After thirteen years, cameraman Jost Vacano and the ARD broadcasters have come to an agreement. He subsequently received a payment of 160,000 euros for the successful film “Das Boot”. Originally, Vacano, 87, received a lump sum of around 100,000 euros for his camera work of one and a half years. Since 2002, the so-called fairness clause in the Copyright Act has granted creatives an appropriate share in the success of the film if their remuneration is “noticeably disproportionate” to the proceeds from the film. Another legal dispute with the production company Bavaria Film and the video exploiter Eurovideo is still pending.
SZ: You have reached an agreement with the ARD broadcasters on the sum of 160,000 euros. How do you feel about this comparison?
Jost Vacano: Financially, it’s only a quarter of what was originally up for discussion. That is of course low. But it was a professional-political endeavor that I started. The fact that not only cameramen, but also cutters and outfitters in the film world are involved in the success of their works was the goal. This has never happened before and, as far as I know, is unique in the world. I’m 87, at some point the trials have to end. What is left is still quite neat under normal aspects. I hope that in the coming year we will also conclude the procedure with Bavaria Film and Eurovideo. That will be easier to quantify financially. Here we are talking about a fixed amount that was taken in, which can be used as a percentage. At the ARD stations it was unclear how much a repetition of the film is worth at all.
In 2008 you decided to go to court. Over ten years later you reached a settlement. What kept you going for so long?
I made some money during my time in Hollywood, so I believed I could afford the process financially. Afterwards everything looked a little different. The costs on my part for both procedures, i.e. legal fees, court costs, expert fees and so on, are around a quarter of a million euros. Lots of people say stop this, you’re ruining your nerves. If I said I’m giving up, that means that, in addition to my own costs, I also have to pay a large part of the costs of the other side. Because if I withdraw a lawsuit, the other side wins. I’ll have a good half a million in it, and I could never have afforded that. I started out naively and gave myself five years to complete the procedure. But you shouldn’t allow yourself to be worn down.
You were the cameraman of the classic film The boat nominated for an Oscar – why didn’t this achievement pay off financially?
Artists, let’s say for example authors who write books, have a right to get something for their art. Technicians are paid a flat rate and that’s the end of the matter. The perception is often that we cameramen are technicians who push a button when the director says “Action”. For forty years I have been campaigning to ensure that we are perceived as image creators and that this is also reflected in copyright law. In both proceedings, too, my primary concern was the legal recognition of the profession. Nobody says that the camera is responsible for what you see on the screen. You can make a radio play without pictures.
Have you been able to team up with others in the film industry on your concern?
Well, in the end I am a lone fighter. I was perhaps the only one who could and would afford such a procedure. Usually you never get a job in this industry afterwards. I was in Hollywood for 15 years and not dependent on the German media industry. With the film The boat I had a prominent, much-discussed case. You need a really good picture, a really good film, on which you hang up the question of who deserves what. I wanted to strengthen my profession and the professions of the other artistic trades. Ultimately, it stole many years of my life from me. How good that I didn’t know that when it started.
Most recently, we heard of further legal proceedings. Anika Decker, Screenwriter of No-ear bunnies, received information about the income from the Til Schweiger film – are you observing that something is changing in the film industry?
Definitely. There are a lot of arguments at the moment. It’s not necessarily just about money, but also about influence and participation. Profit-sharing is also an issue, like with Anika Decker. I hope that my process triggered a development Has. Maybe I didn’t get as much money as expected. Okay But the fact that dams are being broken is a great achievement for me personally. It’s something I’ve done in my life besides my movies. I can be proud of that.