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Actor Interview
DOWSE Guide to the
Movies
The Perfect Storm:
Going into a film based on such a famous real-life event, what were your major
concerns as production began?
"Getting it right. Compared to something like Three Kings or Batman &
Robin, there was a whole set of different responsibilities involved. These men
weren't make-believe, they were real and the places where we were shooting, that's
where they lived and worked. Nearly everyone around us that wasn't directly involved
with the film crew knew them.
What struck you most about the community and the work they do?
"You don't realise just how dangerous the job is. In Gloucester, where the movie
was based, there's been something like ten thousand-plus fishing related accidents in
the four hundred years their community's been working the seas.
So did you feel in danger at any point during filming?
"I'm still here, but, yeah...there were moments when you thought twice. They had
me on the outrigger on the ship's deck, wired up on a harness right at the top of it.
The shot meant that it would go down into the water with the rig taking most of the
impact, but you still get hit hard. You literally go underwater really fast, but it
turns and you swing back up... The thing was that I didn't get air until it came back
through the surface.
How did Mark Wahlberg cope?
"He got sick... Real sea-sick. He could claim some kind of record for barfing.
He forgot to get sea legs before we started shooting. It was happening all the time,
it hit my boots, it hit me, it hit the deck... And this was all in the studio... I
tell you, he could take it to championship level..."
Have you had much experience at sea prior to The Perfect Storm?
"Well, I was raised in Kentucky, and there's no coastline near that part of
America, so I guess this was the first time I'd driven anything without wheels. Try
parallel parking a trawler in a dock... It's not easy. Fortunately, I didn't break
any of the quay or damage the other boats... They encourage the ship's campains to
try to avoid that sort of thing.
How was it working with director Wolfgang Peterson?
"I'd just come off Three Kings and that wasn't actually after a long
rest, I mean it's something like six years solid; 'Batman', ER... Your body
gets worn out, and I hadn't caught up with myself. I had to think long and hard about
doing the movie, it was like 'am I up to this? Am I going to get through this one in
one piece?'... If Wolfgang had been any of the things that other directors are more
than capable of, like more demanding or just plain mean, I would never have made it
to the other side. I genuinely think I would have quit..."
What's next?
"Ocean's Eleven... It's a remake of the old 'Rat Pack' movie and I get to
be Sinatra. I've formed a company with Steven Soderbergh (director of Out Of
Sight) to get it shot... For a while, I was into developing projects, but you
find that you let yourself head towards repetition. I had a slate of projects that
were just the same kind of thing as my earlier movies, because you know that's what
people like. Now I just read through scripts and hope to find something good,
something that you really want to do..."
Were you happy with the critical and box-office reaction to The Perfect
Storm?
"Well, no matter what you do, it's too late to fix it once it's released, but in
this case, I think we did a good job. Even though people know what happened in the
end, just like Memphis Belle, I heard good things from them. People got with
it, they saw where we were at, and you can't ask for much more than that..."
What do you think of the DVD revolution?
"It's the way forward. The extra material's there for those who want them, but
it doesn't interfere. We're planning some neat extras for Ocean's Eleven...
It's cool. I like them..."
The Perfect Storm is available to buy on video and DVD from 27 November 2000,
released by Warner Home Video
Back
to Movies on Dowse index.
........................................................................
by Tony Lee editor of
Pigasus
Press
syndicated interview with George Clooney
We drank in the same bars as them, went around everywhere they
did... It had to be as real as we could get it. It helped with having Sebastian
Junger on set. He wrote the book, so it was like we were official. He seemed happy
with what was going on..."
When you spend as many days as I did, with tons of water landing on
you on the studio backlot, you get a hint of what those guys go through..."
I saw them testing it, and the arm would break nearly every time.
You put your faith in these guys to get you out if anything goes wrong, like if it
broke with me on it, but it did make me question exactly how they'd get me free. I
guess I just had to hold my breath!"
It was all a part of trying to make it real... And the truth of it
is that not a moment of it was faked. Take it from me, if you're not strapped in,
there's nothing you can do to stop yourself getting blown off deck when the waves
hit..."
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