Helmer
of Troy
The director of
‘Air Force One’ & ‘Perfect Storm’ hauls
Homer to the multiplex.
by M.E. Russell
Superhero
fans were lightly miffed last year when director Wolfgang
Petersen’s “Batman
vs. Superman” project was back-burnered by Warner Bros.
in favor of separate “Batman” and “Superman” movies.
But the same fans can take solace in “Troy,” promises
the director of “In the Line of Fire” and “Air
Force One.” He says that his action epic about the
3,000-year-old Trojan War – hitting screens May 14 – contains “the
same kind of clash of heroes.”
“The two main characters in our movie,
Achilles [Brad Pitt] and Hector [Eric Bana], are enemies
and have the big, big, major fight in the movie – and
you feel for both of them, because you connect to both of
them,” Petersen explains. “Both of them are part
of yourself – with Achilles being the darker, more
aggressive, edgy character and Hector the more positive,
noble man.”
He says that closely parallels what he had
in mind for “Batman
vs. Superman”: “I mean, we have Batman and Superman
in ourselves,” he says. “We like Batman – we
understand him, we suffer with him. On the other hand, we
want to be Superman. But they’re conflicting philosophies.
Let’s bring them together in one movie and see how
we, as an audience, wrestle with our inner demons.”
It’s fairly heady stuff for a superhero movie – and
it should be even headier stuff in “Troy,” which
Petersen and screenwriter David Benioff are developing from
no less a source than Homer’s Iliad. Advance-screening
reports have mentioned that the bloody, R-rated film refuses
to take sides in its depiction of the Grecian siege of Troy – a
fact Petersen gleefully confirms. “It’s more
complex, that’s true,” he says. “Emotionally,
you have to sort things out a little bit – but that
makes it fascinating.”
In Focus talked to Petersen about the nuances
of “Troy,” Pitt,
Bana, Clint Eastwood, and the director’s childhood
obsession – in his native Germany – with Hollywood
filmmaking.
IN
FOCUS: Some early "Troy" test-screenings have
suggested that the movie doesn't take sides -- that there
are protagonists on both sides of the conflict.
WOLFGANG PETERSEN: That's true.
How does that complicate your storytelling?
It's a very unusual -- but I think very
real -- approach to portraying life. In reality, I think
there aren't really
such things as "bad guys" and "good guys." But
it is unusual -- because movies usually tend to go more for
the black-and-white situations. But I think it works.
Did you meet with any studio resistance in spending $200
million on a movie where you could root for both sides?
First of all, at the end of the day it will not be $200
million -- it will be considerably less, just for the record.
But it's still a huge budget. But no, not at all -- they
developed David Benioff's pitch on doing a story inspired
by the Iliad; they knew that going in.
It's like "In the Line of Fire," where
you kind of end up understanding where John Malkovich's
character
is coming from.
Right. That made him a really interesting character -- they
were basically opposite sides of the same coin, Eastwood
and Malkovich.
Which blockbuster -- "Gladiator" or "Lord
of the Rings" -- played a bigger role in getting "Troy" greenlit?
I think "Gladiator." "Gladiator" was
a big surprise for the industry, for the audience, for all
of us -- because, as you know, it sort of connected again
to a kind of film we hadn't seen for decades. It became so
successful that all of a sudden these projects were popping
up that dealt with the times of 2,000 years ago -- 3,000
years ago, in our case.
Well, you grew up with the Biblical epics and the gladiator
films that used to be very popular. Is this the kind of movie
you've always wanted to make?
Yeah. I sucked them up, these movies, when I was a kid in
the '50s and '60s. I always had a soft spot for larger-than-life
people and grand stories. I always liked reading it. I was
in a school in Hamburg, Germany, where I was learning Greek
and Latin -- we had to learn to write and read in ancient
Greek.
Oh -- can you speak ancient Greek?
Yeah. I mean, if you asked me, "Can we
continue this conversation in ancient Greek?" [laughs]
I would say, "Wait
a moment, it's a little rusty." But I actually learned
to speak it. I can still kind of write it. At school, we
were reading the Iliad in Greek. I always hated these Greek
and Latin lessons -- but the Iliad was always fun.
You’re
15 years old and you read about Achilles and these bigger-than-life
people, and also, of course, there's the violence and the
wars. I heard that Warner Brothers was developing a film
inspired by the Iliad and I flashed back right away to schooltime.
There's never been a film that goes back to
the Iliad. The only thing was Robert Wise's film "Helen of Troy";
it was done in the '50s, and actually it's a pretty bad movie.
We also added story elements from outside of the Iliad, like
the Trojan Horse -- it's mentioned later on in the Odyssey.
I understand that you've dropped the mythological elements
of this story.
Of course, the writer should be credited for
that -- and that, of course, is the right choice. People
would laugh
today if you had God entering the scene and fighting and
helping out. It's hard to even imagine that.
Religion and the gods play a big part here,
but it's more in the sense that we're used to it -- they're
on statues
and in prayers and [characters] talk a lot about the gods.
Also, if you compare it with "Lord of the Rings," which
is really fantasy -- and beautiful for what it is -- ["Troy"]
is much more blood, sweat and tears. People fighting. And
it hurts. And you see it hurt. It's the reality of war. I
think you can say that Homer's work -- for the first time
in the history of mankind, in a unbelievable, breathtaking
way - describes the brutality and suffering of people in
war.
Almost every culture in the world has a legendary hero like
Achilles -- in Ireland, for example, there's Cuchulain --
who goes out and slays hundreds of people in a single sentence.
How are you tackling Achilles?
I must say, Brad Pitt [as Achilles] is unbelievable
in this -- it's definitely the best thing he's done in his
career.
I can really say that without blushing.
You'll see it. He's a force of destruction.
He's an unbelievable warrior. And he fights like a god. In
our film, he's sort
of like a half-god -- it's not totally explained, but his
mother's obviously a goddess. It's almost like an art form,
the way he fights. But at the same time, he has an enormous
sense of honor and pride -- he wants his name to last through
the ages. He represents, in a way, the dream of mankind:
Is our life only these 50, 60, 70 or 80 years here, or
is there more? And you know, he was right -- because we're
making
a movie about him.
Is this the movie that's going to make Eric Bana [who plays
Hector] a star?
Absolutely. If "The Hulk" was
a little bit of an iffy thing for him -- that also had
very much to do with
the nature of the movie --
Sure. He was playing a very repressed character.
He was unbelievable in "Chopper," but of course
nobody's seen the film, because it was a tiny Australian
film. But I thought, "A new Robert DeNiro is coming." This
will be his big break. I told him, in our ADR session we
had a couple of weeks ago, "Brace yourself -- this is
it for you."
If I was Eric Bana, I'd feel a little
cheated by "The
Hulk" -- because he could only play the straight stuff,
and all the really great acting went to the CG character.
No such thing here. It's all him. And he does a beautiful
job. Hector's this very noble warrior who doesn't necessarily
want to fight, but has to, because he fights for his country
and his family. But he'd rather spend time with his wife
and child. Achilles wants his name to last for the ages,
and Hector couldn't care less. And Eric is perfect for that.
I saw it with an audience already, and people just love him.
The movie's rated "R." A rating
like that for a film this epic and expensive is a pretty
intense move.
Yep.
What was your thought process going into that?
I knew from the very beginning -- knowing
The Iliad, reading David's script -- that we were going
with an "R" concept.
Did we have -- especially the studio -- the idea, "Would
it be even better if it was PG-13 so we can open up the movie
and maybe bring a larger audience in?" Sure. But when
I toned the violence down a bit, the MPAA saw it and said, "It's
an R -- and if you want it to be PG-13, this is what you
probably have to address." Right away, [Warner Brothers
head] Alan Horn said, "Okay, forget it -- it’s
an R. I cannot compromise the movie."
You've worked with practical effects
in films like "NeverEnding
Story" and digital effects in "The Perfect Storm." What
are the merits of each? Is CGI a tool you enjoy using?
I must say, I enjoy it -- especially
right now, even more than "Perfect Storm," because
that was limited to creating extreme water situations.
This is such a larger
canvas. There are a thousand ships coming towards Troy and
50,000 soldiers attacking. Even I don't know where the CG
starts and our extras end.
You can program these CG soldiers now so they're
basically human beings -- there are thousands of individual
reactions
they can do, and you can create if they're fearful or courageous.
I think it even goes beyond what they were capable of in
the third "Lord of the Rings" movie, because this
war changes so quickly.
If I look back on "NeverEnding Story," it puts
a smile on my face -- it was 20 years ago, and we were working
with these gigantic puppets. It was quite charming -- but
they had like 20 operators working on face movements. One
poor bugger was just, for weeks, responsible for the left
eyebrow.
I've gotta say, though -- that white
dragon in "NeverEnding
Story" is a hell of a puppet.
Yeah, I mean, it was fine. But I think
20 people were operating it, and they were all hidden somewhere,
and it was creaking
and squeaking because they were all pulling on these wires,
and they matched it to the pre-recorded voice. It worked,
and in a way, the character came across, but the way we did
it was so … primitive.
Nowadays, you would do it all CG, and it would
be much easier. So is it better? Who knows? Like Peter O'Toole
says, "In
the old days, when we were all drunk and every British actor
was an alcoholic, we did all these movies. Were the movies
we did in those days worse than today, where nobody's drunk
anymore?" And I said, "No, Peter, you're right
-- in a way, it was maybe even a better time than today." Peter
is so funny.
That's right -- he's in this movie, isn't he?
Oh, yeah. He's Priam, Eric Bana's father, the King of Troy.
And it is perfect casting, because we needed somebody who
has, as an old king, the glamour of ancient times carried
over the decades -- and that's what Peter brings.
Your Hollywood.com biography says that you decided you wanted
to make movies at age 11. What, precisely, happened when
you were 11?
I was just crazy about going to the movies.
I went to school, and the rest of the time I was hanging
out in movie theaters.
And I was going on my bike into the city and trying to get
books about how they make movies.
It was very clear to my parents that there
was more to it than just enjoying movies. I told them, "I think I want
to get serious here at the age of 11. Don't give me any toys
for Christmas any more -- give me an 8-milimeter film camera
so I can start making movies."
Really? You stopped getting toys and started getting film
reels?
Yeah. I had a very serious speech with my parents
to forget about the toy business and to get me a film camera
and film.
And it was quite expensive in those days -- but they saw
the obsession.
And I started, like Spielberg did, doing 8-milimeter
films -- Westerns, because I was into American films -- where
I
always was the good guy. And then the films switched from
color to black-and-white because I ran out of money. It
was cute, but it was clearly an obsession -- and I never
got
it out of my head.
Do you still have any of those old 8mm films?
Yes. A couple of years ago -- because German television
wanted to show a few clips of those in a bio on me -- I found
them in Germany and put them on tape.
You grew up on American film and aspired to Hollywood. What's
it like when you finally get to work with an icon like Clint
Eastwood?
Amazing. I'll never forget when I came
here in '87 -- I came here to potentially do a film that
was offered to me
and then go back home, and I never went home. The very first
party I was at was just a dinner party with 12 people at
Arnold Schwarzenegger's house in Brentwood. He rented his
other house out to me, and gave me a little welcome party
-- and Clint Eastwood was one of the guests. I couldn't believe
it. My wife had no idea who he was, because it's a long time
ago that you had him in these spaghetti Westerns in Germany.
I had to pull her aside and say, "That's Clint Eastwood!"
That was an amazing year: You directed
him in "In the
Line of Fire" -- which I think is one of his very best
performances -- and then he directs "Unforgiven."
I needed a good script at that time,
because "Shattered" didn’t
do that well; it was kind of a so-so feeling that I had about
working in Hollywood. And then came [the "In the Line
of Fire"] script -- and boy, did I like this script
and the writer, Jeff McGuire. And then I heard that Clint
Eastwood was interested in the part. I drove over to Warner
Brothers to his production [offices]. It was a great meeting
-- Clint is so nice, and he couldn't stop talking about "Das
Boot," and he loved "Shattered." He said he
was hoping a European director would get into "In the
Line of Fire"; the other director's name that was floating
around was Luc Besson.
Mm. That would have been interesting.
Yeah. But we hit it off great -- I don't think
there was even a conversation with somebody else. Because
when I left,
he had this big, Clint Eastwood smile on his face -- because
of course, he had to give some kind of approval to Castle
Rock.
And then he said, "I've just finished this Western.
Do you want to see it?" I thought it would be one of
those Clint Eastwood Westerns that are good, but not necessarily
great, right? And he was in a little bit of a slump then,
anyway, so I didn’t have super expectations. When I
saw the film -- oh, my God! I went home on Cloud Nine. I
said to my wife, "Let's open a bottle of champagne --
this movie will be Best Picture." He's now more respected
than ever.
What lessons did you take from your years in German television?
From your years in Hamburg's Ernest Deutsch Theatre?
Well, I was directing things onstage
at age 21, so I was sort of what you call the "wunderkind" director.
I also did acting at the same time on that stage. The experience
was important, because I [learned about] all the problems
and the joys of being with great actors.
And later on, on television, sometimes I did
three or four two-hour films in one year -- I was just banging
them out.
And that helped me very much with dealing with logistics
-- I could fly back and forth and shoot and do post-production
here and pre-production here, and I could handle pressure,
and learn to do the impossible, so to speak. I got more and
more in the business of doing the impossible with films like "Das
Boot" -- not only in the subject matter, but also the
logistics, which were a nightmare.
Your sub sinking, for example. [laughs]
It goes all the way to problems we had
with "Outbreak," where
we didn't have a functioning screenplay and it was a day-to-day
struggle to get this movie together -- and through some strange
miracle, at the end when we cut it all together it actually
had a beginning and a middle and an end, and became quite
successful.
I want to tell you a story about "Outbreak":
It drove my then-girlfriend, who was extremely sensitive,
out
of a movie theater halfway through -- specifically, during
the scene where you show a virus being transmitted in a movie
theater.
I was just about to say, "Probably
the movie-theater scene."
That was so mean. I had to pay admission a second time to
see the rest of that film, alone.
I had the same experience with my wife
on "Silence
of the Lambs." I only saw 25 minutes -- I had to go
all by myself one more time.
Listed among your future projects: A
long-in-development version of "Ender's Game." Will
you be the person to finally move this project forward?
Absolutely. "Ender's Game" is
a favorite of mine. It's very complicated. But it's definitely
very high on my
list.
Do you have any Enders in mind?
No -- that's a bit too early.
Is there any chance we'll ever see your "Batman vs.
Superman"?
I ask the question myself quite often.
I was just talking to Alan Horn about it and he said, "I
always liked that concept so much." I think it's on
the back-burner because Warner Brothers decided to go with
single "Batman" and "Superman" movies. "Superman" is,
at the moment, shelved; I think if they successfully launch
it again, then at some point it will be "Batman vs.
Superman" again. I'll definitely be attached to that
project whenever….
Well, nobody knows what you want
to do in five years, but it might come up. 
