Tagline: A cyber killer has finally found the perfect accomplice: You.
Ben “Finn” Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey) is an affable, modern-day treasure hunter who is obsessed with finding the legendary 18th century Queen’s Dowry–40 chests of priceless treasure that was lost at sea in 1715. In his quest, Finn has sunk everything he has, including his marriage to Tess Finnegan (Kate Hudson). Just as Tess has begun to rebuild her life, working aboard a mega-yacht owned by billionaire Nigel Honeycutt, Finn discovers a vital clue to the treasure’s whereabouts.
Much to Tess’ consternation, Finn maneuvers himself aboard Nigel’s yacht and, using his roguish charm, convinces the tycoon and his celebutante daughter, Gemma, to join him in the pursuit of the Spanish treasure. But they are not the only ones after the prize. Finn’s one-time mentor, Moe Fitch, and a ruthless local gangster are intent on beating Finn to the prize. Let the treasure hunt begin…
Casting Off
Andy Tennant had been looking to explore new territory on screen when he was given an early draft of the script “Fool’s Gold,” by John Claflin & Daniel Zelman. “I read the material and I thought it had really good bones, no pun intended, and was a golden opportunity to make a really big, fun movie with all the elements I would want to see in an adventure comedy,” Tennant recalls.”I felt I could bring a lot to it, so I embarked on a seven-month rewrite during which time, I admit, I became a little obsessed. I did quite a bit of research into the legend of the Queen’s Dowry, things that have happened with real treasure hunters and what they’ve found.”
Producer Bernie Goldmann offers, “When I read the script, I thought it was a great concept for a romantic adventure movie. I have always found Andy’s movies to be highly entertaining, so I sent the script to him. I knew it would be a great fit.”
Producer Donald De Line adds, “You look at the body of his work and, obviously, Andy is wonderful with comedy. He’s got an incredible instinct for where the humor and the heart is and has great affection for his characters. I knew that what he does so brilliantly with relationships combined with a great adventure story would make for a really fresh take on a romantic action comedy.”
Tennant notes, “I think part of the reason I was attracted to this particular story is that the treasure hunt is not only about the money. It’s about this couple who fell in love over a shared passion for research and discovery. But in the real world maybe that wasn’t enough, so when we meet them they are on the brink of a divorce. For them, the treasure may be finding a way back to each other. That, to me, was fun.”
To play the lead roles of Ben “Finn” Finnegan and his now ex-wife, Tess, the filmmakers reteamed Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, whose proven chemistry had already won the hearts of moviegoers in the 2003 hit “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”
“It was great to come into this and already have that comfort zone with Matthew,” states Hudson. “I have a total soft spot for him. He’s so endearing; there’s really not a mean bone in his body. We can goof around and have a great time, but we also know how to push each other’s buttons perfectly. We both have a little bit of a competitive nature and throw little jabs at each other, which suited our characters and the dynamic of their relationship.”
“Kate and I fight and flirt really well,” McConaughey smiles. “Chemistry is more about what goes on between the lines than what goes on during the lines and, for whatever reason, it seems to work between us. Kate has a special sparkle that’s very easy to be attracted to. She’s also very sharp with great comedic timing, so it keeps the comedy buoyant, but with a little edge to it.”
“We needed a couple that could spar; they had to be equally balanced so you’d know that each could give as good as he or she got,” Tennant remarks. “Matthew and Kate are both so talented and they embraced their characters so completely, there was an immediate spark. And because of their previous collaboration, the audience has sort of seen what they’re like when they fall in love, so we could skip right over the marriage and go right to the divorce,” he laughs.
In fact, the story begins on the very day that their divorce is to become final. But while Tess is an emotional wreck convincing herself that she’s doing the right thing, Finn is dealing with a wreck of a different kind. Underwater and oblivious to the disaster developing on the surface, Finn has managed to sink his boat and, with it, any hope of making it back to town in time to try and stop Tess from ending their marriage once and for all. But out of the disaster, a shard of hope emerges–a piece of a plate that proves he is closer than ever to finding the Queen’s Dowry, an untold fortune in gold and jewels that has mystified treasure hunters for almost 300 years.
McConaughey says, “As it so happens, the same day that his wife is divorcing him, Finn finds a new clue–a big clue–to the treasure they’ve been searching for for the last eight years. It’s proof that the treasure is there, and if he can show her that they’re on the right track after all, maybe she’ll give him another chance and won’t go through with the divorce. Finn has a gift for talking his way in and out of things, and luck–or is it fate?–is on his side more often than not. If you stick with him long enough, you’ll be okay…it’s just that you’re not quite sure where he’s going or how the hell he’s going to get there. He screws up all the time, but that’s part of why Tess fell in love with him, I think.”
As it turns out, Finn’s instincts are right. The couple had fallen in love while researching the Queen’s Dowry and spent their entire marriage searching for it. Now that they may be on the brink of finally unraveling the mystery, Tess finds herself drawn back into the hunt. Try as she might, Tess can’t ignore the importance of Finn’s latest discovery any more than she can resist Finn.
“You get the sense that Finn makes Tess crazy,” Hudson admits. “She loves him, but he is completely irresponsible and doesn’t think before he acts and Tess has a difficult time trusting his judgment. As you get to know their relationship, you understand why it’s that kind of ‘I love you, but I can’t be near you, but I can’t walk away from you’ kind of thing. Of course, when Tess finally makes the leap to end the marriage, Finn manages to work his way back into her life and continues to drive her insane,” she laughs.
New Friends and Old Foes
With her divorce decree in hand, Tess has set a new course for her life, working on the fabulous luxury yacht Precious Gem, owned by billionaire Nigel Honeycutt. To the delight of the filmmakers, award-winning actor Donald Sutherland accepted the role of the wealthy tycoon, who got more than he bargained for when he hired Tess to serve as a steward on his yacht.
De Line, who previously collaborated with Sutherland on “The Italian Job,” says, “I’ve been fortunate to work with Donald Sutherland twice now, and he brings something special with him every time he walks onto a set. We were thrilled when he loved the script and the role. Everyone knew he was a brilliant actor, but then he wrote a beautiful, impassioned letter about how he saw the character of Nigel and that just sealed the deal. It was really something.”
“There are times in a director’s life when you meet actors that transcend their roles, and working with Donald was one of those times,” states Tennant. “This is a man who has done an amazing amount of work. He doesn’t have anything to prove and yet he came to the read-through and had the entire script memorized–not just his lines or his scenes, he knew the whole script. It was just amazing and it immediately raised the bar for everybody else. He is not only a consummate professional, he is a fascinating guy. I could listen to him talk all day, so it was quite a treat to work with him and to spend time with him off the set.”
Tess had just begun to believe that she had made a clean break from Finn when, to her utter consternation, he manages to finagle his way on board the Precious Gem with a daring at-sea rescue of a wind-driven hat belonging to Nigel’s spoiled celebutante daughter, Gemma.
Gemma is played by up-and-coming actress Alexis Dziena, who, Tennant says, “has a real gift for comedy and is as sweet as they come. When we were casting the role, Alexis came into the room and was just the best of the bunch. She was fun and funny and nailed the character, so it was an easy decision on my part to cast her.”
Dziena observes that while, at first glance, Gemma might appear somewhat shallow, there is more to her character than meets the eye. “The challenge with this character was to make sure she was coming from a positive place and did not come off completely vain and one-dimensional. One of the things Andy and I talked about was her ‘Gemma-isms,’ the little things she comes up with that define her more than what was on the page. We also had a really fun time defining the character by the outfits she wears. She has very expensive taste, so I got to wear things I couldn’t afford to buy.”
Costume designer Ngila Dickson offers, “We wanted to make Gemma as outrageous as we possibly could, in contrast to Tess, who is more sporty and practical. We could get very creative, even with Gemma’s swimwear, like that red-stripe suit with the suspenders, which just jumped at me. It was perfect for the character, so we dropped everything and put her right into it.”
Dziena adds that another side of Gemma emerges through her relationship with her father. “I think it’s one of those things where you love someone and you know they love you, but you don’t quite know how to interact. They haven’t spent a whole lot of time together over the years and have never really talked about things. I wouldn’t say they have an estranged relationship as much as an awkward one.”
Once on board the Precious Gem and having earned the eternal gratitude of Gemma for the salvation of her hat, Finn sees a golden opportunity to get new backing for his treasure hunt. Before long, he is enthralling Nigel and Gemma with the story of the doomed 18th-century ship the Aurelia and her lost cargo, the legendary Queen’s Dowry. Finn’s zeal reignites Tess’s own, and their shared passion proves infectious, leading Nigel and Gemma to join enthusiastically in the quest.
Unfortunately for Finn, he had previously infected a less-scrupulous investor and clued him in to the fact that he was getting close to the treasure…in fact, a little too close. Now that one-time backer–a powerful local gangster with the deceptively warm and fuzzy name of Bigg Bunny–has claimed ownership of the treasure and with good reason: everything points to the fact that it is hidden somewhere on the small Caribbean island that Bigg Bunny bought and paid for with the money he made as a rap star.
Kevin Hart, who plays the part of Bigg Bunny, explains, “Bigg Bunny was making it in the music industry, but once he did all there was to do, he decided to invest his money in an island. And it just so happens that there’s treasure there, but you can’t come into somebody’s backyard and just take it–and when I say backyard, I mean island. Bigg Bunny bought this island. It’s his, and anything on it, under it or around it is his. That’s how he feels.”
Making matters worse, Finn is already deep in debt to Bigg Bunny, who has run out of patience with him. “Finn has become a constant pain in Bigg Bunny’s behind because he has a way of always getting out of situations,” says Hart. “Bigg can’t catch him, he can’t kill him, he can’t get rid of him–every time he sends his guys after him, Finn keeps popping back up and it’s frustrating.”
Tennant comments, “It’s a tricky business when you’re doing an adventure comedy like this because there has to be some danger and suspense, but the villainy can’t go too far. The tone has to be slightly skewed. Kevin Hart was perfect as Bigg Bunny because he is really funny even when he’s trying to be ruthless.”
Bigg Bunny’s two henchmen, Curtis and Cordell, are equally hapless and are more likely to trip over themselves than trip up Finn. Brian Hooks and Malcolm-Jamal Warner appear as Curtis and Cordell, respectively.
Finn doesn’t get much help from his own right-hand man, a Ukrainian transplant named Alfonz, played by Scottish actor Ewen Bremner. Once on the Precious Gem, Alfonz proves better at having eyes for Gemma than keeping an eye out for Bigg Bunny.
What Bigg Bunny has in money and power he lacks in expertise. So he wastes no time in enlisting the help of the one person with the experience and know-how to beat Finn to the treasure: Finn’s former mentor, Moe Fitch. A veteran treasure salvor, Moe taught Finn everything he knew before, from his point of view, Finn betrayed him. Now their one-time partnership has become a heated competition. And to the winner goes the spoils–namely the Queen’s Dowry.
Ray Winstone, who plays Moe, observes, “You start out figuring Moe to be a bad guy, but people are not always what you perceive them to be. Moe must have seen something in Finn as a kid that he really liked, so he took him under his wing and taught him the game. But Finn, being very strong-headed and maybe lacking in morals at the time, disappointed him. It broke Moe’s heart in a way. But underneath, he still has a soft spot for Finn. It’s kind of like a father-son relationship.”
In researching the role of an inveterate treasure hunter, Winstone says he gained a great respect for those who dedicate their lives to uncovering relics of the past. “The people who devote their lives to salving and hunting for treasures have to be part scientist, part oceanographer, part gambler… And once you make your first find, you get a fever for it. If you love the sea and love exploring and love learning, it’s a great way to live.”
The allure of finding untold wealth beneath the ocean has long captured the imagination of would-be treasure hunters. Tennant says, “The amount of jewels and riches that are still hidden under the sea is staggering. To uncover it would be like finding a needle in a haystack, but there are people who spend their whole lives trying. It’s a crazy bunch.”
“They say the earth is about 75 percent water and 95 percent of it is unexplored, so there’s a lot out there that has never been found,” poses McConaughey. “If you can put together a few clues, then anything is possible…and it’s going to be an adventure no matter what.”
Hudson adds, “When you start hearing the stories of people who have actually discovered old shipwrecks, it’s mind-boggling. The challenge of finding these things that have been preserved for hundreds of years beneath the ocean is thrilling. It’s that same type of thrill-seeking passion that Tess and Finn share.”
Down Under
“Fool’s Gold” is set in the Caribbean and the original plan was also to shoot the movie there. However, certain logistical concerns, not to mention the impending hurricane season, forced the filmmakers to change the plan. They eventually found everything they needed in and around Queensland, Australia. Filming took place in Port Douglas, Lizard Island, the Whitsundays and the Gold Coast.
Production designer Charles Wood notes, “Andy had his heart set on the movie being set in the Caribbean. So once we knew we would be filming in Australia, I had to replicate the look of the islands there. We looked for similar environments on the coast of Australia and then a major part of my job was to capture the essence of the Caribbean.”
Andy Tennant comments, “As a director, you have to trust that a production designer is going to somehow interpret your vision, and Charles Wood was equally invested in all the details and the nuances of the story. He is as meticulous as you could ever want a production designer to be, and he has the talent to back it up.”
Wood traveled to St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John islands to research the designs and to get a feel for the overall atmosphere there. To design the Queen’s Dowry, he also spent a considerable amount of time at the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum in Key West, Florida, which boasts an extraordinary collection of treasures, documents and other relics dating back hundreds of years. The designer says the visit was invaluable because “I could see actual Spanish treasure and understand exactly how it would look. It’s all been very well documented through illustrations and photography, so it allowed us to make the treasure as detailed and accurate as possible.”
Real-life treasure hunters spend much of their time exploring the ocean depths, so much of the action in “Fool’s Gold” takes place near, on or under the water, which came with its own inherent set of challenges. Tennant remarks, “Everyone told me working on water is tough, and it is. The weather changes in an instant, the skies change, the water changes, things can even sink. You’ve got to anticipate that things will go wrong and be prepared. In these situations, the team you put together makes or breaks you and I was extremely fortunate to have (director of photography) Don Burgess, who worked on films like ‘Cast Away’ and ‘Forrest Gump’ and knows about working on water. He was an incredible asset.”
Donald De Line, who was on set throughout production, adds, “I think the biggest challenge in moviemaking is filming on water so that was a major concern. You can spend lots of time planning everything, but in the end you’re at the mercy of the elements and things don’t always go right. We were shooting from boat to boat, from air to boats, from land to boats…every variation you could think of. Everything had to be carefully choreographed. Luckily, we had an amazing marine coordinator named Lance Julian.”
Julian was responsible for gathering the flotilla of boats used in the production, including the few seen on camera, as well as the dozens more that were utilized as camera boats, transport boats and dive boats. One of his most important finds was the 140-foot yacht that doubled as Nigel Honeycutt’s luxurious Precious Gem. The right ship was ultimately found in Fiji, and Charles Wood says it fit the bill perfectly. “We needed it to have multiple decks and have a diving area off the stern and this one had it all. It’s not easy to find boats of that scale that are available for this kind of work, so we were lucky to find one that was close to Australian waters and one that the owner would allow us to film on.”
“I know if I owned a yacht like that, the last thing I would do would be to let a movie crew on board,” Tennant laughs. “It’s a beautiful boat and we really appreciated that they let us take it over for all that time.”
For the cast, working on water meant the first order of business was getting their diving certifications. Veteran stunt coordinator R.A. Rondell (the “Matrix” sequels, “Superman Returns”) offers, “We had extensive water sequences, so everybody had to go through the certification process. The biggest thing was to teach them the basic mechanics and walk them through all the safety procedures so we could get their comfort levels up to a certain point, which was different for everybody. Matthew is a natural athlete and a very quick study. He really can do everything that’s asked of him. For a stunt coordinator, he’s a godsend. I had never worked with Kate before, but she’s a good listener and asks all the right questions. She learns what needs to be done and then goes right at it.”
McConaughey, who already had his dive certification, took it to the next level, earning his advanced certificate during the course of production. For most of the cast, however, it was a new world.
Hudson remarks, “It was a great bonding experience for the actors because we all got to dive together, which was pretty cool. It’s one of those situations where you have to learn to trust one another in an environment where you really need to trust somebody the most.”
Dive master Tye Zinck, who oversaw the film’s diving operations and water safety, reveals, “They all turned out to be good divers, which was a little surprising because we were taking people with little or no diving experience and pretty much throwing them into an underwater setting. Matthew, of course, was already a diver and very strong in the water–no worries about him at all. Kate was a little apprehensive at first, but as soon as she saw what was down there, she was totally exhilarated. She made it look like she’d been doing it all her life.”
“I thought it was going to be easier than it was,” Hudson admits. “When I had my first real dive, I was terrified to get into the water, but the marine crew and all the dive masters were amazing. And once you get down there, it’s just incredible. I mean, to be able to do my first dive on the Great Barrier Reef is mind-blowing. The sea life is phenomenal. It was like being in a whole other world. Now I’m in love with diving; I can’t wait to get back in the water.”
On the other hand, Kevin Hart contends that he was satisfied to admire the sea life… from afar. “The ocean is not my home. It is the home of sharks, jellyfish, stingrays–things that can basically kill you–and I do not want to trespass in their home. That’s how I look at it. I don’t care if everyone says it’s the most beautiful water they’ve ever seen in their lives. I can see it from on top of the boat. Always on the boat,” he says only half-jokingly.
Of course, safety was a top priority, and the cast was always surrounded by professional divers ready to move in at the first sign of trouble…or unwelcome aquatic sightseers. In fact, an unexpected influx of the deadly Irukandji jellyfish, which are native to northern Australian waters, did force everyone out of the water and halted filming for a time. When the jellyfish showed no intention of leaving, the production briefly moved to real Caribbean waters to complete those scenes.
“You never know what Mother Nature is going to do when you’re out in the middle of the ocean,” McConaughey attests. “As beautiful as the locations are, there is also danger, whether it’s the wind or the waves or those dreaded jellyfish. But there’s nothing you can do about it, so you just have to work with it.”
Nevertheless, certain underwater sequences in the film required a more controlled environment than the open ocean could provide. Unfortunately, there was no water tank in Queensland, so the decision was made to build one. Wood notes, “I’ve done some underwater work, but nothing on this scale so building the tank was new territory for me. I worked very closely with my art director, Peter Russell, who has a strong engineering background and was incredibly helpful in the process. We also worked in conjunction with several local contractors who came in and gave us great advice.”
The first question was size. Wood explains, “What initially set the scale for the tank was the sinking of Finn’s boat, the Booty Calls, which was one of the first scenes to be shot in it. We knew the boat was 40 feet long and we needed 20 feet on each side of it to give ourselves enough clearance.”
The resulting dimensions of the tank were 140 feet long and 100 feet wide, with a minimum depth of 16 feet and a maximum depth of 21 feet. It could hold 7.2 million liters of water, making it, by Wood’s estimation “the largest tank in the southern hemisphere and one of the largest in the world.”
The construction of the tank was only the beginning. “The maintenance and running of the tank was far more complex,” states Wood. “The filtration and heating systems were huge issues in their own right. I mean, we could build whatever we wanted in the tank, but if the water wasn’t clear enough to film in it, it would be problematic for all of us.”
“Having the tank was amazing,” states Tennant. “One day, we shot the sunken boat at the bottom of the tank. Then we went away and came back and there was an entirely different set ready to go. Then the actors got in and I got in and we all got to play under water,” he smiles.
“Part of the reason I love making movies is the opportunity to have new experiences, and on this film I was able to do so many things I’ve never done before,” the director reflects. “I got to work in Australia and shoot under water and do some big action sequences. It was a great time.”
Production notes provided by Warner Bros. Pictures
Fool’s Gold
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland, Ewen Bremner, Alexis Dziena, Kevin Hart, Ray Winstone
Directed by: Andy Tennant
Screenplay by: John Claflin, Daniel Zelman, Andy Tennant
Release Date: February 8, 2008
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for action violence, some sexual material, brief nudity and language.
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $70,231,041 (63.5%)
Foreign: $40,333,810 (36.5%)
Total: $110,564,851 (Worldwide)