I think the environment that L.M. Montgomery grew up in - a very unloving, stern family isolated in a farming community - was very akin to Anne. She had a very difficult time relating to her father because he had moved west and she was left to be brought up by her grandparents. I think her conceit in order to survive, in order to maintain her high level of intelligence, was to kind of fictionalize the world around her. And in some ways she did that through writing, the prose she wrote, which was very surreal, very Anne of Green Gables-like. But she also did it in such a way that she created ideal relationships. She created the perfect parents out of Matthew and Marilla who, even though they were modeled on her grandparents who she was kind of estranged to, were perfect. She created the perfect boy next door that she could fall in love with. Her ability to spin this perfect world of relationships out of an almost fairytale, I think is another thing that makes Anne transcend time.
With so many loyal and devoted fans of the Anne of Green Gables mini-series and Road to Avonlea, I am often asked about storylines in the novels that are different from the storylines in my productions. The simple answer is that books are much more complex and much longer than television can allow for, this is why things are always left out. It might take weeks to read a novel and only a couple of hours to watch a movie based on the story. Obviously parts have been omitted. But any film producer will tell you that you must take creative liberties with any story that is being re-created and these liberties are for the benefit of the final audience. With Road to Avonlea, for example, the original episodes were based on the short stories The Story Girl and The Golden Road by Lucy Maud Montgomery. However we chose to base the characters in Avonlea to be in the same town as Anne with many of the same townspeople like Muriel Stacy and Marilla Cuthbert. As the series progressed, we all got to know the characters and the actors who portrayed them, they were growing and developing before our eyes. And as I and the rest of the writers got to know them, new stories began to write themselves. These stories that we came up with really matched the series and the characters that you all grew to know and love. We had so many ideas flowing – it was a very creative and amazing experience.
For great gift ideas, be sure to visit The Sullivan Boutique. There is so much for the Anne fan on your list.
Most Sullivan Entertainment productions were shot on location. That means the outdoor scenes were really shot outdoors. However, when a character walked into a building, the indoor scenes were shot on set, on a soundstage. In my new production, a contemporary feature film version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, all of the filming is being done on a virtual set. This means that characters are being filmed indoors but in front of a green screen. In post-production, images are replacing the green screen and the characters will travel throughout Salzburg, Austria and into the fantasyland of Mozart’s opera. I traveled extensively throughout Europe, including stops in Salzburg, Vienna and Munich, in order to capture the images that have been inserted into the background in post-production. It is quite challenging to direct actors in front of a blank canvas and a different process than any of my previous productions. Anne Shirley was not on an imaginary river when she was dramatizing the Lady of Shalott; she really was floating on a river. In The Magic Flute, when I direct the actors to walk through a bustling train station, there isn’t a train to be seen. Filming in this way requires strong actors with vivid imaginations and directing them requires great vision. This film will be the first of its kind in Canada.
Road to Avonlea was definitely a show that drew the viewer into the story and a big part of its power was its beautiful score. Every episode underwent an original musical score by composers John Welsman and Don Gillis. For many episodes a full 40-piece orchestra was used. A leitmotiv was created for each main character; this helped define their evolving action over the course of many episodes. Special guest stars also had leitmotivs created for them, guest stars such as Christopher Lloyd, Faye Dunaway and Michael York. For those who paid especially close attention, Michael York’s leitmotiv, the famous Captain Crane Theme, evolved into the popular theme for Gus Pike. I was so pleased when John Welsman put together a beautiful CD of the music from Road to Avonlea, since it is such an integral part of the series. The CD is included as a bonus in the purchase of the Road to Avonlea Season 6 DVD box set available at the online Sullivan Boutique.
As a film and television producer, I couldn’t ask for better or more loyal fans. I knew when I was creating Anne of Green Gables and later, the Road to Avonlea series, that I was embarking on something very special. Now, on the 20th anniversary of the release of the first Anne movie, I know that I was right. The storytelling, the beauty of the landscapes, the talent of the cast and the magic of the score have transcended time. This week, I’m embarking on a new adventure. I am currently working on a new movie based on Mozart’s The Magic Flute. You can check out the progress at www.sullivanmovies.com. I feel that as I move forward on my latest project, it’s a perfect time to write about the productions that I have created in the past and express my feelings about the power they have to engage people of all ages from all over the world. I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts.
