The producer is not always the most creative contributor to a film crew. Instead, he (or she) is often the one who takes care of the finances and ensures that the established schedules are kept. But then there are guys like Saul Zaentz. A producer who specialized in buying up film rights to important literary properties. And with movies like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "Amadeus" and "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", Saul Zaentz showed that he really could create strong and successful products for the demanding screen audience.
However, in the spring of 1992 many Hollywood insiders believed that Saul Zaentz had bitten off more than he could chew. The producer had bought the rights to Michael Ondaatje's unpublished novel "The English Patient". Together with the author, he then began to transform the text into a useful screenplay. But when Zaentz declared that he intended to let the inexperienced Englishman Anthony Minghella direct, his studio, 20th Century-Fox, withdrew from the project.
The film's future seemed seriously threatened until Miramax showed an interest in the project. When Saul Zaentz then ventured $6 million of his own money, the shooting could finally begin in the Libyan desert. But, due to the external conditions, it was a difficult production. As the work continued, however, the cast and crew grew together, believing in the assignment. During the entire period, Saul Zaentz made himself invaluable, acting as a kind of "godfather" on the set.
Luckily, Saul Zaentz's efforts paid off handsomely. The critics loved the movie, which quickly grew from a respected art house release into a major blockbuster at the box office. And things went even better at the Academy Awards. In addition to winning Best Picture and Best Directing, "The English Patient" took home seven other Oscars. So, with a total of nine golden statuettes, "The English Patient" thus became one of the most honored films in Academy history.
