He creditedKenneth Branaghfor enabling his crossover into producing.
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We had next-door dressing rooms.
We were young and had too much time on our hands.
David ParfittEamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images
We used the six months of the play to plan our escape.
As younger actors in the theatre, we had no control over our careers.
It was about taking control, recalled Parfitt.
Much Ado About Nothing ©Samuel Goldwyn Films/courtesy Everett Collection
The pair launched their first venture the Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987.
Its actor-director focus supported the stage directorial debuts of Judy Dench, Geraldine McEwan and Derek Jacobi.
The credits are really interesting, he said.
The truth is this is about stupidity.
This is about me and Ken not understanding what the credits meant.
You wont get a producer credit Ken because youre the director.
Ill be the producer and, David, you could be an associate because youve never done it before.
On our second attempt, we split the credits differently.
Being practical, I thought I should be the line producer, but I was the producer.
We didnt work it out untilMuch Ado About Nothingand then we got it right.
We were really dumb, and we just didnt know how it worked.
Parfitt recalled the carefree shoot in Tuscany in 1992.
We had the hideous job of living there for three months surrounded by hideous people.
It was done in a very un-Hollywood way.
We tried to do it like a theatre company, said Parfitt.
The central shoot went incredibly well and incredibly swiftly.
It turned out he was on a ban at the time, recounted Parfitt.
Its a long time ago and I probably wouldnt do that now.
I would send him a driver.
The duos paths diverged at this point.
Parfitt had a co-producer credit on the production but was not heavily involved.
It was one of the few times I had been to the theatre and thought this is a film.
He was referring to Hopkins being cast as the lead in C.S.
The film adaptation also retained Nicholas Hytner as the director for his first feature film credit.
Working with first-time feature directors is a leitmotiv running through Parfitts career.
When youre working with a first-time director, you surround yourself with the best people.
Hopefully they come with theatre experience or other experience that is relevant.
We will give you the best cinematographer and the best designer.
Everything will be looked after and they will work with the actors.
The masterclass also delved into the backstory of getting seven-time Academy Award winnerShakespeare In Loveoff the ground.
Julia Roberts had casting approval over the casting of Shakespeare.
She wanted Daniel Day-Lewis to be Shakespeare.
He never agreed to do it.
He wasnt interested in it, and she didnt approve another actor, said Parfitt.
They had spent close to $20 million that was just sitting on the books somewhere.
Harvey Weinstein, who Parfitt worked with onThe Wings Of A Dove, deblocked the situation.
As we were in post-production, he came to me and said, Ive got this script.
I would like you to produce it.
How much do you need?
The subject came up in the talk when Parfitt discussed on the role of previews and editing.
We know the story about Harvey and why he is in jail.
My bad experiences were mainly in the cutting room because he never knew when to stop.
He thought everything was fixable in the cutting room, he said.
He was shooting stuff for that film without the director or me.
And he was rewriting with multiple writers most of which we managed to cut out of the film.
It was an insane process which nearly did for me.
