The Last Sentinel

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March 27th, 2006

HUGEREVIEWS EXCLUSIVE:
The Jesse Johnson Interview

Recently, I got a chance to catch up with extremely busy director Jesse Johnson about his latest project.  Not only did I get some very interesting questions answered, but Jesse also gave a nice contribution to his own rumor mill, dropping some info on his next project.  The conversation was great, as it is always fantastic to talk to Jesse, and I thought you, our loyal HUGEReviewers would get a whole lot out of it.  As he has always been for us, what follows is Jesse being incredibly candid and honest about his process and what he's set out to do.  Enjoy!

Christian De Matteo: There's a lot of buzz going on about your follow up to Pit Fighter.  What can you tell us about the story of The Last Sentinel? 

Jesse Johnson: "The Last Sentinel" is about, Tallis, a special forces soldier from an elite modern unit, who finds himself one of the few survivors of a horrific war. 

A war fought against a drone police force, machine made peace-keepers, designed to help mankind.

Trained just to survive and to avoid the enemy in that type of situation, Tallis lives in the shadows until he encounters a female partisan, who rekindles his enthusiasm for fighting, providing him his "cause." 

CDM: You've got a great cast together for this film, several of whom you've worked with previously on different projects.  From Stephen Bauer to Keith David, Bokeem Woodbine and Nils Allen Stewart, you've assembled a powerful team to bring your vision to life.  What's the process like for you when deciding who will fit what genre of movie?

 JJ: I really don't think of casting a movie in term of genre, every time I go out, I just try to make the best possible movie, with the best possible performances.  Name actors help you get you film seen and sold, that's an unavoidable part of the business, so you tend to gravitate towards the ones you have access to. 

You try not to force an actor into a role, but I know that I have written with certain cast in mind, sometimes that initial inspiration holds.  Other times the writing process takes you off at a tangent, so that by the end, that character is no longer correct for the actor who inspired it.  I've found that I often base characters on real life persons, at least their reactions to life, the way they process problems.  I’ve read a fair amount of history, non-fiction; I'll find elements of a character there, if you flesh out a character enough to make them believable and fresh/real/true to life as is possible, most actors will be up for the challenge of breathing life into the writing.  I wrote a script very quickly after working with Steven Bauer on "Pit Fighter" -- I didn't realize it, until we started discussing the script with other actors, that I had written the script for Bauer, "The Butcher"-- which has been optioned by the producers of "The Last Sentinel" -- We will be starting it next, it will be my first serious film, I am really excited.  Steven is just an excellent, underrated actor, who brings a depth and resonance to his work that I feel honored to watch, he's a towering force, a presence.  I think this is what I look for, above all else, the glow, the magnetic charge, that inscrutable quality that defies description, charisma.  Keith David has that charisma, inner force.  We're both cinema buffs so get along great, Keith loves John Ford, so we chat like a couple of video store nerds between takes, very unprofessional.  Bokeem is a force of nature, very prepared, and willing, just 100% committed to the task, these are the type of cast members I like.  Making movies can be like going to war (or at least a street fight), you want a team who will be there for you.  responsive, coming up with ideas, energetic, excited. 

I have no way of communicating with a person who doesn't enjoy the process.  The more experienced actors bring a bag of tricks to work, little things, techniques, it's just so awesome to watch them spin their take on the work.  I'll get distracted watching the monitor, forget to shout cut, be so swept up in the scene, when it works it's like nothing else in the world.

Keith David gives a stirring speech to his troops as they head to war, it was long and a little tediously written I thought (I think I tend to overwrite), but when Keith finished the speech, you could hear a pin drop, we had extras volunteering to go to war.  

CDM: I've been a fan of Keith David's work since The Thing and since back when I was listening to him voice Goliath on the "Gargoyles" cartoon.  I can't wait to see him sling around a Jesse Johnson speech... that should be excellent. 

Pit Fighter won some major fans in both the casual viewing audience and among critics of hardcore action films.  You seemed to have raised the bar on realistic violence (particularly with Pit Fighter's infamous eyeball scene) as well as stressing the importance of the way of the warrior.  Will this style of action and commentary play a major role in the new film?

 JJ: For me the violence in "Pit Fighter" had to be controversial, or at least over the top, for the film to get noticed, it was a very small film, with a relatively unknown cast.  There had to be something that set it apart from the bigger, polished, band stand films.  They can't afford to get too bloody, they lose ticket sales with the "R" rating, I figured there's always an audience for a bit of the extreme.

The importance of the way of the warrior is a big deal to me, honor, redemption, sacrifice.  It's a shame but these qualities have almost become amusing, quaint reminders of another age.  There's a dangerous movement amongst film makers to make their protagonists deviant characters in the pursuit of money, glory, bling, respect.  It turns me off, there's a selfishness to it all that just doesn't ring right (although I have nothing against deviant characters, who find a cause).  I'm a big believer in the pursuit of a higher glory, a greater goal, something you can lay down your life for.  I can watch petty criminals on TV, if I'm going to pay money for an evenings entertainment I want to feel that I've come into the company of heroes, folks who strove for something, a state of grace, whether they win or fail doesn't matter, they went for it.

I believe it's a theme I'm fascinated with, although I'm not sure if it is about the warrior way, so much as what being a man means.

I am obsessed the revolutionary spirit, from Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen to Che and Fidel toppling the Batista regime.

Funnily enough for what is at it's core a comic book tale, I had the crew and cast of Last Sentinel watch Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers as a style reference, I think it baffled a few of them, but it made sense to me.

CDM: As far as I'm concerned that's an intriguing as hell way to get actors ready to film a Sci-Fi flick.  I can't wait to catch the little nods to Algiers that will inevitably follow.

How is directing a Sci-Fi action movie different then directing a film set in current day?

 JJ: "Last Sentinel" is set in a not too distant future, so we read an awful lot of modern science and tried desperately to base our technology on experimental gear that is already around, or at least in development.  I knew that I wanted a dirty polluted, broken future, with things that didn't work, or had to be held together with bailing wire.  There is no "Metropolis" glimmer. 

However, in answer to your question, it was physically much harder than "Pit Fighter", the costumes (Suits of armor), make-up and props are difficult/breakable and must be maintained and aged according to chronological order (the story spans 15 years).  There are CG issues that have to be addressed, even if, like us, we wanted minimal faking.  Locations are brutal, and must be big in scope, so require dressing.  To top it all this was a war film, too, so pyrotechnics added another dimension, danger, time to rig, design and film correctly.

It was very complicated, and very labor intensive.  As all films are, but just a little more so.

The biggest difficulty is making everything look realistic, not letting yourself get "cliché" with the action or props.  There is a temptation to revert to slow motion and  the Chinese style angles that are quite popular right now, to give the characters super human strength.  The difficulty can sometimes be restraining yourself.  Keeping it real.  There were a few moments where a pithy one liner would have been interesting, but in truth when people are facing death or extreme danger, they become minutely focused, tunnel vision takes over.  

CDM: Like Pit Fighter, you are not only directing but also wrote The Last Sentinel.  What's it like directing your own creation?  Do you find a lot changing from the last draft of the script to the final cut of the movie, or do you tend to stick to what you've written?  How much improvising do you do once you get behind the camera? 

JJ: I find it easy to turn off and disassociate myself from the script, it becomes a technical blue print, you stick to the plan as much as is possible, you must be able to veer off, if it will benefit the movie.  Sometimes I'll see the situation approaching, I know it'll take a helluva lot of last minute work, and that's the last thing you really look for, but if the idea stays and keeps there, at the back of your mind, you just pull over to the side for a moment, do the rewrite, bring everyone up to speed, and make the change.  I usually consult with the AD, the cast member involved and sometimes the DP if I'm unsure, sometimes it's a problem, because I'm the only one that wants the change.  That's when you have to be hard headed.  All those others will go onto other pictures, I live or die, eat or don't pay my rent by the success of a picture bearing my name, so you live with bruising a feeling or two.  If the films turns out well they will all forgive you.

I tend to do most of my improvising ahead of the actual shoot, or the night before with the actor.  My films shoot at such a pace, you avoid changing the plan when you are actually on set.  It happens though; when something startling presents itself, you try and create an atmosphere that will encourage it, but it's tough.

I'll wing shots at the last minute though, if the location presents something I hadn't expected and there's time, I'll steal a shot. 

CDM: Aside from directing/writing, you do a lot of work stunt coordinating on major films.  How does working on films like War of the Worlds and Mission:Impossible 3 effect your own views of filmmaking? 

JJ: The folks that work regularly on those productions are the best in their class, they are at the top of their game, period.  watching them work, how they run their sets, is a world class education.  There is less waste, less stupidity, less compromise, less bickering, than on the greater majority of small movies.  I have tried to replicate the organization and planning that goes into those mega movies in my productions, of course on a smaller scale, but you would be surprised how last minute most smaller films are with their preparation, how many mistakes could have been avoided.  

CDM: Don Wilson has a helluva reputation in the kickboxing world and is also no stranger to film.  From his appearance in Say Anything (yup, I remember that) to his much newer film with the late Chris Penn, he's familiarized himself well with the medium.  What can you tell us about the creative environment working with him?

 JJ: I emerged from this film with an enormous amount of respect for Don Wilson, as a man and as a professional.  I didn't watch anything he'd done before, I saw a little, and resisted watching it through the titles, the quality of film making was just not there, and I didn't want it to influence the way I wanted to portray him in "The Last Sentinel."  The character I wanted for him was based on many very long and involved discussions about his philosophy on life, competitive fighting, family and movies.  Don, has more energy than most teenagers, and still has an enthusiasm and zest for life that I find thrilling.  I gave him a copy of Takashi Kitano's "Hana Bi" -- which he loved and told him I wanted a subdued, world weary character, exhausted by life.  He went for it, with enthusiasm.  Don spent a better part of this film soaked to the skin, surrounded by explosives and gun fire, he was injured twice and burned about four times, scarring his neck permanently (hot brass from Bokeem's M4) all of which I didn't know until the filming was complete.   Don is always on time, knows his lines and hits his marks, if he had any weakness it would be focusing that energy and concentrating on the character, but that was why I was there.  I loved working with him, he is a joy. 

CDM: I'm always curious about how creative people get their ideas.  Is there an interesting story to how you came to write The Last Sentinel?  Or are there particular themes you like to explore?  If so what are they and what interests you about them?

 JJ: "The Last Sentinel" was "very" loosely inspired by the Japanese soldiers who kept lonely vigil in places like the Marshall Islands, long after Hirohito had surrendered.  They'd be dug up into the 1950's, still ready to kill or be killed.

 I like to see a character find his reason for being, swallow it, and get down to business.  Even if that means paying the ultimate price.  Think of the third act from Lawrence in the desert, Gary Cooper in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" -- Toshiro Mifune in any number of roles, Jimmy Cagney in "The Public Enemy" or "The Roaring Twenties."

As a theme, anything that drives a man other than money.

 CDM: Clarence Worley, the main character in True Romance, describes his ideal movie experience as being able to go to a diner after the movie, order a piece of pie, and discuss the movie.  What do you want your audience to be able to discuss over a slice of pie after watching The Last Sentinel?

 JJ: I hope they'll be surprised that they enjoyed it.  I'd like them to wonder where the film came from.  How much more fun it was than the watered down PG movieplex fare.  Perhaps, that they had never expected to enjoy a Don Wilson movie this much.

--How they will never put their faith in a robotic automated clone police force, ever again...

 CDM: An important thing to consider, indeed.  Last question:  If you were that audience member, what kind of pie would you order? 

JJ: My favorite pie is humble-pie; when I count a person out, expect them to fail, and they surprise me by rising to the challenge and make me eat my words.

--Steak and kidney pie, with baked beans; I'm English.

And so there you have it, straight from the man himself.  Not too, too much longer to wait now, bide your time by going and picking up a copy of Jesse's excellent Pit Fighter.  If an eyeball popping out a man's head doesn't help you pass the time, then you and me... well, we're just on different wave lengths.  And I wouldn't want to be on yours.  The Last Sentinel promises to be excellent, and trust me, you'll hear from us as soon as we get our dirty little hands on it.  Keep it here for more Jesse Johnson updates.  This is a man to keep an eye out for... (sorry, couldn't resist).  -- Christian

November, 2005

Ladies and Gentleman,

After many projects and much anticipation, I have finally gotten the email I've been waiting for from Jesse Johnson:  Mr. Johnson's next project will be The Sentinel.  I have very little info on this project as of now, except that it will be a gritty, sci-fi actioneer starring Don Wilson.  Director Jesse Johnson, who pioneered a new level of violence with his Pit Fighter, a film quickly developing a strong cult following, will be pushing his bloody action style to the next level.

We will keep you updated on the film every step of the way right up to release day of what I'm sure will be an ass-kicker of a film.

Break a leg, Jesse, we can't wait.

-- Christian

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