The situation at that time must have been simply crazy for Klammer: a nation demands, journalists demand, a legendary ski manufacturer demands, the coaches demand … at the same time there is this love hidden from the public. For a young man like Franz Klammer at the time when he was only 22, it must have been hell.
The pressure was amazing. But I don’t think he would ever say or see it that way. To this day he’s just a lot more relaxed about that. A certain matter of course comes through: He pulled himself together and then it shook him down the Patscherkofel, as he said himself. But that’s no reason for drama with him and that’s what makes him. The fact that Klammer has not only become a super athlete but also a national icon has a lot to do with his personality – we were very impressed. I also have to say that his way of dealing with life was inspiring for me on a personal level too. Because at Klammer you can see that you can have delivered top performances, almost unbelievable – and you can still be a normal person who lives his or her life, has his wife, has his children. That is what makes him so likable.
The financing of “Klammer”, you hear, was challenging. The question of which TV station is on board was one of them?
The motto was: either right or not at all. You won’t do “The Fast and the Furios” in Austria either, because it won’t work. Approaching the script for “Klammer” with a small budget would not have worked. This film is expected to be produced to a high standard, otherwise everyone will be justifiably disappointed. I or we as Samsara Film have therefore also demanded the concession from our producer colleagues that we will only make this film if we have the means to do it well – or not. Because those who are interested in it see it. It goes into the details, but they are simply necessary. So, for how small the funding is, it ultimately went very well. A great producer achievement, especially epo film and Jakob Pochlatko, who also preceded it economically. With ServusTV and ORF ServusTV, two Austrian broadcasters are now also involved. As far as I know, this has not happened often in a cinema project.
Because you talked about the details. Is there a story about the ski boots and the buckles?
In order to ensure that “Klammer” can be implemented reliably, we have to work hard – especially when it comes to authenticity. We are in 1976, but you can no longer ski with skis from back then. A problem that my great outfitter Rudolf Coppel had to solve. Now a manufacturer in Carinthia is producing new skis especially for the film, which will look like the skis from back then. A big effort, but a necessary one. It’s similar for us with ski goggles, ski boots, where we have to mill extra buckles because the shoes used to be so different.
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