Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Helen Hunt, and Laurence Fishburne Discuss "Bobby"

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Emilio, you were six-years old when Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Can you talk about the days following the shooting and what your father was telling you about what was happening?

Emilio Estevez: “Well, I remember my father spent a lot of time on the phone because his best friend was here in Los Angeles. He was outside of Good Samaritan Hospital in downtown along with the rest of many people waiting news of Bobby's condition. The memories I have of the next day and a half, specifically, was watching my father speaking long distance which you know then was somewhat of a luxury and very expensive. He was on the phone most of the day with his best friend and we were getting updates that were beyond what we were getting on the television. He just wept uncontrollably for the next two days. When you're a child, you look to your parents for guidance and for reassurance and at that moment in our history, my parents couldn't offer that. I think that is my greatest memory of that period.”

How did the kitchen dining table scene evolve?

Laurence Fishburne: “…The cobbler scene, Emilio called me 2001, I think it was post-9/11. I was doing the Matrix thing and he called me and said he was working on the piece. He mentioned Charles, the character’s name, as being his godfather - a man who went to school with Martin. So I was like, ‘Yeah,’ because you never know. This was 2001 so I was in Mexico doing a picture. I finished and came home on a Tuesday to a phone call from Martin. He said, ‘Emilio’s doing this picture and can you come?’ I just asked for the script. I got the script, I think, Wednesday or Tuesday night, read it and fell in love with the whole idea of what happens between Edward and Jose [played by Freddy Rodriguez]. Just fell in love with the whole thing - the ‘Once and Future King’ thing and said yes. I got on a motorcycle and rode out to work and played the scene.”

Demi Moore: “The next day, right?”

Laurence Fishburne: “The next day. It was simply just a matter of getting out of the way and allowing the character to come to the forefront. We tried to create a little kind of hostility with the Jacob Vargas character at the opening. We tried [a few things] just to kind of heat it up, but it was really in the text. The real beauty of it is I didn’t know anything about the other people who were shot in the pantry that day. I didn’t know any of that. I didn’t know about Jose’s character being based on the busboy who was holding Mr. Kennedy’s hand, had a rosary in his hand and was saying, ‘Come on, Mr. Kennedy, you can make it.’ I didn’t know any of that stuff so I was just happy to come do it.

I have the distinction of knowing Emilio longer than anybody at this table. His father was, in many ways, a father to me when I was very young so I was completely obligated. I mean, Emilio and I are like family so when I got this call to come and do the movie, I knew I was going to go do it, but I just needed to read whatever it was.”

Emilio Estevez: “We’ve known each other since we were 14.”

Laurence Fishburne: “Since 14. We were pretty much best friends, 14-15.”

What does this microcosmic world have to say about the racial climate in 1968?

Laurence Fishburne: “I think it’s pretty clear. What’s great about the film is that it really is a wonderful reflection of what I’m assuming is what the racial climate was in this country, and continues to be in this country in many ways, although I don't think we really choose to acknowledge it in many ways. If we look at what’s on network television, and if we look at what’s on the covers of most magazines, one might walk away with the opinion that we live in a white country. And we don’t. We live in a very, very multi-faceted, multi-cultural country. But the fact of the matter is that we haven’t really embraced that 100% and really been honest about that. What’s interesting about Robert Kennedy is that he was really aware of that. He was kind of focused on exposing it and living in that kind of a world.”

Emilio Estevez: “He was also, too, the first leader, the first politician who stood up with the guys in that kitchen. When people ask what were the qualities of Bobby Kennedy that they most admired, it was first that he was tough. Second, he told the truth and third, he stood up for the little guy. That scene in the kitchen is perhaps the most politically charged scene in the film, when Laurence’s character talks to Jacob and Freddy about how to navigate the white man’s world. It’s a very explosive scene and Bobby Kennedy is present in that scene because he was the voice of the people in that kitchen, to people of color.”

Sharon, you are politically active but your story is more of a human-interest story. Do you separate that or is it one in the same?

Sharon Stone: “Politics should be a human-interest story. When Emilio called about this movie, I was just so knocked out by the script and by his dedication to making this movie. I felt so lucky that the part he offered me was the part of the lady who runs the beauty shop and gets to interact with all these different characters and had such humanity. Bobby Kennedy had such great humanity and really engaged himself with the people of the country and the people of the world. During his campaign he went to South Africa; he traveled. He met people. He really understood that he was a world citizen.

For me, I believe my character had such a feeling of pride and was so touched by him because she saw his humanity. When the people came into her place of business it was an international place of business. They came and went through her salon from all over the world. Not just all over the city, not just her regular clients. And they talked to her about their problems and their issues. She was someone who was addressing the world. So, when she saw him, I think she saw him as a person who touched and saw the people that she touched. She felt like, ‘This is a real person.’ A real person who saw the same people that she touched and saw. I felt like, y’know she saw a real bulls***ter when she saw one and saw a real person when she saw one. That was why it was so moving when she saw him, and was so heartbreaking when she saw him get gunned down.”

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