Continued frompart 2…
Off the back ofNostrodamus, there were three very quick films in succession after that.
The money fell out and it was another brilliant idea it would have been an amazing film.
This is whats coming at us.
And they couldnt get it made.
They couldnt get Denis Leary to actually attach to it.
And [they] said, Would you just do this?
Right on the back ofFinal Cut.
It was a script that Tarantino read right before he wroteReservoir Dogs.
So I said, yeah, why not.
I went straight into it because I called Denis Leary and we spoke.
We were shooting six weeks later.
It was as simple as one conversation cleared it up?
One conversation cleared it up with him.
I got Joe Mantegna and Annabella Sciorra.
For me this was working again with the cream of actors.
As I was mixing that movie , they asked me to doMastermindsin Vancouver.
So, I stayed and made it.
It was a kind of kidsDie Hard.
I was working with legends.
I thought this is all great experience.
This was a period that just went, yeah, one after the other.
Im curious whereBattlefield Earthcame into the mix.
This script arrived on a young agent Jeff Gorens desk in ICM.
He thought Id be interested in it and hed sent it to John Travolta, along withNostrodamusand the trailer.
I got called, by Travolta, to dinner.
My manager and I went.
John was there with Elie Samaha, the financier, and he said, Listen, Roger.
This is a fact.
Youre not afraid of actors.
Youre not afraid of this power of actors, are you?
And, I said, No.
Its just part of my work.
And he said, I want to make this film.
He said, Ive told everybody that Im not doing another film until I makeBattlefield Earth.
Ive got the chance to do it.
We have the independent finance.
The budget was $120 million.
He said, Weve only got 30.
With the budget and pull it off.
He said, Im sorry.
Youre gonna have to do it.
Did he pay for dinner?
No, no, the financier did.
[laughs]
So, it started to fall into place after that?
It was a difficult one because I read the script and I wasnt too keen on parts of it.
But I loved the book.
The script needed work, which we did.
John had developed it for himself.
That was a long process.
I knew the war that was against Scientology and the church in America was very powerful.
We were going to be up against that.
But in the end I put that aside because it was nothing to do with it.
I was just going to have to do it.
Everyone advised me not to.
All the advisers and lawyers said, You cant do this.
Youre going to get taken apart.
And, you know, what could I do?
I had to do it.
Or was the pressure really coming in at that point?
Aw, the pressure was horrendous.
Right from the off?
Right from the off.
The pressure on that was the budget was small and we were making a big film.
So I was pulling together all of my experience.
All of the crew I was having to mentor how do things.
It was like going back in time to the firstStar Wars, I have to say.
He was the producer and hes so supportive.
Hes one of the worlds great human beings.
Hes a wonderful man.
He was there, staunchly, by my side.
Forest Whitaker is an incredible human being too Forest doesnt say much.
He just gets on with it.
And one day he came and he said, I need to talk to you.
And I say, What is it, Forest?
And he said, I dont understand.
This floor where were working is like a Zen zone of concentration and tranquillity around us and the actors.
And he said, But theres this circle around us its chaos and mayhem and confusion beyond it.
I dont know how youre doing it.
[laughs]
John Travolta cant work with any tension around him, he likes it very calm.
Thats usually how Ive worked.
And also there were the time restraints.
Because they wanted it out the following May.
We finished the entire effects in six months, the entire post, everything.
I didnt expect the vitriolity of that attack.
This is amazing stuff.
Youre gonna be killed, all of you.
But, [I] just loved this film.
Wait ten, twelve years, itll all come round.
He said, Forget it now.
Youre gonna go through hell.
And how bad did the hell get?
It wasnt very pleasant.
Im also wise enough to know that its got nothing to do with it.
What appealed to me about it especially was the characters are the two sides of humanity.
On one side, the aliens, are all greed, lust and the dark side.
The humans are the good side.
So already it was pushing buttons in people.
I think we would have done better.
Because the second half of the book is a huge, dramatic experience.
Had you started working on the follow-ups?
Yeah, wed all talked about it.
Thats the next part of the book.
That was very much in mind, yes.
If you could go back in time, with hindsight, would you still do it?
Or would you just roll the dice again?
No, I would do it, yeah.
Because John is a giant in American cinema and it was a great experience with him.
John Travolta was on Barbara Walters a year later.
And he said, Battlefield Earth.
That, to me, made it worth all of this vitriol and nastiness that people throw at you.
Did you find that?
Or did you find that the next project was as you planned it?
No, that was difficult.
But, you know the irony of this?
So, Elie Samaha is overjoyed.
Hes making money out of it.
Thats part of our business, for the producers.
So, in my terms, its not deemed as a failure at all.
Some films get it to an audience, some films dont.
A lot of people hated it.
Thats their right anyway.
Its not your usual pop in of movie.
It was four years beforeAmerican Daylighthit the screen.
Was there a break in there for you?
Was it that you needed to get out of the Hollywood system?
Yeah, I had to leave anyway for personal reasons.
It was not just me andBattlefield.
It was drying up.
Anything that was really appealing to me, certainly.
I did do an independent film with Carlos Gallardo.
I went down and did that, It was a fun movie to make.
It was a kind of follow-on toEl Mariachiwith a different character.
That kind of revived my spirits because we were pretty free and there was some experimental stuff in it.
So that was okay.
I took a break, and I went to India, madeAmerican Daylight.
So they sent me to India.
I used all of my wisdom of legend and myth.Gilgameshis the epic of all epics.
So, I was working on that all of that time.
And what happened there?
Well, I went into India for a few months.
The funding forGilgameshI realised wasnt there at that time, and it was difficult to pull off in India.
I was offeredAmerican Daylight.
So, I stayed and did it because I love Farrukh Dhondy, who wrote it.
And I wanted to work in India.
I wanted, again, to be ahead of the game.
Because I could see that everyone was flirting with India, but no one dared to do it.
I made the first high def there, and met a lot of interesting people.
I wasnt on sabbaticals.
[laughs] I cant tell you how hard we tried.
And the producer never pulled it off.
At one point, I had Peter OToole and Omar Sharif cast, part of a really great cast.
Just a fantastic epic.
Im gonna make it one day.
Is that the dream project that youve not made?
That would be one of them.
I want to do Merlin, Thats my all-time dream project.
The actual true story of Merlin.
At the moment, youve gotPrisoners of the Sunand97 Minutes.
Could you tell [us about them]?
Its in a bit of conflict between the producers and financiers who are sadly fighting.
So I just left it.
Theyll resolve all of that I hope and put egos aside.
Especially the CGI effects as they have to be up to modern standards.
But it was a fantastic project to do.
Its a really interesting one, so hopefully thatll get done.
97 Minutes, Im working on.
I really like the script on that.
A really tense thriller on a plane.
Hes really the one who exposed the legend of the crystal skull to the world.
His life storys amazing.
Him going to Kashmir and Egypt and Peru, that whole adventure.
Also a love story, when he met his wife.
So that Im doing now.
Were actually in production on that.
Also a movie calledDevils Patriotwhich is imminent.
Its like a BritishAmerican History Xabout the Muslim hard core second generation in England and the BNP gang war.
a story needing to be told.
Is that over in Toronto?
Were shooting that one in Argentina and Morocco.
We have to go to the various locations.
I have to duplicate Kashmir because we cant go there.
Some parts of Mexico we cant go.
Well do all of that in Argentina.
Is it fair to say your passports got a lot of stamps?
Carrying on in that vein.
Erich von Daniken is right up my alley, as it’s possible for you to tell.
its serendipitous that this suddenly came up.
That will follow on the other ones.
Its a classic novel set in 1929 Britain.
Its a beautiful script.
It has a chance to be a British classic, I think.
I love those kind of historical dramas.
And especially great love stories.
Youve got to be resilient.
To everything around you.
And what anybody says.
Just make a run at find a voice.
Because its very hard.
I watched Ridley go through it afterLegendand I loved that film.
I thought it was beautiful.
Some of the most stunning photography ever put on the screen.
He got so lambasted after it.
But youve just got to carry on.
An amazing period and I was very much at the core of these movies and their look.
I have so many requests from fans that I am finally doing it.
As set decorator, especially onStar Warsand as art director onAlien, it was ground breaking.
I will include directingBlack AngelandDollar Bottomso will be interesting to fans and to young filmmakers.
We need Directors Anonymous so that they have someone to call and bring encouragement to.
Roger Christian, thank you very much!
