ENTER ROGER WILLIE (NEWCOMER) AND MR. CHRISTIAN SLATER .

Christian is relaxed and more friendly and laid back than I would have thought… given his past reputation. He proves to me that he’s changed his ways. It doesn’t seem like an act. He’s a father now.

Roger seems like he’s feeling a little surreal. This is his first film, and he has been doing these interviews and roundtables for the whole week. He’s very kind. Very pure. Seemingly unaffected by the Hollywood syndrome. He’s a true Navajo… teaching us the language a bit here and there.

Another Journalist: Christian, this is your second time working with…

CHRISTIAN SEES HIS RECORDER, WHICH LOOKS LIKE A PDA.

Christian: Is that a recorder?

Journalist: Yeah.

ON THE WOO

Christian: Huh. Looks like a PDA (laughs). Anyway… John Woo. Yeah, second time with John… and I really think that ANY time someone gets to work with him, no matter what it is, he’s such a great guy. He’s a very special man. He’s very humble and safe.


WHY WWII?

Ken: Why do you think WWII has become such a huge genre?

Christian: It really is amazing how it’s become some a large topic again. Spielberg made such a wonderful movie there with Ryan , and it kind of made other directors want to do their take on it… and tell their stories. John just became a U.S. citizen a few years ago and wanted to tell a true patriotic story along with showing a culture that no one really knew about.

Ken: Were you a fan of WWII growing up?

Christian: Yeah sure. John and I both love them. I loved The Big Red One .

THE STORY

Ken: What inspired you about this story?

Christian: Any chance to be a part of a story that sheds light on a culture and a chapter in history I didn’t know about … it was a history lesson for me. I had no idea what kind of an impact the Navajo had on WWII. Of course working with John Woo and Nic Cage was a big part of it as well… and my character as well. He was the flip side of the coin compared to Nic’s character who’s a bit darker and a lot more war weary.


ON THE BOOT CAMP

Ken: Did you attend the boot camp?

Christian: (To Roger, smiling) Did I attend the boot camp? Yeah… we both did. It was really kind of scary at first. Everyone left us and we really didn’t know how serious these drill instructors were going to be. It’s there job though. They yelled in our faces. Humiliated us. Degraded us. We DID have to kind of strip in this big circle (The instructors were stripping them of what they knew and brought them back to a 1940’s boot camp).

Roger: We had to maintain I contact. (Laughter)

Ken: How long was the camp?

Roger: Seven days. I think.

Christian: Yeah… seven or eight. They really made us dig deep down into our souls. With grueling hikes and what not. We’d go for miles and miles and miles. There were guys dropping out. It took a lot of pride.

Ken: Is that what pulled you through?

Christian: I don’t know. Something tells you that you can’t drop out, you can’t quit. Some inner voice keeps you going along. This last March I did the L.A. marathon and the boot camp kind of introduced me to that kind of physicality that I didn’t know I had. It was a unique challenge and I said to myself, “If Oprah can do it, I can do it.”

ROGER ON THE NAVAJO

Ken: Navajo is such an interesting language. Could you tell us about it?

Roger: It’s such a tonal language (He speaks Navajo a bit and you really hear that it is quite a beautiful language). It’s such a descriptive language that you tend to hear a long descriptive term for a short sentence.

Ken: Do the Navajo people know of this piece of WWII history?

Roger: You would hopefully think yes, but we Navajo are just like you people out there who are beginning to learn about this.

Ken: Is it a living language?

Roger: Very strong in a lot of ways. At the same time it’s going down in a lot of areas. It depends on the history of a place too. I was very fortunate to have parents and grandparents that their main language was Navajo. I’m proud to say that that’s my first language. On the other hand you have a lot of people my age that because of their parents, during the 40’s, were sent to many different places that didn’t use the language. They didn’t speak the language. When their parents would come back, they didn’t speak it because they were mentally conditioned to believe that the Navajo language was a barrier with the western society’s success. A lot of parents chose not to teach the language.

ON ROGER AND CHRISTIAN’S CHARACTERS

Ken: Did you work on the music together (Roger and Christian have a beautiful scene together with Roger playing an Indian flute, and Christina playing the harmonica).

Christian: I thought that was a great idea John had using music as a device for two different cultures to come together. Having worked with him before I begin to understand what he likes. He loves bringing honest moments to the screen. Keeping the hearts and souls of our characters alive, and keeping things spontaneous.

Ken (to Roger): Was that your music… it sounds familiar?

Roger: No… it’s no one else’s. It’s my own… unique… music.

Ken: Really.

Roger: No. (Laughter)

Ken: Christian, did you play the harmonica in the film?

Christian: Well, I tell ya, I can’t really confirm or deny that (Laughter). No I don’t play the harmonica but I was at a radio interview and they asked me that question and I lied. I told them I did. Problem was, they had a harmonica there. So I said what the hell, and started to fake it… AND I FOOLED ‘EM. So there’s something inside of me I guess.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Ken: Any personal projects?

Christian: Well, personal projects… I’m writing a script right now actually. Something I’ve never done before. It’s kind of a detective who done it story… film noir. It a big accomplishment (finishing a script)… kind of like a marathon.

I also just wrapped a film called Mindhunters , directed by Renny Harlin. I play sort of a FBI psychological profiler.

Ken: Roger, you really gave a wonderful and pure performance in this film, and I really think that it’s a breakout role for you. Where have we seen you before? Not to offend you, but I’ve never seen you in another film… and where can we see you next?

Roger (looks to Christian): What was that film I was in?

I GET THE JOKE… he’s never been in one before. This is his debut.

Roger: I’ve never acted.

Ken: What brought you to the film?

Roger: I auditioned for it like any other Navajo man out there. I was given the opportunity and I went through the process… and was given the role. Adaption is my next film.

CHRISTIAN and ROGER’S TIME IS UP. THEY SHAKE HANDS WITH ME AND THE OTHERS. WHILE THEY SEEM TO BE GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS, THEY ARE BOTH EXTREMELY KIND. I HAD 25 MINUTES OF CONVERSATION WITH THEM… MOST OF IT WAS SMALL TALK. THE ABOVE QUOTES WERE TAKEN FROM THESE CONVERSATIONS. MY POINT IS, IT WAS RELAXING AND COMFORTABLE WITH THEM. THEY DIDN’T GIVE THE ANSWERS THAT THEY THOUGHT WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR… THEY TALKED WITH US. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. WE DISCUSSED THE CLOSENESS OF THE GROUP OF ACTORS… AND BOTH OF THEM PRAISED JOHN WOO, NOT JUST AS A DIRECTOR, BUT AS A WONDERFUL, KIND HUMAN BEING.

Ken talks with Noah Emmerich and Peter Stormare in Part 1.
Ken talks with Christian Slater and Roger Willie in Part 2.
Ken talks with actors Brian Van Hol, Martin Henderson and writers John Rice and Joe Batteer in Part 3.
Ken talks with producers Terrence Chang, Tracie Graham and Alison Rosenzweig in Part 4.
Ken talks with director John Woo and star Adam Beach in Part 5.

Ken Miyamoto