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Is this an anti-war film?
Emilio Estevez: “This is a pro life film. This is a pro people film.”
Demi Moore: “I’ve never wanted to be looked at as anti-war because we believe in the laws of attraction. By positioning it and saying we’re ‘anti’, we’re resisting. Thereby we’re perpetuating more chaos versus something. Mother Teresa said she would never go to an anti-war rally, but she would happily accept an invitation to a peace rally any day. I think that this is much more about removing the separation and creating a unification amongst us as human beings more than even anything that’s particularly even political.”
Most of you were involved in story lines dealing with relationship issues the audience can relate to. What do you think your individual story line says about love?
Sharon Stone: “I think we've come to a time when people have forgotten that character comes from standing through difficult times, that when you agree to stand by somebody, a relationship grows and becomes richer and deeper when you grow through people's failures - not just their successes. So often now people just turn their backs and walk away when someone fails or changes. Good relationships, relationships that are rich and textured and alive, are the relationships that are built on acceptance and learning. You accept and learn when people fail. Those are the relationships that have quality and dignity and growth. I think if we could learn anything, it would be that.”
Demi Moore: “Well, I think Sharon was just saying that it's not about always getting it right. Sometimes it's about getting it wrong so that we have the opportunity to overcome. I think sometimes those are the better opportunities because when it all works well, we actually give less thought to it. We put less energy into. Sometimes when it doesn't, we really have such an enormous opportunity for growth.
I think in the film, part of the connection that all of the characters share is whatever levels their lives are at. Helen [Hunt] and Martin [Sheen’s] relationship is striving to overcome a certain obstacle and are at a more evolved place. Sharon and Bill Macy are in the middle of something, but there's hope because there's a desire. I think in our character's relationship, it's gone over and edging to a dark place. But underneath everyone of our characters, down to the young love that's trying to find itself, is a soul. Everybody's soul is striving to rise above. I think there are some of us in the film that are conscious and I think there are some of us who are representing that which is unconscious, but one is not better than the other.”
How much fun was it playing the diva?
Demi Moore: “DM: There’s something very liberating about playing a character who takes on zero responsibility for anything. Really, just looking for everybody else to hold anything outside of what she most selfishly wants in the moment. It was fun and challenging. When I really realized the difficulty of the role was actually when I had to go in and do ADR and I couldn’t find the same voice. My speaking voice didn’t sound even remotely the same and I’ve never had that happen. There was something just kind of in finding the place. I have to say I really relied on the trust - the scene with Sharon and I - to go to that place of this woman is so theatrical and cliché, for lack of a better description. I really had to rely on Sharon to, in more ways than one, help hold me up.”
Were you actually singing in the film?
Demi Moore: “Yes, I did do the singing. In fact, I almost didn't do the role because of the singing. I had so much fear and anxiety, and if not for Emilio's kind of steadfast belief in my ability to not just do the singing, but bring life to this woman… I did so ultimately because it scared the crap out of me, and I figured that means it's exactly what I should be doing. But, let me just say, I play a singer and I never want to be compared to a real one.”
What kind of roles are you looking for at this point in your career?
Demi Moore: “Let me know just say, if I could come across roles that are as rich and as complex as Emilio has created, I would be working hopefully all the time. The scenes I shared with Sharon you don't find very often, I'll tell you that. But, we're looking for them.”
So are you finding the projects you want to work on now?
Demi Moore: “Yes, more and more.”
Emilio Estevez: “If I could just add: the life and breath of the female characters in this film, I can't take sole credit for that. This is the voice of my mother. She is present in all three of these extraordinary performances and what they have to say. My mother missed having dinner with Lyndon Johnson because she couldn't find the right hat to wear. While my father went off to the white house to break bread with the President, my mother, who's not a things and stuff person, stayed at the hotel and tried on 10 different hats and missed dinner.
My mother at one point said to me in a conversation about growing old, said, 'When did I grow that flat spot on my ass?' It was very self-effacing and it's not something a son necessarily wants to hear, however she's reflected certainly in the voices of the women in this film. I think that's certainly why they are so effective. They were universally embraced by these extraordinary performers.”
