ON THIS PAGE: ROBERT REDFORD ON LIONS FOR LAMBS; NOT TURNING AWAY: MATTHEW CARNAHAN'S INSPIRATION FOR LIONS FOR LAMBS; DIRECTOR ROBERT REDFORD & SCREENWRITER MATTHEW MICHAEL CARNAHAN

READ MORE: THE JOURNALIST AND THE SENATOR: MERYL STREEP AND TOM CRUISE MATCH WITS IN WASHINGTON D.C.; THE PROFESSOR AND THE STUDENT: ROBERT REDFORD AND ANDREW GARFIELD HAVE A GALVANIZING CONVERSATION IN BERKELEY

READ MORE: TWO SOLDIERS ON A RIDGE: DEREK LUKE AND MICHAEL PEÑA FIGHT FOR THEIR LIVES IN AFGHANISTAN; AROUND THE WORLD IN SIMI VALLEY: SHOOTING LIONS FOR LAMBS

READ AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW GARFIELD

SIX PEOPLE AND ONE NATION AT A CROSSROADS: ROBERT REDFORD ON LIONS FOR LAMBS
Robert Redford has always been drawn to emotional stories about the very fabric of American life, stories about common people engaged in and touched by the broader issues that face our youthful, democratic nation. It is this thread, which has been woven through the entirety of his diverse career - from screen star to director to champion of the independent filmmaking movement -- that drew him to LIONS FOR LAMBS, a script by a relatively unknown, young writer named Matthew Carnahan.
Although he hasn't directed a film in seven years, when the screenplay crossed his desk, it immediately struck a nerve - which Redford considers a vital criterion. "It came out of the blue," Redford says of Carnahan's script. "I was surprised by it because it was political and there's so much commercial insecurity about films these days that it seems that only the ones that are safe get made. The ones that are more risky in nature, that maybe make you think or wonder, are harder to come by. And yet, those are the films I've always enjoyed making."
As a director, Redford has previously explored the turmoil within American families in the Oscar®-winning "Ordinary People"; the temptations of our television culture in the award-winning "Quiz Show"; and the vital connections between landscape, nature and the American soul in such films as "The Milagro Beanfiled War," "A River Runs Through It" and "The Horse Whisperer." He has also made an indelible mark on American filmmaking with his founding of the Sundance Institute, Sundance Film Festival and Sundance Channel, which together have nurtured a fresh generation of young filmmakers bringing bold, untold stories to the fore.
Risk certainly wasn't going to stop Redford. If anything, it would serve as inspiration. But LIONS FOR LAMBS was not just about taking chances for Redford - he also was drawn to the idea of sparking real thought, inciting debate and invigorating young audiences not used to seeing such big issues tackled in an entertainment about college-age characters. "I hoped that this film would provoke audiences to contemplate where we are in this country and how we got here," says Redford. "To me, it's a story about much more than the issues that are happening right now. It's really about the deeper factors that lie behind the issues, and how they are experienced on a personal level by real people. I think it's a film about personal responsibility, about young people accepting the role they play in shaping the future, and about how we each deal with our choices in life to try to make this a better world."
Redford was further compelled by the taut storytelling and considerable artistic challenges. "I'm not interested in political films for history's sake. There had to be a character-driven story, as there was, for example, with 'All The President's Men.' What I liked is that everybody in the three stories of LIONS FOR LAMBS has a personal interest of their own - and sometimes they don't co-exist very well," he says. "You also have three stories, two of which take place in offices - and the challenge is how do you make this dramatic and cinematic? The more I thought about it, the more challenging it became and the more I became attracted to the challenge."
Redford's films have always centered around fundamental, even populist, American themes, largely because he has such strong feelings about the country he loves - and those are clearly on display in LIONS FOR LAMBS. "There was a melancholia in this story for me," Redford says, "because how could you not be sad if you love this country and grew up with ideals about democracy and freedom of speech and you've seen that devastated?"
But he also adds: "I would never want to do something that was abject propaganda. There are a lot of different points of view and you have to respect all of them. I wanted to let the audience have a democratic reaction to each of these stories."
The final, irresistible pull for Redford was the fact that Tom Cruise had already expressed interest in coming on board -- not only to take the role of the slick yet impassioned Senator Irving but to executive produce the film with his partner Paula Wagner, marking their first project in the renaissance of United Artists. And there was word that Meryl Streep also had the script in her hands.
"I don't think the film would have been made were it not for Tom," says Redford. "The idea of Tom playing a Senator was so different and intriguing, it really got me interested. Then I called Meryl and said 'I'm interested in this, how about you?' and she said 'If you do it, I'll do it' and that's how it came together so quickly."
Indeed, when Streep read the script it did not yet have Redford's imprimatur on it. Rather, it was the simple urgency of the subject matter that grabbed her and would not let go. "It's a story about making the right choices, but it's also a film about how easy it is not to make a choice at all," she says. "It's a film that says it doesn't matter what you think or feel if you don't do something about it, if you don't stand up and jeopardize everything."
For Tom Cruise, LIONS FOR LAMBS was exactly the kind of bold, unexpected story he and Paula Wagner hoped would form the foundation of the new United Artists, the company that was originally started in 1919 to give Hollywood's leading artists creative control over their work.
Says Cruise: "I thought it was a very powerful script, a very powerful story. It's a great film to kick off the new United Artists, especially with Robert Redford, a true maverick American director who has changed and defined so much of modern cinema with his championing of the independent film movement. He's also a magnificent storyteller and it was always a dream of mine to work with him."
Cruise, too, felt strongly that the story was one that had the potential to stimulate and inspire, rather than simply titillate like so many thrillers and action dramas that touch on current events. "I never thought of this as a war film," he explains. "I do think it's one that will absolutely promote dialogue and one that will challenge some of the audience's ideas, no matter their point-of-view. It's about timeless themes at the foundation of our country -- freedom of speech and freedom of ideas - but it invites the audience to interpret the events they see for themselves. Even during production, everyone from Bob to the cast to the crew members found themselves constantly compelled to have complex conversations about these subjects. So I see it as an enormously entertaining film that also is exciting because it invites participation."

NOT TURNING AWAY: MATTHEW CARNAHAN'S INSPIRATION FOR LIONS FOR LAMBS
DIRECTOR ROBERT REDFORD
The inspiration for LIONS FOR LAMBS originally began with the unconscious flick of a remote control. While leisurely watching the tube one night, young screenwriter Matthew Carnahan switched away from a harrowing television news story about Iraq to search for sports . . . then wondered why. Why, in a time when so many people express concern over the direction of our nation, are we tempted to turn away? Whay are we not looking at and talking about these things directly, passionately, with all the fervor and emotion that the ideas of freedom and hope for the future and idealistic sacrifice evoke?
"It kind of hit me like a ton of bricks that here I was not paying attention to what is really happening in the world around me, not paying enough attention to my countrymen who are giving their lives, and how removed most of us are from the reality of what's really going on behind the comfortable surfaces of our everyday lives. So I sat down and started writing about this idea of personal commitment - what it is, where it comes from, what it can do," explains Carnahan.
At first, Carnahan thought he was writing a play, but then he realized the story could and perhaps should be a movie - one that would break the current taboo against substantive conversation in this era when movies have largely forsaken dialogue for numbing action. He wanted to swim against the tide, and had an intuitive sense that lots of other young people were hungry to do the same.
"These are weighty subjects and you really can't do them justice without talking about them in detail," Carnahan reflects. "Also, to tell this story, I thought it was important to really juxtapose these clean, safe, office spaces where people are doing nothing more than having conversations -- important conversations but still just talking to each other -- with this deserted ridge high in Afghanistan where real lives are on the line."
Carnahan divided his exploration of how different people are facing our demanding times into four primary areas -- politicians, the media, the volunteer army and privileged, highly educated youth. Thus were born the film's characters: two devoted young soldiers who have risen up out of poverty and are driven to serve the country that made it possible; an ambitious politician pursuing his true beliefs with fervor and secret missions; an influential reporter increasingly unsure of her role in a world where journalists themselves have become part of political agendas; a wearied but idealistic professor whose last great hope for the world is to make a lasting impact on his students; and a bright, cocky young college kid who has never before taken a real stand in life - but might very well have the potential to make a big difference.
Carnahan then played out one single, remarkable day in their lives in which they all become inextricably connected to one another other's fates. "I really wanted to give the audience the sense that the events in LIONS FOR LAMBS could be playing out in real time right now," he explains, "because on any odd Wednesday while most people are talking with co-workers, these things are all going on in different parts of the country and the world."
When Carnahan, who also wrote this Fall's Saudi Arabia-set action thriller "The Kingdom," finished his screenplay, he joked to producer Tracy Falco that perhaps he should send it to Robert Redford. He couldn't believe it when the joke quickly turned serious - then became a reality. "Once his name was mentioned, that put the idea in our heads and we began to think that hey, maybe it wasn't so ridiculous," recalls Carnahan. "I talked to Bob for the first time in September and a few months later we were in production. It's just amazing how much energy and enthusiasm he brought to this."
Falco, who had met Carnahan when he was brought in to adapt the BBC series "State of Play" series for a forthcoming screen version directed by Kevin Macdonald, had asked Carnahan to send her anything else he was working on. Carnahan sent her LIONS FOR LAMBS, unsure what the reaction might be.
For Falco, it was strong and instantaneous. "I felt it was unlike any other script I've ever read," she says. "It was about events that are happening as we speak yet also about broader issues at play in all our lives. I felt like nothing had been done like this before that brought this kind of intimate, personal approach to current events and politics."
Falco continues: "Much more than politics, it is a movie about apathy, about diversions, about all the reasons we don't pay attention to what's really happening in current events. I think that's what ultimately brought people like Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep and Robert Redford to it. It's also interesting that every character in the film is trying to inspire another character. Senator Irving is trying to inspire Janine to write the right story because he believes America needs a win. Ernest and Arian are inspiring others because they came out of East L.A and rose to a place many never thought they would get. Dr. Malley is trying to inspire Todd to pick out a better path, so that Todd might inspire future generations with his own actions and life. So I saw the whole movie as being about inspiration - about making a decision to do something and not just sit by and wait for others to improve the world."
But Falco also understood that in order to keep up with the of-the-moment topics the film confronts, production would have to move into high gear - and now. "We knew we had to make the movie immediately to keep pace with current events," she explains. "We never thought we could get Robert Redford for that reason but then Matt and I met him in Chicago and it turned into this great meeting - we just had a wonderful time talking about politics and art and life and suddenly, he said yes. We were just kicking ourselves at that point hoping this wasn't a dream."
It wasn't, and the stars continued to align for the production as a truly stellar cast soon congregated around the project.

DIRECTOR ROBERT REDFORD
ROBERT REDFORD (Director, Professor Malley) is somewhat of an anomaly in the entertainment industry. Though he has been world-famous for more than 30 years, he remains a highly private individual. He is an ardent conservationist and environmentalist, a man who stands for social responsibility and political involvement and an artist and businessman who is a staunch supporter of uncompromised creative expression. His passion remains to make films of substance and social/cultural relevance, as well as to encourage others to express themselves through the arts.
In addition to his prominence as an actor, Redford won a Directors Guild of America Award, a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Director for his feature film directorial debut on the emotionally shattering family drama, "Ordinary People." He went on to both direct and produce "The Milagro Beanfield War" and "A River Runs Through It," for which he received a Best Director Golden Globe nomination; and earned dual Oscar® nominations for Best Picture and Best Director and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director in 1994 for helming "Quiz Show." Redford also earned two Golden Globe nominations (Best Picture and Best Director) for "The Horse Whisperer" in 1998 and went on to direct and produce "The Legend of Bagger Vance" in 2000.
Born in Santa Monica, CA, he later attended the University of Colorado, then dropped out and went to Paris where he attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts. When he returned to the United States, Redford enrolled in art school in Brooklyn and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts to study acting. He landed his first Broadway starring role in "Sunday in New York," followed by "Little Moon of Alban" and Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park," directed by Mike Nichols.
His first movie role was in "War Hunt," in which Sydney Pollack, the man who would become a friend and frequently his director, played a bit part. He reprised the role of newlywed Paul Bratter in the film version of "Barefoot in the Park," opposite Jane Fonda, for which he received praise from critics and audiences. His early film work includes "Inside Daisy Clover" with Natalie Wood, "The Chase," "This Property is Condemned," "Tell Them Willie Boy is Here" and "Situation Hopeless, But Not Serious," among others.
In 1969, Redford and Paul Newman teamed to star in the Western, "Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid." Directed by George Roy Hill, the film became an instant classic and firmly
established Redford as one of the industry's top leading men. He, Newman and Hill later reunite
for "The Sting," which won seven Oscars®, including Best Picture, in addition to bringing Redford his Best Actor nomination.
He has since built a distinguished acting career, starring in such notable feature films as, "Jeremiah Johnson," "The Way We Were," "The Great Gatsby," "Three Days of the Condor," "The Great Waldo Pepper," "Brubaker," "A Bridge Too Far," "The Natural," "Out of Africa," "Legal Eagles," "Sneakers," "Indecent Proposal" and "Up Close and Personal", among others. In 2001, he starred in "Spy Game" and "The Last Castle." In 2004, Redford was seen in The Clearing," and in 2005,
An Unfinished Life."
Redford has starred in several films produced by his own Wildwood Enterprises, which he founded in 1968. His acting and producing credits under the Wildwood banner include "Downhill Racer," "The Candidate," "The Electric Horseman" and "All the President's Men," which earned seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture.
Redford also produced "A Civil Action" starring John Travolta and served as an executive producer on the films "How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog," "Slums of Beverly Hills," "No Looking Back" and "She's the One," and the September 2004 release, "The Motorcycle Diaries," which were produced under his South Fork Picture banner.
For television, Redford executive produced the first American episode of the PBS series, "MYSTERY!" Based on Tony Hillerman's novel, Skinwalkers, the script was written by Jamie Redford and directed by Chris Eyre and stars Adam Beach and Wes Studi as Native American detectives Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police. Previously, he executive produced the telefilm "Grand Avenue" which aired on HBO in 1996.
A large part of Redford's life is his Sundance Institute (named for the outlaw he played in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"), which he founded in 1981. The Sundance Institute is dedicated to the support and development of emerging screenwriters and directors of vision, and to the national and international exhibition of new independent cinema. Their highly acclaimed Screenwriting, Directing, Playwrite and Producing Labs take place at the Sundance Village mountain retreat in Utah, founded by Redford in 1969.
The Sundance Film Festival is a program of the Institute and is internationally recognized as the single most important showcase of independent cinema. Sundance Channel, a further extension of the Sundance Institute's mission and dedication to independent filmmakers, brings television viewers engaging feature films, shorts, documentaries, world cinema and animation, shown uncut and with no commercials. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture between Robert Redford, Showtime Networks Inc., and Universal Studios. Redford founded the Sundance Catalog in 1989 to support both the Sundance Institute and fine artists and their work.
In February 1996, Redford received the Screen Actors Guild's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring his enduring contributions to film. In March 2002, he received an Honorary Academy Award recognizing his achievements as "actor, director, producer and creator of Sundance, inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere."
Robert Redford has received numerous awards for his environmental work, including the 1989 Audubon Medal Award and the 1987 United Nations Global 500 Award, the 1993 Earth Day International Award and the 1994 Nature Conservancy Award. He was also the recipient of the 1997 National Medal for the Arts by President Clinton and the 2001 Freedom in Film Award
presented by the First Amendment Center. He was honored with the 2002 Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts: Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2004 Forces for Nature Lifetime Achievement Award from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). In December 2005, Redford accepted the Kennedy Center Honors for his "distinguished achievement in the performing arts and in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the life of our country.
He is a published author (The Outlaw Trail). In 1979, he produced "The Solar Film," a short film about solar energy that was nominated for an Academy Award®. Other documentaries he produced include, the award -winning "Yosemite: Fate of Heaven" and the feature length documentary, "Incident at Oglala."

MATTHEW MICHAEL CARNAHAN (Written by) was recently cited by the industry trade publication Variety as one of Hollywood's "Top Ten Screenwriters to Watch."  The Kingdom marks his first produced script. Carnahan was born in Port Huron, Michigan.  He spent his youth in the neighboring village of Shepherd before relocating to Northern California with his family (which includes older brother Joe, the writer/director of Narc and the black comedy Smokin' Aces, currently in release).  The younger Carnahan graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in international relations and political science, with the intent of going into the foreign service.  A detour led him to a post as a spokesman for a D.C.-based think tank known as the Advisory Board.   Following the events of 9/11, and at the urging of his brother, Carnahan turned to screenwriting.  He penned a contemporary police thriller entitled Soldier Field (set in his adopted town of Chicago, where he currently resides) for Ted Field's Radar Pictures.  That original screenplay caught the eye of filmmaker Peter Berg, who commissioned him to write The Kingdom, based on Berg's idea.  In addition to these two scripts, Carnahan has also written TV (about the first live sports broadcast on television) for MGM; White Jazz, an adaptation of James Ellroy's follow-up novel to L.A. Confidential (which is to be directed by his brother for Warner Independent Pictures); and State of Play, the big-screen adaptation of the politically charged BBC series, with Carnahan's story transferred to Washington, D.C. 
THE ART OF ORIGINAL FILMMAKING                  NEXT PAGE            HOME