Nicolas Winding Refn’s partner in Space Rocket Nation is the brain that brings the director's vision to the silver screen. Cool-headed and passionate Lene Borglum (pictured) tells us about keeping creative and financial control on star and director-driven films made outside the studio system.

How would you define The Neon Demon that premieres in Cannes in official competition?
Lene Børglum: It’s a drama with horror elements. It’s more about a feeling than pure horror. There is a lot of contrast between glamour, beauty and horror. 

How many times have you been in competition in Cannes?
LB: This is my second time with Nicolas, after Only God Forgives in 2013. But before that I had been here 5-6 times with Lars von Trier, including with Breaking the Waves 20 years ago as I was among the group of people who founded Zentropa back in 1992. I left the company in 2007. So I have been here many times!

You’ve worked 15 years with Lars von Trier and eight years with Nicolas Winding Refn, two of the most visionary and internationally acclaimed Danish filmmakers. How do you collaborate?
LB: It’s my passion to do director-driven films. I would never buy a script and hire a director. That doesn’t work for me. I want to work with a director who has an artistic vision. I love creating the whole structure around those talents to make their films happen.  With Nicolas, we have complementary skills so we’re a great match. In the early days, 4-5 years ago, we had a film club, sitting at night watching genre films. So there are a lot of artistic elements we never argue about. Also, the wish to try something new, not do the same thing over and over again is something we enjoy doing. 

How do you ally high concept English language projects with Hollywood stars and budget restraints?
LB: I have a long experience in international financing of English language with stars attached. My whole working relationship with Nicolas is based on the fact that what I can secure for him is creative control, something he cannot get in Hollywood. For us it’s all about doing what we want but on a level that allows the outcome to be bigger than the budget. So we deliver more than the budget-size we’re working on. The Neon Demon for instance cost around $7 million and it definitely looks more on screen than what was spent. We achieve this result by squeezing all the costs, and maximising what we get out of it. 

For example?
LB: It’s an organic process. Nicolas always wants to maximise his artistic expression. He shoots chronologically to be able to adapt the story to what’s actually going on, the chemistry between the actors, the locations etc. That allows him to change the story fast.  Another key element is that I never say no. I might say: ‘the cost for this film is X… We don’t have it. How can we navigate within these boundaries and with these parameters and still make it work? With my line producer Carsten Sparwath, we always calculate things along the way as Nicolas changes things and the filming evolves. Creating such a freedom of space requires a lot of precision and control. But Nicolas is co-owner of Space Rocket Nation so he’s aware of costs and makes sure we can survive. 

How do you negotiate down the fees with Hollywood talent?
LB: We find talent who want to work with Nicolas. The point of departure is that this is not a studio movie and everyone knows that we work in a certain way to keep creative control. The crew is paid less than on studio movies, but they work less hours a day, longer production periods. Everyone feels totally involved in the creative process and is satisfied. We still had 70 people on our crew in LA. Otherwise it’s not possible! That’s just the way it is over there. 

Amazon Studios invested in the film. Did their investment come with strings attached?
LB: Amazon acquired distribution rights after the film was finished so they didn’t have any cutting right. Still it’s a very important partner on board. 

What was the percent of pre-sales in the financing of the film?
LB: The financing involved support from DFI, pre-sale to DR, and on top of that an MG from Wild Bunch and Gaumont. As part of the financing was equity from LA-based Bold Films and Vendrian Entertainment. All the financing is based on trust and creative freedom to Nicolas, before there was any script.  The two picture deal with Wild Bunch and Gaumont on Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon for instance was agreed on a one liner, while we were shooting Valhalla Rising.

This trust from financiers is based on Refn’s huge fan base around the world and high market value of his name…
LB: Absolutely. Nicolas is a brand that he first developed around the Pusher films and his addicted fans go back and watch all his earlier films and everything associated to his name. 

Do you plan to expand the NWR brand?
LB: We work with various ideas. We have a Facebook page and collaborate with various digital media. Nicolas develops side projects like the publication of the bookThe Act of Seeing, a collection of vintage posters from exploitation films. He is also passionate about vinyl and curates soundtracks of albums on vinyl that he likes. He’s also doing a lot of talks with filmmakers that he was inspired by. 

Hasn’t any major group offered to ‘buy you out or take a stake in Space Rocket Nation?
LB: Yes, but we’ve said no to everyone who wanted to buy shares in our company and decide what we should be doing. We want to choose who we work with and how. 

What’s next for Refn? 
LB: We’re developing a number of TV series and a feature film. They are in early development. 

Do you produce other talents at Space Rocket Nation?
LB: We will shoot a horror film in LA written by Ed Brubaker [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] and directed by John Hyams [Universal Soldier, Day of Reckoning]. Nicolas and I both think he has interesting artistic solutions although he works on low budget. We’ve set up our own company in LA to do the film, scheduled to shoot later this summer. It’s a remake of a film from the 80s called Maniac Cop. The film is part of a horror trilogy and we’ve just signed a multi-year first look deal with Wild Bunch and Vendian Entertainment. 

How do you feel about the financing environment in Scandinavia these days? LB: For the high end commercially-oriented films we make with Nicolas, it’s more and more difficult to raise financing. I think the system is the same as always, but there are laws and regulations saying films have to be in the Danish language for the Danish market etc, while my projects are clearly targeting the international market. We’d like to make low-budget Scandinavian films but that hasn’t happened yet.