Only a handful of film producers ever make a record-breaking blockbuster, let alone spark the development of a major film franchise. For Duke alum Bryan Unkeless, however, first time was the charm.
In early 2009, Unkeless handed “The Hunger Games” to Nina Jacobson, founder and president of Color Force film company, where he is the senior vice president of production. Unkeless was already a fan of author Suzanne Collins’ work, and upon discovering that the film rights to her latest book were still available, he felt strongly about trying to tell the story on screen.
Color Force secured the rights to produce the film in March 2009 and later partnered with Lionsgate, which won the film’s distribution rights. Three years later, “The Hunger Games” opened at No. 1 nationwide and earned roughly $155 million in North America in its first weekend--the third largest opening in Hollywood history. Color Force will produce the coming sequels.
“One of the luckiest and best things that ever happened to me was that [Collins] gave us the rights,” said Unkeless, who graduated from Duke in 2004 and is the co-producer of the film. “This one is really special for me because it was the first project I got a producing credit on.” Unkeless was on-site for nearly the entirety of the four-month long shoot, all of which took place in North Carolina. The biggest challenges while producing the film included capturing protagonist Katniss Everdeen’s inner monologue on-screen and making sure the violence between the young tributes was depicted delicately, with the focus of the film remaining on its broader message, not its brutal spectacle.
The filmmakers’ top priority throughout production was ensuring that the movie was loyal to Collins’ book, Unkeless added.
“We just had a real love for the book,” he said. “We wanted to honor it and yet any time there’s an adaption you have to make some departures. [We thought], ‘How can we make this feel like the spirit of the source material and also be cinematic and stay within our two hour requirement?’ That was challenging.”
Producers hadn’t prepared for the immense response “The Hunger Games” would later trigger. When Color Force started pursuing the rights, Unkeless said producers mostly hoped the book’s readers would stay faithful.
“When we were finally getting going with casting and directing and seeing how much attention each of our [casting] choices was receiving online that was an eye-opener that this was not your average project.”
Expectations continued to grow as filming began, trailers started running and international press tours to promote the film took off.
“It just kept surprising us. It kept becoming bigger than even what we could have imagined,” he said. “Nina and I first got involved very much because we loved the books. We thought there was really a story there that really deserved to be told, and as much as we appreciated it I don’t think in our wildest imagination, we thought it would become what it became.”
Unkeless’ foray into the film industry was neither traditional nor expected. As an undergraduate, Unkeless swam for Duke Swimming and Diving while studying psychology and fulfilling pre-med requirements.
“Film wasn’t something that I thought I would do,” he reflected. “It was something that as school progressed, I realized I enjoyed creative writing and screenwriting so much more. It was at first more of an adventure than anything else.”
Unkeless credits his senior-year screenwriting professor, Andrea Stolowitz—a visiting assistant professor of the practice in the theater studies department—for encouraging him to pursue a career in film and move to Los Angeles.
After graduation, Unkeless was initially weary of deviating from traditional post-Duke plans, but his long-time love for film eventually erased any doubt.
“It felt like after school, if I went to medical school everything was pretty laid out,” he says. “I wasn’t necessarily against that version of my future, but I wasn’t ready to embrace it either, and I wanted to kind of see what else was out there.”
As a freshman, Unkeless recorded Duke’s second fastest 1650 freestyle and 400 individual medley and as a sophomore, he was a top-five swimmer in four race categories. He cites the dedication and goal-oriented work ethic required as a swimmer ñ “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done” -- as the best preparation for his current work environment.
“If you can survive Duke Swimming, you can survive anything,” he says. “Working in film, as hard as it is, it’s not as hard as [former] Coach Bob Thompson practices. I learned a lot about myself by being a swimmer at Duke.”
As many Duke students experience, channels to opportunities in entertainment are not as well-forged as perhaps those in the finance, consulting or medical industries, Unkeless said. This fact required him to be more creative and committed in his career pursuits.
Significant support from Duke alumni provided Unkeless a window into the industry. His first job was as an intern at Echo Lake Productions, an independent film production company founded by Douglas Mankoff, Trinity ‘85. Unkeless then transitioned to a job as an assistant at Dreamworks—doing “a bunch of odd jobs”—before being tapped by Jacobson to join Color Force as a creative executive.
As a career in film is increasingly difficult to pursue, Unkeless said he and other alumni— including talent agent Aaron Hart, Trinity ‘02, and Summit Entertainment executive Jack Pan, Trinity ‘98—are forging a more structured and organized network for Duke students and graduates. Unkeless said he does not want students to feel constrained in their post-graduate opportunities.
“If you want to work in film, you have to want to do it because you love storytelling and movies, because otherwise it is very easy to get lost in the shuffle,” he advises. “No one is going to hand it to you out here... that being said, it isn’t impossible.”
Editor's note: This article has been updated from the version that went to press. It now reflects that Unkeless first pitched "The Hunger Games" in early 2009, not late 2008; that Unkeless served as creative executive, and not a production assistant; and that Hart has the title of talent agent, not talent agency executive.
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