Haussman gets Morgan he bargained for

In September 2010, a team of leading US archaeologists recovered six iron cannons at the mouth of the Chagres River in Panama, believed to be from one of the five ships Captain Henry Morgan lost in the Caribbean in 1671. Additional funding was needed to explore the surrounding sites and it was at this time the Captain Morgan brand, which draws its inspiration from the legendary privateer, became involved in the project as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the history and legacy of its namesake. 

The Captain Morgan brand has partnered with Sundance Channel and HSI / Person Films director Michael Haussman to create The Unsinkable Henry Morgan, a documentary film exploring the myths and legends surrounding Captain Henry Morgan’s conquests in Panama.

The innovative 30-minute documentary follows a team of prestigious artists and experts as they dive into the search for Captain Henry Morgan’s lost fleet, visiting historic sites and speaking with a colorful cast of characters who helped shed light on Morgan’s incredible impact on Panama today. Once back in their studios, each of the artists drew inspiration from their experiences to create beautiful modern-day works of art that bring the re-imagined adventures of Henry Morgan to life.

Below, Haussman talks about how he got involved with the project and how it and branded content has evolved.

When did you first get involved in the project?

I first got involved in the project when Andrew Loevenguth, Jon Zast, and Andy Carriganfrom Anomaly called me and explained they were making a documentary for the Sundance Channel on Captain Morgan’s lost ships. At first I thought it was a fake mocumentary about a mythological Captain Morgan. I really did not know there was a real man in history named Captain Henry Morgan. I thought it was just pirate lore and myth and the name of a rum. So this was extremely interesting. And the fact that they had discovered some of his guns, cannons and swords, and had been excavating the underwater site for two years, was even more interesting.

It was all taking place off the coast of Panama and that made it an adventure worth making. Once I started reviewing all the material my first take on how to make the film was, to use these artifacts that were now surfacing after hundreds of years of being underwater to sort of metaphorically give birth again to the myth of Captain Morgan, and discover who this ghost of a man was. That was my primary goal, to separate myth and lore from reality, and do this in an entertaining way, that would not be like some informative History Channel documentary.  I was immediately inspired by Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World because in it had been a film that discovered some extreme and eccentric characters in a far-away place.

I was sure that we would be meeting some characters just as extreme when you start approaching an eccentric topic like pirates.

How was the project explained to you?

How it was explained to me I guess bleeds into this. The guys, Andrew, John and Andy, who I have worked with in the past and consider not only important collaborators, but true friends, liked this approach of trying to discover the ‘Rose Bud’, the real man. But they had also committed to an idea to not just make the documentary but engage certain artists to come down to Panama and produce works that were based and inspired by the this discovery of Captain Morgan’s ship.

They were discussing several different people. They needed to be part of the documentary. This to me was the one element that did not immediately fit with the idea, because the last thing I want is to film a bunch of artists along for the ride just doing their thing and have it come across pretentious. I was not sure how it would fit into the story. So what I did was decide to really use these guys as investigators and make them not just part of the movie, but they would be the movie, drive the narrative. We would see the story through their eyes. This would free me up to create interviews that were not static talking heads but rather give the different artists my questions, sit them at a table, on boat, in a bar, with computers, paper, rum, whatever their tools, and have them debate and talk to the people we meet and themselves.

This would give it more of a feature film approach and a different look to documentaries. To do this it was important we picked the right people who would contribute something real and tangible to the project. So I thought of three-time Academy Award winning Dante Ferretti, because he is a friend and in my opinion the most talented production designer alive. He could create a giant and very accurate model of Morgan’s ship, The Satisfaction, from the evidence we would gather.

Coleen Atwood, also another multi Academy Award winning costume designer could come and recreate the outfit Morgan would have been wearing on the day of this invasion. Steven Talty, best -elling author who wrote the book Empire of Blue Water about Henry Morgan, would provide a historical fact and write our exploits. Ben Templesmith, the famous graphic novel artist could be like our police forensic artist, and start putting together sketches of what we discovered. And Finally Chris Wray McCann could provide all the still photo evidence.

What was important upon building this movie was to make these characters have an arch. Therefore it was crucial that they be normal people if not slight fuck-ups in a sense, this is a hugely talented group, let’s learn that and not just throw it up front. Let’s wonder how they are going to accomplish anything and then see what they do accomplish in the end. Make it attainable not elitist. So rather than make them super heroes I made them like The Bad News Bears. So this was the angle I went down to Panama with. Little did I know Morgan is one of the most important historical figures in all Panama, taught in every school. He destroyed their capital, burnt it to the ground and for that reason the city was moved; but he was also the straw who sort of broke the camel’s back in the Spanish empire.

Had you worked on anything like this before?

I had never worked on a content movie. I had done a documentary before, but every documentary is so different and the last one I did was The Last Serious Thing about two matadors. So this was different in every way.

How important is branded content becoming?

This could have been a 90-minute movie. But it has to be a clever fit. This film worked because it was about uncovering a legend with the same name as the Rum. That would generate press effortlessly and it’s real. The product, or rum, does not need to be in the piece. I liked having it around because it was free rum to give my group during their round table discussions. I see very little difference between a good brand paying for a film as opposed to a private financier or studio.

How much did you know about Henry Morgan before starting this project?

How much I knew about Henry Morgan I think I answer up front. I had no idea he was real. But what I will address is not only how much I learned about him being a real person, who actually considered himself a solider of the British Navy, acting for the Queen of England, but also how pirates truly were some of the freest and most democratic men the world has ever seen.

Remember the British Empire simply turned their back and let these guys attack Spanish ships and cities. They even provided Morgan with a ship at one point. They were not paid by the British Government but were paid by the ‘loot’ or ‘booty’. Their reputation preceded them and most battles were over before they ever began. It is like The Hells Angels coming to town. People knew the legend.

How involved were you in choosing the artists for the project?

Picking the artists was done between Anomaly and myself. I shifted the focus to be on people who would be a part of the film and actually produce something that gave us insight into who Captain Morgan was.

Where are the artists’ creations living now?

I do not know where the giant model ship, his outfit, the sketches, and the photos are now. But it is a super impressive collection of work. Maybe they will make some Morgan museum in Panama and it can live there.

What was the hardest/most interesting part of the shoot?

I think it was cracking the nut on how to integrate these artists in a way that did not come across pretentious and also drove the film’s narrative. Also the whole end, which I would ruin by saying too much. But basically the whole blanket was pulled out from our feet when we were down there and what we had been sent down to discover was not what we thought. My biggest worry was how would the audience feel by this and could this hold the movie.

I think we did it and a lot of credit is due to Matt Murphy, the editor. Another interesting part of a documentary is all the side stories that you discover on the way. I met a lot of truly eccentric people surrounding this subject, some we filmed, some not, but that was super interesting. I think Matt Murphy did and amazing job on truly putting all these elements together and making this idea and the end work. A documentary is truly made in the edit.

What are you working on next?

At the moment, simultaneous with the release of this film, I have a video art show Gravity opening at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. That will be playing for the next month in a half. I have just finished shooting the campaign for Bulgari in Rome and am headed to LA this week to begin a new campaign for Cadillac cars. This year I plan to direct the feature film Man of Power, about Nikola Tesla, which I co-wrote and is being produced by Infinitum Nihl.