Find Hugh Jackman listings on TV this month (U.S. only): powered by

John Palermo's rise through the ranks of the American film industry has been as fast - and smooth - as the lift that carries visitors to his penthouse apartment at the top of the revamped Gazebo Hotel.

The tastefully decorated suite with 270-degree views of the city's skyline is currently home away from home for the fresh-faced Californian in town to shoot "X-Men Origins: Wolverine".

It’s an entirely appropriate choice of abode for a man who two years ago formed a production company with mates Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness.

Right now, Palermo is on top of the world. Not even the storm clouds gathering ominously on the horizon are going to rain on his parade. The UCLA business studies graduate believes people create their own luck, so he’s not inclined to give much truck to bad omens or self-doubt.

Meeting the producer, one immediately struck by his youth. At 27, Palermo seems more like a traveller enjoying a gap year than a man who has the weight of a multi-million-dollar feature film resting on his shoulders.

He, Jackman and the rest of the crew and cast, which includes Liev Schreiber and Ryan Reynolds, are midway through Origins’ 60-day shoot, in which New Zealand doubles for Canada. Each of the three previous films in the franchise has outgrossed its predecessor, so there’s a lot riding on the Wolverine spin-off, set 17 years earlier.

It’s the second film generated by Seed Productions. The first, a thriller starring Jackman, Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams, opened in Australia this week. Due to some clever financing decisions, Deception, the company’s small, independently-financed feature debut, was in the black even before audiences had the chance to see it.

Seed Productions’ first foray into television, Viva Laughlin, was not nearly so auspicious. Jackman and Furness described the series, a remake of the British murder-mystery musical Blackpool that CBS cancelled after just two episodes, as a "spectacular failure’’. Palermo sees things differently.

‘‘I walked away from that more excited than anything,’’ he says.

‘‘Career-wise, it’s the best thing that could have happened to me. You learn more from your failures than your successes. And I had honestly been so successful up to that point . . . I don’t really see it as a failure. I see it as a learning experience. It just made me stronger.’’

As Palermo speaks, one begins to get a sense of the complementary nature of the relationships that exist between Seed Productions’ three key players.

His West Coast confidence infectious — and irrepressible.

As well as being the company’s box office draw, Jackman, the son of an accountant, has proven to be a canny businessman. He was responsible for setting up the financial structure that ensured Deception would be a commercial success no matter what the critics eventually ruled — and the reception has been mixed, at best.

Furness, an accomplished actress in her own right, could well be Seed Productions’ grounding force. She is working on two documentaries that are close to her heart and is actively looking for a feature film to direct.

The husband-and-wife team met Palermo on the set of the first X-Men film. Born and bred in Los Angeles, where his family builds malls and apartment buildings, he’d been on the periphery of the film business for as long as he could remember.

‘‘When I was 15 I used to sneak down to the Universal Studios backlot after school — it was just a bike ride away. Steven Spielberg was shooting Jurassic Park at the time,’’ Palermo says.

Palermo got his first paid job in show business at age 16 — serving food to the cast and crew of a television show during the school holidays. Later, he helped organise birthday parties for the children of the stars.

‘‘And then, when I graduated high school, I went into the university experience of a lifetime, which was working for director Bryan Singer [ director of the first two X-Men films],’’ he says.

Nights and weekends, Palermo attended university. A stint in New York followed, where he worked as an assistant to Susan Sarandon on films such as Igby Goes Down and The Banger Sisters.

After 9/11 Palermo decided to move back to LA to be closer to his family. It was during a catch-up brunch soon afterwards that he, Jackman and Furness decided to work together. Initially, Palermo took charge of Jackman’s management and publicity on the vampire film Van Helsing.

Forming a production company seemed like a natural progression. The Los Angeles hub of Seed was set up two years ago at the Fox lot in Century City. Twelve months later, a Sydney office opened at Fox Studios.

Initially, the company’s primary focus was to find star vehicles for Jackman. Twelve months in, the slate had expanded to a point where the actor could no longer spread himself that thin.

Among the projects in which Jackman still intends to star is "Nowhere Man", which the company hopes will prove his next franchise.

Seed Productions is simultaneously working on a graphic novel, video game and film based on a new character, an action hero in the vein of James Bond or Jason Bourne. Also just announced is "Three Days In Europe".

Jackman will star opposite Jennifer Garner in an adaptation of the romantic adventure about a couple who face danger and excitement on what was supposed to be the perfect Valentine’s Day holiday.

"Drive", directed by Neil Marshall ( "The Descent"), is already in production. The homage to Steve McQueen, based on James Sallis’s novel, still has Jackman’s name attached. But if he is not available at the time, shooting will still go ahead with another actor in the lead role.

‘‘ We don’t intend to have a massive slate and rule the world,’’ says Palermo. ‘‘ We only want to invest our time and energy into projects we feel passionately about.’’

To this end, Seed Productions is developing three relatively lowbudget Australian films. Jackman is unlikely to star in any of them.

Back to News