War Games Part Two

By: Pamela Harland
Date: Tuesday, February 05, 2002

In part one of CINESCAPE's discussion with Josh Hartnett and Tom Sizemore, the duo talked about their new war drama, BLACK HAWK DOWN. The film, which is based on the 1993 true story of U.S. soldiers who found themselves trapped in Somalia when two of their Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, has proven to be another successful outing for director Ridley Scott. Today, the actors continue their talk about the project.

In an

industry that is becoming less studio-controlled for some unique and exceptional directors, Sizemore says there are ways to work with the studio and still make the film you want to make.

"If Ridley Scott is going to make a movie it's probably going to be a very serious movie," says Sizemore. "If Steven Spielberg is going to make a movie... if Carl Franklin is going to make a movie... if Sam Mendes is going to make a movie... there are guys out there working the studio system who make very, very good movies."

When given a script to read it is not always clear whether the film is going to be a big-budgeted, action-packed film or a small art house one. Both Sizemore and Hartnett say it's not about how big the film is, it's all about the story and the script. The fact that it is an 80 million dollar film as opposed to a four million dollar one is irrelevant to them.

"I don't

even pay attention to that," admits Hartnett. "You look at the script and go, 'This movie is going to be really hard to make, it's going to need a lot of money. I hope that there is a lot of money behind it.' And then they say, 'This is a small group doing it but it's going to come from the heart.' You go, 'Well, you can't, it's a science fiction movie and it's got way too many action scenes to make it come out right.' But that's just being sensible."

For Sizemore, there is always a reason why he picks a role and every one is important to him, except he says in the case of RED PLANET. Although he won't elaborate on why his role in RED PLANET was without merit, he does say, "I knew I wasn't doing something important. I knew SAVING PRIVATE RYAN was a serious, important movie and I was proud to be a part of it. Before it even started I knew that it was important. I felt that I was part of something important and it made me feel good."

Both do

acknowledge that without a big budget, however, Scott would have been hard pressed to make the movie he envisioned and that in those circumstances studio backing with big money is the key, unless you are George Lucas.

"To make this movie, money is important," explains Sizemore. "It requires the hardware and the manpower and the talent behind the scenes and you are going to need a lot of bread. It's a truly important movie about heroism, bravery and these guys thrown into a storm."

Be sure to check back soon for the conclusion of CINESCAPE's Josh Hartnett/Tom Sizemore profile.