Boise and fellow social media cinephiles, if you missed the chance to see actor-director Emilio Estevez’ film ‘The Way,’ no worries. This special film will be available on VOD (video on demand) and DVD this month. I had a chance to interview Emilio Estevez and ask him some in depth questions about his career and his film that he collaborated on with his father, legendary actor, Martin Sheen. First, I would like to review ‘The Way’ and devote the second portion of this article to Emilio Estevez. By the way, he was so down-to-earth during my 15-minute one-on-one phone interview. I could have talked to him for hours about film but alas, there were other journalists waiting for their turn to speak to this talented filmmaker.
‘The Way’ was written, directed, and produced by Emilio Estevez. One of the other producers is his father Martin Sheen. Martin Sheen has had a brilliant acting career with some of his best performances coming from such films as ‘Badlands’ (1973), ‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979), and ‘The Departed’ (2006). The film is dedicated to Francisco Estevez, who is Emilio’s late grandfather. In ‘The Way,’ Emilio has written an inspirational role for his father. It’s another fine performance from the veteran actor.
Martin Sheen portrays Tom Avery, who finds out that his son Daniel (Emilio) has been killed in an accident in the French Pyrenees while on a solitary pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago. It’s an exhausting trek from France to Spain. There is a scene showing Tom driving Daniel to the airport. Tom doesn’t understand why Daniel needs to take this trip. Daniel says to his father, “You don’t choose a life. You live one.” That powerful quote best sums up the importance of this film. It celebrates a life lived well. We all go through life on our separate journeys. Daniel’s unfortunate death ignites Tom’s important journey he must now take to deal with his loss.
For those of you who are too young to remember the '80s, I feel sorry for you. It was a fun decade. Emilio Estevez played a major role in the young Hollywood of the 1980s. He starred in one of the biggest teen films of the '80s, ‘The Breakfast Club’ (1985). This John Hughes classic defined our generation. To this day, it is considered the best teen film ever made. I never get tired of watching this film. Every time I hear the song ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ by Simple Minds, I get emotional. Here’s my interview with Emilio Estevez:
Me – Back in the '80s, you wrote and starred in a film titled ‘That was Then, This is Now.’ Was that the first screenplay you had written?
Emilio – It was the first screenplay I wrote that was made into a film. Producers came on board. My original script went through rewrites. They hired these older guys who changed the entire voice of the script. The producers felt they knew how to communicate to the youth at that time. I felt it was a disservice to S.E. Hinton’s original work such as Rumblefish and the Outsiders which were adapted well to the big screen.
Me – I just have to say that one of my favorite films of yours is ‘Repo Man.’ It is a cult classic. The screenplay by Alex Cox was clever.
Emilio (laughs) – Can you tell me what that film was about? Because I’m still in the dark.
Me – It’s about a mad scientist who drives cross country with radioactive aliens in the trunk of his car. You play a punk rocker that gets a job in the repossession business.
Emilio (laughs) – Wow, that’s pretty much it.
Me – Let’s talk about your latest film, ‘The Way.’ When you wrote the screenplay, did you always have your father (Martin Sheen) in mind for the lead role?
Emilio – Yes, we collaborated on this film project together. It was originally his idea and he wanted me to write the screenplay.
Me – I read that the film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ influenced your style with ‘The Way.’
Emilio – Yes, most definitely. Tom, the lead character, is essentially like the character of Dorothy. He’s on an emotional journey and the characters he meets along the way are similar to characters in ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ You can even go as far to say that the box of cremated ashes of Daniel represents Toto the dog.
Me – You have directed quite a few television shows (CSI, Cold Case, the list goes on). Do you feel that directing television has made you a better director when making a feature film?
Emilio – There is no doubt that directing television has helped hone my directing skills. What television teaches you is to be efficient and to think on your feet. You have to adhere to strict deadlines and budget constraints. There are quite a few legendary movie directors that started out in television such as Sidney Pollack, Sidney Lumet, and Robert Altman just to name a few.
Part 2 of my interview with Emilio Estevez will be coming soon. I spoke to the owner of our local art house cinema, The Flicks, and she said that audiences loved ‘The Way.’ It had a long and successful run at the theatre. ‘The Way’ will be released on VOD (video on demand) via FilmBuff on Feb. 9th. http://www.filmbuffondemand.com/
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