In September 1973 Peter Sellers embarked on the production of a 17th Century pirate comedy in Cyprus for Columbia Pictures. Sellers lost confidence with the film as soon as it began and desperately tried to sabotage it, firing the Producers in the first week and then setting his sights on his friend the Director, Peter Medak.
What followed was a game of cat and mouse between Sellers, the Director, the cast, crew and movie executives. The film was somehow completed but rejected by Columbia and never theatrically released.
At its core lies a story of the insanity of the film but also the story of a young acclaimed Director firmly on a path to greatness. Peter Medak had made 3 back-to-back successes, most notably ‘The Ruling Class’ in ‘72 with Peter O’ Toole (nominated both for the Palm D’Or and an Academy Award) but this film knocked him off that trajectory.
After 43 years the wounds have barely heeled for Medak and this documentary is his opportunity to tell the story of what happened on that film and finally release the weight associated with its failure.
Filming at the Ancient Ruins of Cyprus's town of Salamis in 1973. Source: Supplied
The Ghost of Peter Sellers is a comic-tragic feature doc about what it takes to be a film director and survive your biggest disaster, then and now.
Listen here the interview with British Cypriot Paul Iacovou, producer of "The Ghost of Peter Sellers" (in English):
Press Play on the main photo to listen the podcast (in Greek)
