Sometimes putting your guard down - Bobby was able to put his guard down at home. I think some men are not able to do that. I can’t talk for them but he was able to live a different life in his home with his wife. He was the one that was supporting her, which was a little different. Then the edge that I like is that when he was out with his friends, he was able to communicate with [them] on his level. That was my input.
Is it tough for you to put your guard down?
No, it’s not tough. Maybe as a kid, as a guy, you’ve been taught that keeping your guard up was manly. And not until you go through life you find out that maybe you make your own choice. Part of being a man is having different colors to you.
What pieces of April do you think Bobby was passionate about? Why did he love her so much?
Maybe because she saw ‘him.’ In the community of rebellion, parents call it the community of rebellion where our pants hang or our hair is punked, we find ourselves with similarities that were so different that we’re the same. I look at Bobby and April, to answer your question, as we’re in this big club together where, like Noah, everybody who belonged together walked out as pairs.
How do you think people will react emotionally to this film? What do you want them to walk away thinking?
I had a niece who had problems at home with her mom. You could sort of relate her to April. Hopefully people get from this film that there’s a love language, that it’s okay to be different and unique. Maybe if you have a kid and you’re not understanding, maybe this film can help. Not try to understand the generation and try to break them down and vice versa, but see where you guys can communicate, see [what you] have been missing. If you can get one family to come together and understand that, I think that’s really important.
What’s your next project?
“Spartan,” a David Mamet film. I just finished [it] with Val Kilmer. It will be out next year.
Can you talk a little about that?
Sure, it’s a David Mamet film (laughing). I’m just only quoting what most people say when they speak about David Mamet. My job when I went to go work on the film was not to know much about him because I like meeting people for them. I was impressed because he was a regular guy.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Interview with Katie Holmes
"Pieces of April" Photos, Trailer and Credits
