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| Connie's Warwick Davis Fanpage and Leprechaun Center | |||||
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Producer Jeff Mallian |
Other stuff: Email - Guestbook |
In April-May 2006 I had the pleasure of exchanging a few emails with Jeff Mallian, the producer of the first Leprechaun movie, and he kindly provided me with some information on his experience with the film.
Jeff was originally slated to be the line producer on the film, but was promoted to the position of producer after the guy originally chosen to be the producer was dropped. He was offered a modest salary and a piece of the action but opted to take a higher salary instead, with no inkling that Jennifer Aniston's later rise to fame would give the video/DVD release a big sales boost.
Jeff soon found himself in an awkward position. This was Trimark's first feature production so there was a lot of pressure, and the problems caused by Trimark's ever-shifting vision for the film have been well-documented in magazine articles. Director Mark Jones didn't want Jeff on the film at first. As it turned out, they had a great working relationship but that didn't end the complications. Trimark wanted Jeff to do what they wanted, while Mark wanted Jeff to be on his side. Jeff tried to make everybody happy and took the heat when he had to.
On the first day of filming, Mark Jones (a first-time director) had to ask Jeff for instructions on how to call "Action"! Not all the co-producers were friendly toward Mark, but on several occasions Jeff reassured Trimark that Mark was doing great.
As a huge fan of Willow, Jeff wanted Warwick Davis for the role of the Leprechaun, but there were a number of obstacles. A senior executive and his staff said Warwick was too nice, and Jeff had to put his salary up against the flight from England for Warwick and his wife. When Warwick read for the part, everyone flipped at how perfect he was. They still had to get some help bringing Warwick into the country to work. The Screen Actors Guild wanted them to use an American small actor in the part so they had to interview a lot of them. But Warwick was PERFECT and was always Jeff and Mark's top choice.
Jennifer Aniston was Mark's top choice for the role of Tory. She was Jeff's second choice, but he supported Mark nonetheless. Jennifer was great on the set, very professional, and never complained about anything. In another cast-related story, Robert Gorman's agent and mother asked if he could have part of a day off to go read for a Mel Gibson film that was being shot over the hill at Big Sky Ranch. Low-budget films usually provide a number of opportunities for complaints, but everybody in the cast for this movie was great.
