who also assisted other European directors as Lars Von Trier and Nicolas Winding Refn. “This is the best script I’ve read in a decade,” Des told me. “I want to do this job, but not one or two characters. All Of It ‘.
…
Did you have Guy Pearce and Mia Wasikowska equal in mind?Â
I had pre-made lists for Des with the names of three actors and two actresses that I would like for the main roles. I called for my preferences, with the agents of two of the three behind me. I then finally for Guy Pearce ( LA Confidential , Memento , Iron Man 3 ) selected, actually since The Adventures of  Priscilla: Queen of the Desert I’m a fan of his. He has done so many very different roles. Mia Wasikowski also ( Stoker ,The Double , Tracks ) was my first choice, while the other actress of my list also wanted.
Guy Pearce. He told me: “whatever happens, this is the movie I‘m going to do next year.” He is very involved and enthusiastic. Look – Koolhoven shows photos of the actor on his phone – he keeps sending me pictures like this with the question, “what do you think of this look? He is already very busy himself learning an accent.
What kind of movie is it really?Â
It’s an epic film set in different periods. A dark and violent story, but also a smooth adventure. In terms of story I dare to say that there is no film as yet Brimstone is created, it looks like nothing that you already know. Told in a way you’ve never seen before. It’s not a classic western, takes place only in the same time, at the end of the 19th century, set in the western United States. Though of course it has elements of previous films. The  Night of the Hunter , to name but a few, for example, have been a source of inspiration for me. For the first time I have written something that really really suits me and the kind of movie I want to make it up. But also a story that I do not happen as quickly in a Dutch setting.
What is your budget?Â
I do not know if I may say so, but we assume a budget of about ten million. Not all funding is round, so it may be some differences. At present, our British sales agent Embankment in Berlin also in talks with foreign buyers for the film. Let’s take it over, I think I can finally have a budget of between eight and eleven million.
You have to go already announced filming in Canada and Europe. Why not in the United States? For a number of reasons. First, America is not very cheap. Additionally, you have to make it with unions that can counteract a lot. Finally, it looks increasingly simply not get out as it looked in the old West. So we move to Alberta in Canada. I can record the entire movie there, but that is very expensive. So we’re looking at other, cheaper locations. In Spain and Romania were also beaten. South Africa was also an option, but then you are required to take a South African cameraman or art director or something. We are still plunged, especially because it would bring financial benefits. But I found that people just are not good enough.
…
You have now announced two Australian actors, we also see our compatriots back?Â
There will certainly see Dutch actors and actresses are in Brimstone . How many exactly, I do not know yet.Also in important roles, though the characters Guy and Mia pretty much bigger than the rest. But deals with other actors and actresses are all still not one hundred percent around, otherwise we had also announced the names though. … ”
Absolutely brilliant news! Love that he’ll get to work with both Guy and Mia again in a new project. But… I’m frustrated that he seems to be avoiding leading roles! Why? He’s so good at being anything – any accent, any genre – why no lead roles? But, on the bright side, he gets to do stuff he really really likes with people he really respects so the yearning of his fans to see him full-time on the screen is but a minor consideration! I’m SO looking forward to ‘Life’ because it guarantees he’s on-screen for the duration of the movie. I’m greedy – I know!
I’m no expert Trish, but I think his choices have been pretty wise. He has done The Rover and Life were he ‘leads’ with other very talented actors. For the rest, he has aligned himself with very respected people. He is doing his apprenticeship. Once he has some history of charter roles behind him, more will come his way. It’s a long term strategy
@Carmel & @Trish. I don’t think Rob wants to be a leading man. Didn’t he say during The Rover promo that he admires Guy’s career and would like to emulate it. But time will tell. I guess if he finds a script where the role is a lead and he loves it he will do it. But for now at least it means less time on set, less preparation and more time to enjoy life *nopunintended*
That sounds like The Dream @Maria- ‘more time to enjoy life’ 🙂