Original-Cin Q&A: Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer talks about the importance of being Irish and having Colin Farrell as his onscreen avatar
It’s been almost 20 years since the first in a series of best-selling children’s novels “Artemis Fowl” was published.
The book is finally getting the big screen treatment and, due to the pandemic, will forgo the theatre release and will begin streaming on Disney Plus on Friday June 9.
Author Eoin Colfer was involved as a consultant and appears as an extra. He says he’s happy with how the movie turned out.
Artemis Fowl, directed by Kenneth Branagh, is a science fiction fantasy which follows the adventures of the lead character Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw), a 12 year-old criminal mastermind. Artemis kidnaps a fairy for a large ransom of gold with the help of his bodyguard, Domovoi Butler (Nonso Anozie), and Domovoi’s sister, Juliet Butler (Tamara Smart), to restore the Fowl family fortune.
Colin Farrell is Artemis Fowl Sr. and Ferdia Shaw is his mastermind son in Artemis Fowl.
Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with author Eoin Colfer from his home in Dublin, Ireland about the film and his excitement in particular over one of Branagh’s casting choices.
ORIGINAL-CIN: It’s been almost 20 years since the release of the first book. So I would imagine you have been approached many times over the years to turn it into a movie. Why was Kenneth Branagh the right guy to bring this to the big screen now?
EION COLFER: “Well, I think for a start if you look at his background, he's a master storyteller and he can work in any genre without missing a beat. It can be Shakespeare, which I suppose would be considered his first love. But also it can be Poirot, and then he can do Thor, he’s just so fantastic at anything he takes on.
“What’s important to Kenneth is the structure of the story. If he can find that structure, It doesn't really matter what the genre is. So, when he read Artemis which he actually read before Disney approached him, he'd already been thinking, ‘What is the story here? What are the themes here?’
“For him, the main themes were centered around a child who's trying to save his family and everything else is fairy dust. Once you have that central core of a family struggle, then you have a story that everybody can relate to. And he's kind of a master at pulling that out from deep inside all the distractions that I have in the book.”
OC: How hands on were you with helping with the screenplay, or even some of the casting choices?
COLFER: “I wouldn't say I was right in there. More like I had one foot in the door in that whatever they asked me to do I would do it.
“I prefer to let people who are experts at what they do, do their work. I'm not an expert in that field, and I think the screenwriter, Conor McPherson - a very famous playwright in Ireland and around the world - did a fantastic job on the script.
Author Eoin Colfer
“I certainly didn't feel I could tell Kenneth Branagh how to direct and it is very unlike an Irish person to admit he's not an expert on something but I'm admitting now that I am not an expert in directing. (Laughs).”
OC: Let’s talk about the cast in this film. There’s the fabulous Judi Dench, Josh Gad and Colin Farrell, a nice Irish lad playing the father figure, who I understand is based a little on you! COLFER: “That is exactly the line I took with my wife Jackie. I said, ‘Darling, I am Colin Farrell.’ That's who they picked to play me and she was just not going for it.
“I can't believe it. I think the problem is that she actually met Colin Farrell. We were all at the same event once, so she knows what he looks like up close. So she looked at him and she looked at me, and for some reason she started crying. I don't know why she started crying. (Laughs).
OC: The young actor Ferdia Shaw, who plays Artemis is very good. I understand that one of the only things you insisted on is that Artemis be played by someone who is Irish.
COLFER: “He's amazing. He's better than I could have hoped for, because he has something that the book’s Artemis does not have, and that is he has a twinkle about him.
“He’s just full of life and was just wonderful to work with. He would be one reason I'd like to see a sequel, so that we could see Ferdia and Lara McDonnell who plays Holly have that spark again. Because they're one of the great screen couplings.”
OC: Plus Josh Gad never disappoints!
COLFER: “That’s an understatement. For my money Josh Gad is one of the finest comedic actors working today. And the improvising he did was just mind blowing.
“When I watch Artemis and I know which lines are improvised, I can kind of track Josh back through all his movies and I think, ‘I bet he made that line up.’ I think he's such a treasure and we're so lucky to get him.”
OC: Was there a particular scene that you were excited about seeing come to life on film?
COLFER: “Oh definitely. There’s a scene at the end of the book where everybody is in Fowl Manor, which is Artemis’ home. And a troll is launched into the house and proceeds to just wreck this beautiful multimillion-dollar mansion in maybe 20 seconds.
“It is the climax of the whole book and I just thought how are they going to make this look real? Everybody has to be in complete peril and make it look totally dangerous without scaring anybody, because it is a young people's movie.
“But I'm afraid they ignored the don't scare anybody rule and they just made it so thrilling and so exciting. It really turned out beyond my expectations. So I'm looking forward to fans of the book especially to see that. “
OC: Being Canadian, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to YOUR favourite television series, Schitt’s Creek.
COLFER: “Are you kidding? It is the best television show of all time and it's the most perfectly cast.
“We just got the last season of the series here in Ireland. So, my wife Jackie and I just watched the wedding two nights ago and we are still reeling over it.
“We would give anything to meet the cast in person. The only thing that has helped my wife recover is that her husband looks like Colin Farrell. That is the only thing that she can cling to.”