HotmailDenzel dazzled by ‘Manchurian’ script
The Oscar winning actor talks about the first time he read the story and how troops should be treated when they come home from war
 Paramount Pictures Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington stars in the updated 1962 thriller "The Manchurain Candidate." |
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'The Manchurian Candidate' Director Jonathan Demme assembles Denzel Washington, Liev Shreiber and Meryl Streep in a remake that has a good chance of standing up to the 1962 original classic NEWSWEEK |
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Summer offers big scares, even bigger stars and festival favorites. By Paige Newman |
You won't find a lot of suspense at the conventions these days, but there will be suspense galore in the political thriller "The Manchurian Candidate,” a remake of the 1962 classic. Oscar winner Denzel Washington plays Army Major Bennett Marco, whose life is thrown into turmoil as the result of his experience in the first Gulf War. “Today” host Katie Couric talked to Washington about the movie, and he also gave his thoughts about the treatment U.S. troops receive when they return home.
Katie Couric: “When you get a script, and I'm sure you must get a lot of them – I'm assuming you do – what makes you say, ‘this is what I want to do?’ Is it because you're going to be working with Jonathan Demme again, and you did ‘Philadelphia’ with him? Is it because it's different than something you've done before?”
Denzel Washington: “In this case, it was script first. I mean, I read it and I was like, ‘Wow, this is interesting.’”
Couric: “Intriguing?”
Washington: “Yeah, it was a great story. I hadn't read anything like it.”
Couric: “Nor had he seen the original 1962 John Frankenheimer film starring Frank Sinatra as Army Maj. Bennett Marco. In this updated version, Washington takes over the role of Marco, now a Gulf War veteran. Bennett Marco, your character, is the tortured guy. I would use the word ‘tortured’ to describe him in many ways. He is not well physically, he leads a very bizarre existence, kind of shut out from the world.”
Washington: “Mm-hmm.”
Couric: “That must be tantalizing for you to play somebody who is so rich in his confusion and unhappiness.”
Washington: “Yeah. He's trying to find out what's wrong with him. He's been told it's Gulf War syndrome or post-traumatic stress disorder. He knows something's wrong with his head. He's not sure if what happened in Desert Storm to him is what really happened. He remembers one thing, dreams another. In the course of the film, finds out that it's his worst nightmare, really, that he's been manipulated for a purpose.”
Couric: “Obviously, this film is many things: a political thriller, perhaps a commentary on the state of the world in the eyes of some people. Certainly, Jonathan, I think, feels there are remnants of that.”
Washington: “[A] cautionary tale.”
Couric: “A cautionary tale. But in a way, you hope it's a tribute to the people who sacrifice their lives for this country.”
Washington: “They're the ones that are paid the least attention to.”
Couric: “To do the most, right?”
Washington: “Yeah, right, you know? I mean – and maybe I'm naive — maybe I don't know what's going on, and I plan to find out, to be quite honest with you, what are we doing as a country for our young men and women that are coming home? Where is that party? Where is that parade? Where's that support? And it's probably going on. Maybe as a result of this, I'll hear a lot more about it. I hope so because I plan to be a part of that in any small way that I can.”
Couric: “I know I read an e-mail from somebody in the National Guard who said, you know, support the men and women. They're not making the decisions.”
Washington: “Exactly.”
Couric: “The politicians are making the decisions...”
Washington: “Exactly.”
Couric: “...and they're carrying out their responsibility.”
Washington: “Two, three days after 9/11, I flew into New York, and I went down there like 2, 3:00 in the morning. I was amazed and sort of embarrassed that some people really wanted to take pictures and it was still like a celebrity moment. But I said, `Well, you know what? These guys have been traumatized, the ones down here digging, looking for their friends, and they need an escape for a moment. And if I can provide that, good and stand here and take pictures, and do whatever they ask you to do.' So, we don't necessarily know what soldiers need when they come home from that extreme trauma, but maybe it is just a laugh. Maybe it is just a photograph. Maybe it is, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ You know? Whatever it is that they need.”
Couric: “Are you optimistic about this country?”
Washington: “Yeah, I'm optimistic about me. It starts with us, you know? I don't know what ‘this country’ means. I mean, if we – I remember working on "Malcolm X," and we were up at Columbia University shooting a scene. And between takes, it was a great opportunity, all these students in here talking about this and that, and the world, the way the world is. And I asked that question. I said, ‘Well, are you optimistic?’ And they're like, ‘Oh, yeah. Yeah, we're going to change it. You know, it's not a problem.’ I was like, ‘Wow. Where did I lose that?’ As we get older, we do get maybe more cynical and pessimistic. But I like to feel you're either part of the problem or you're part of the solution. For me, it starts with me. We'll be the best me I can be. Be a shining example. What can I do? What can you do? Not what can the country do? Was that a Kennedy line? I was about to go there, wasn't I?”
Couric: “Kind of, almost.”
Washington: “Ask not.”
Couric: “Yeah.”
Washington: “Right, right.”
"The Manchurian Candidate" opens in theaters nationwide this Friday.
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