The Banquet
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Interview: Rob Cohen by Chris Craps for The Newspaper of Antwerp
“ The army didn’t want any sex”
Director Rob Cohen about his new action movie “ Stealth”
Rob Cohen used to be a Motown producer who became an action director. He came through the big gate with action movies like The Fast and the Furious and XXX. His new movie, Stealth is in the same line of success movies: loud, fast, sometimes a little contrary en sometimes very spectaculair and superficial. But with the eternal law of cinema: “nobody knows anything”. In the US young people didn’t come to see this movie.
Was the problem with the casting? Josh Lucas, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel and Sam Shepard, who play the rols of the elite pilots, are to clean and not ‘cool’ enough to compete with the ‘animal appeal’ of Vin Diesel in the Fast and the Furious and XXX. But Cohen has his own motivation about the casting.
How did the casting go?
Rob Cohen: I casted Josh Lucas first. I wanted an actor who had the quality for a lead role, but wasn’t well know. I always find it more exciting to make a star, like Vin Diesel, than to negotiate with somebody like Tom Cruise. You have to get past the ‘ Tom Cruise - machine’ first. I saw ‘ Sweet Home Alabama’ and thought Josh Lucas had the appeal of paul Newton. I offered the role to Jessica Biel twice but she declined every time. I was searching for an antibody for Keira Knightley. I don’t like very skinny characters who are action hero’s (refering to King Arthur). I wanted a woman who had the body and the power of a real pilot. I interviewed hundreds of woman, but Jessica just seemed perfect for the part. I couldn’t get her out of my head. I continued to bother her and she finally gave in.
What was Jessica’s problem then?
I think she didn’t have good memories of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The action scenes she had to do were not more than running around screaming. In addition the script of Stealth was very difficult to read. It was very technical writen. But how do you describe what happens if you fall from 12km high. You can describe it, but how do you make it understandable? For the actors it wasn’t a very easy movie to make.
Why Jamie Foxx as the third pilot?
The Henry character was originally a white male jew. That part was the one Jamie wanted to play, so we changed the part. I was very suprised that he even wanted to do this, because the part is quite limited. When I met him he was a very charismatic person en I realised I had to expand the part. I descide to make a pilot of him who didn’t want to be a pilot anymore. Jamie hadn’t won the Oscar before shooting started. That Oscar made an even bigger impact on his role.
How was it to give orders to Sam Shepard?
Working with Sam was one of my most intense actor-director relationship I ever had. We fought, were very stuborn, but something essential came from that. I knew that with him it would become difficult. Even more because I participated in writing the script. But Ok we still talk, a lot actually.
You had a lot of support of the army. Did you have to make a compromise?
Not on the military aspect. The only thing that made them nervous was the relationship between the pilots played by Lucas and Biel. You see this is typical American, it is ok to blow somebody’s brain out, but God forbide if one boob appears! The only critic we got was that relationship. There was a sex scene and that ( the sex) resultated in a fight the other day because they couldn’t focus. But the army didn’t want any sex or relationship in the script. The army leader said: “ Such relationships are forbidden, end of discussion”.
Like the Fast and the Furious and XXX Stealth is all about speed, right?
Yes indeed. I think that I wanted to go deeper in that theme which I lightly touched in the other two movies. I am fascinated about the different kinds of speed and how to change it from a passive experience to an active one. I wanted to break down that 4th wall. You can’t watch the art of flying, you have to be part of it. It is like being in a roller coaster.
What will you to next?
I am going to make the 8th Voyage of Sinbad with Keanu Reeves and Zhang Ziyi. This movie will be almost entirely visual effects of the 10th century. I want to see the voyage through the eyes of Sinbad, but at the same time make an accurate acount of history. I wanted a big star like Keanu Reeves, because he fits in all times. I can’t help it, but my movies seem to get bigger a the time.