On April 28, 2020, Instituto Cervantes Manila (ICM) conducted a videoconference with Javier Gómez Santander, head writer of the phenomenal hit Netflix’s La Casa de Papel (Money Heist). The videoconference started at 7pm and ended a little over 8pm where Javier Gómez Santander answered more than 20 questions from ICM Director Javier Galván Guijo.
The videoconference was entirely in Spanish with Zoom English translation available. I tried the English translation for five seconds but decided to listen to the interview in Spanish while taking down notes mostly in Spanish.
I am paraphrasing and writing only certain questions and answers. I am sure my understanding and translation are far from perfect. But that’s life. Enjoy!
1. Why was Manila chosen as one of the character’s name in La Casa de Papel?
Manila suena muy bien (sounds good), is easy to pronounce for anyone from any part of the world, and the spirit of the place.
2. Can you comment on the confinamiento (lockdown) of the characters in the series and the lockdown that the world is experiencing now caused by the coronavirus pandemic?
There is a clear relationship between La Casa de Papel and the lockdown we have been experiencing in the last two months. It is a trick that we use in the two heists that have occurred in La Casa de Papel which has something to do with enclosed spaces where no one can escape from. The series creator, Álex Pina, is familiar with working with enclosed spaces having used it in his previous works. Small confined spaces elevate the spectator’s sensation through the characters under so much pressure. It magnifies everything and adds immeasurable tension. But we have to remember that we are doing this for our health. At the same time we cannot forget our mental health.
3. How does a group of writers coordinate and work together?
The show has a team of writers that write really quickly as opposed to one writer thinking and processing things in his mind before writing anything down. Sometimes two pairs of writer write for a certain episode, but there are numerous versions of the script. The script of the first episode of the Bank of Spain robbery has 52 versions. The head writer (himself) has to keep track that the relationship among and the character development of characters are on point.
4. Is there a determined schedule for the writers, like 9am to 5pm?
Writing is a creative process but there needs to be a schedule. We normally do not bring their work home, but rather we like to work as a team in the office. We have children, families, and lives to attend to. Towards the end of this answer, he mentioned that after the fourth season, he dreamed of the characters and that he was in a robbery even two months after!
5. What is the major challenge that he has faced so far?
Going back or starting season two was a major challenge. The second season of the series ended with finality. The robbers were all millionaires and there was no Berlin. It was hard to think of a continuation for the series. Yet, when Netflix gave us an offer we could not refuse, well, we could start the series again. And rain 50-euro bills down the streets of Madrid.
6. Why was Mindanao chosen as the hiding place of El Profesor?
That has a sentimental explanation. Álex Pina knows Mindanao. He has been to the Philippines and has fallen in love with Asia. When they were deciding where The Professor would go at the end of the first season, we thought of Mindanao. We looked at photos of Mindanao and decided Mindanao it is then. There is a difference between a national series and an international series. At first, there was no budget to go to Mindanao, we shot in a large Asian restaurant just outside Madrid, in the middle of a field, and was well-decorated. The artistic team transformed it into Mindanao and used digital effects to achieve Mindanao. In the second season, where Tokyo and The Professor talked about how they would rescue Rio, and The Professor said, by robbery, that backdrop was Mindanao.
7. What is the message that the series would like to transmit to the audience?
This series happened after the Lehman Brothers crisis in Europe and there was a debate about austerity. The Professor mentioned about the banks printing money and he wants to print money to be truly injected into the economy. The general spirit of the series has to do with the masks, with Bella Ciao, that has been adopted by protests in different parts of the world like feminist protests, environmental protests, and rights protests, in Libya, Chile, and other countries, including in Europe.
8. This question has to do with the worldwide success of La Casa de Papel but my video froze for a bit.
La Casa de Papel was for a traditional broadcast in Spanish channel Antena 3 where it was shown once a week. It started with 4.5 million viewers but that number decreased to two million towards the end of the first season. So, the series was cut short, from the original 16 to 18 episodes to 15 episodes. And the series ended. It was shame because people did not watch it for its late timeslot and showing only one episode per week. Suddenly, the series was bought by Netflix in July 2017. By December 2017, unexpected things happened. One of the symptoms was one coach of a team wearing the La Casa de Papel mask. Another was the mask was the most bought in Rio de Janeiro. La Casa de Papel was popular in other parts of the world before it became popular in Spain.
9. How do you do casting?
Casting is very subjective territory. Actors are given scripts and they can interpret them any way they want. Jaime Lorente’s laughter helped him get the role of Denver. We do not choose famous actors. In the first casting, the only actors known in Spain were Paco Tous (Moscow) and Úrsula Corberó (Tokyo) and The Professor, nobody knew him. But it was good because people do not associate them with their previous roles. I have worked with the actors, I talk to them, and I have good relationship with them. For example, Berlin is a good good friend of mine. It is curious. He is normally sensible. We discuss his character a lot and he dedicates a lot of time thinking about his character.
10. Do you know how the series will end? Do you write the script according to the audience’s reaction?
We do not write according to the audience’s reaction because we do the script a year before it is shown. Like right now, we are writing the fifth season of the series. We know how the series will end but there will be story arcs for the characters, transformations, what conflicts will happen among them? There are 70 pages of development within the season, which can change or not, but the end is clear.
11. Nairobi seems like popular character in the Philippines. Which is your favorite character? If you have a favorite character.
Nairobi is a fundamental character of La Casa de Papel. I have to tell you an interesting story first, because Nairobi at first did not exist. The script until the fourth episode had no Nairobi. We had Tokyo and Mónica but we needed another female character. We thought immediately of Alba Flores for her quality as an actress and her charisma. She has a human quality, strong exterior but great pain inside, very powerful, and very effective.
12. Why did you choose Bella Ciao and not another song to show resistance?
It was just pure luck. We were stuck in one part of an episode, where Moscow was digging the soil with a metallic object or something. That morning, I woke up a little sad and I listened to Bella Ciao to cheer me up. While I was eating breakfast, I realized it was the song for the series. It was everything. About resistance, about guerillas. He talked about rights in using a song. Since Bella Ciao is over 100 years old, they do not have to buy its rights. If they had to, they would not have used it.
13. If you were a character in the series, what city would you have chosen to be your name?
Sarajevo. When I was a child, I liked it when I went there. For the spirit that Sarajevo has.
14. Do you have other projects with Netflix?
We have White Lines. (Another one which I did not understand what) We also have in production Sky Rojo, which we are shooting.
Javier Gómez Santander is a journalist, tv host, and head writer. He attributes the success of La Casa de Papel partly due to the growth of Spanish language and cultural globalization. These have connected us from Madrid to Manila and beyond. The success of the series has given him freedom and tranquility, and the confidence that he does not have to justify his ideas that much anymore. He advises young writers to read classic literature. David Simon, a writer for the Wire, also a journalist, asked Santander if he had read the complete works of [Anton] Checkov and he said no. He was advised to finish it and come back. He recommends that all journalists read Don Quijote de la Mancha and the works of Leo Tolstoy.
He ended the videoconference by saying that Philippines is a special place for La Casa de Papel because it is where The Professor hid after the first robbery. Palawan is a paradise.
We love you, Javier Gómez Santander. We hope you can visit the Philippines for the Película 2020.