Full Transcript for Special Report: Behind the Lines (2024)

interest in it. So I did some directing 78 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:30.240 in theater, acting in theater, directing on film and TV. 79 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:33.139 I mean, acting in film and TV, and then just 80 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:37.540 started leaning deeper into the directing and just really been 81 00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:42.800 enjoying it. And actually, this project came out of a 82 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:45.060 play that Andy and I had worked on for a 83 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:47.490 number of years. It was a stage play called If 84 00:04:47.550 --> 00:04:51.110 All the Sky Were Paper, and we developed that and 85 00:04:51.990 --> 00:04:54.089 Had some real success with it around the country, the 86 00:04:54.129 --> 00:04:57.730 Kennedy Center and a number of different terrific venues with 87 00:04:57.769 --> 00:05:02.819 a bunch of really wonderful actors, many of whom joined 88 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:07.300 us to do the movie. Annette Bening, Laura Dern, Common, 89 00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:10.720 Gary Cole, all of them worked with us on the 90 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:15.290 play at different points. So yeah, that's kind of how 91 00:05:15.329 --> 00:05:18.670 this developed, yeah. And Andrew, how about yourself? Give me 92 00:05:18.689 --> 00:05:20.370 a little bit more of your background and how did 93 00:05:20.389 --> 00:05:20.910 you meet John? 94 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:24.480 Yes, so my journey was a much different one. I actually, 95 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:27.720 so we're focusing on this War Letters project and film. 96 00:05:28.350 --> 00:05:31.529 I hated history growing up. It was in my sophomore 97 00:05:31.569 --> 00:05:35.509 year of college. Our family house in Washington, D.C., I 98 00:05:35.529 --> 00:05:37.970 was up in college in New York, burned to the ground. 99 00:05:38.910 --> 00:05:41.790 And it was pretty traumatic. I mean, my father was inside. 100 00:05:41.850 --> 00:05:43.370 He got out okay, but barely. 101 00:05:43.410 --> 00:05:44.250 But we lost everything. 102 00:05:44.490 --> 00:05:48.050 And a couple weeks after, a distant cousin of mine 103 00:05:48.089 --> 00:05:50.310 who had served in World War II, because I don't 104 00:05:50.329 --> 00:05:52.980 come from a military family either, heard about the fire 105 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:55.959 and is everybody okay? And I said, well, you know, 106 00:05:56.560 --> 00:05:58.420 no one got hurt, but we lost all of our letters, 107 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:00.560 our photos. And he said, you know, it's interesting you 108 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:02.420 mentioned that because I was just going through my old 109 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:05.110 World War II footlocker. And I came across a letter 110 00:06:05.139 --> 00:06:07.029 I sent to my wife back in April of 1945. 111 00:06:07.029 --> 00:06:09.970 And we had this conversation. It was around the 80s. 112 00:06:10.610 --> 00:06:11.470 And he said, I'll send it to you. 113 00:06:11.509 --> 00:06:13.589 So I get in the

mail, this three page type 114 00:06:13.629 --> 00:06:17.350 letter that he wrote April 21st. And he was describing 115 00:06:17.389 --> 00:06:22.180 to his wife, walking through Buchenwald, the concentration camp, as 116 00:06:22.220 --> 00:06:24.839 it was being liberated and just the horrors that he 117 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:27.459 was seeing, you know, the torture rooms, the. 118 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:28.240 Gas chambers, I think. 119 00:06:28.660 --> 00:06:30.930 And I was just like riveted by this. And so 120 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:32.430 I called him back. I said, Jim, of course, I'll 121 00:06:32.449 --> 00:06:34.350 return this to you. And he said, just keep it. 122 00:06:34.350 --> 00:06:35.730 I probably would have thrown it out anyway. 123 00:06:36.290 --> 00:06:39.790 And so that was the spark just through word of mouth, 124 00:06:40.310 --> 00:06:42.589 other veterans who are neighbors, coaches, teachers. 125 00:06:42.610 --> 00:06:43.750 And I asked him, what did you do with your 126 00:06:43.769 --> 00:06:44.569 old war letters? 127 00:06:45.370 --> 00:06:47.310 And again, I was surprised how many said, oh, either 128 00:06:47.329 --> 00:06:48.980 they tossed him out or they're just up in the 129 00:06:49.009 --> 00:06:51.019 attic gathering dust. And I just felt like even though 130 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:53.459 I wasn't a history guy, we were losing something as 131 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.079 a country. And long story short, Dear Abby wrote a 132 00:06:56.120 --> 00:06:59.459 column about this. I'm an older generation than probably a 133 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:02.019 lot of your listeners, but Dear Abby had this advice column. 134 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:04.990 So it goes to millions of people. So for her 135 00:07:05.009 --> 00:07:07.529 to write about this project is how it really exploded. 136 00:07:07.910 --> 00:07:10.009 And that became the Legacy Project, or as we call it, 137 00:07:10.009 --> 00:07:11.089 just the War Letters Project. 138 00:07:11.790 --> 00:07:13.290 That's amazing. And how did you meet John? 139 00:07:14.290 --> 00:07:15.889 I'll let John tell that story, because he's really the 140 00:07:15.930 --> 00:07:16.620 one who reached out. 141 00:07:17.379 --> 00:07:21.480 Yeah, I read about Handy in an article that he'd 142 00:07:21.500 --> 00:07:26.060 written for National Geographic in an edition in 2007, but 143 00:07:26.139 --> 00:07:27.759 I think I didn't read it until 2008. 144 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:28.220 And I. 145 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:35.470 Just was really intrigued by not only the letters, because 146 00:07:35.509 --> 00:07:39.129 the article featured a number of letters, which were just 147 00:07:39.850 --> 00:07:45.139 heart-wrenching and dramatic and really captivating. And I was also 148 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:49.920 really interested in sort of this character of Andy Carroll, 149 00:07:50.819 --> 00:07:53.160 who would do such a thing, who would travel around 150 00:07:53.180 --> 00:07:57.959 the world, sometimes into war-torn areas, to collect these war letters. 151 00:07:58.139 --> 00:08:01.250 And I just felt like there was something there, something 152 00:08:01.290 --> 00:08:04.329 that I would be missing if I didn't reach out. 153 00:08:04.430 --> 00:08:10.149 So I sent an email, which Andy has periodically given 154 00:08:10.189 --> 00:08:12.120 me a hard time about, why didn't I write a letter? 155 00:08:12.730 --> 00:08:16.810 to him but uh but that's a little bit of 156 00:08:16.850 --> 00:08:20.769 a misnomer because he does we do accept emails all 157 00:08:20.810 --> 00:08:25.079 right andy and into the yeah but yeah and then 158 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:27.019 he got right back to me and i said you 159 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:29.680 know i would love to work with you develop a 160 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:36.000 play and we began a collaboration in 2008 that in 161 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:39.440 2010 we had a we launched a production uh where 162 00:08:39.500 --> 00:08:43.809 i teach at chapman university i teach acting and film 163 00:08:43.909 --> 00:08:47.549 acting and directing out of our theater department and work 164 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:50.419 with the film school. It was a real success, and 165 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:53.120 I think it was. And we went on to kind 166 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:55.759 of rewrite it and find some new things that needed 167 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:59.220 to be adjusted in 2012. And then in 2014, we 168 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:03.029 had a real big year with Annette Bening and Laura 169 00:09:03.070 --> 00:09:07.570 Dern and all these really A-lister actors who joined us 170 00:09:07.649 --> 00:09:11.690 on stage. And it really kind of helped launch what 171 00:09:11.730 --> 00:09:15.460 we were doing. in terms of the play. Got the 172 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:18.350 word around, and there was some good press about it. 173 00:09:18.419 --> 00:09:20.860 And then just sort of had this little tickle in 174 00:09:20.899 --> 00:09:23.059 the back of my head that maybe someday this should 175 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:26.529 be a movie. And it took a while, as movies 176 00:09:26.590 --> 00:09:26.990 tend to. 177 00:09:27.009 --> 00:09:32.850 And we kind of discussed, what should the film be? 178 00:09:34.029 --> 00:09:36.870 I've gone to all 50 states. As John said, I 179 00:09:36.889 --> 00:09:39.789 went to war-torn areas. I went to Iraq, Afghanistan, the 180 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:43.559 beginning of the wars, as they were really intensifying. I 181 00:09:43.580 --> 00:09:47.740 went to Ukraine after the invasion. But I thought we 182 00:09:47.779 --> 00:09:50.159 had done readings of the war letters before I met John. 183 00:09:50.179 --> 00:09:53.190 And we'd even tried to play. And the director said, 184 00:09:53.490 --> 00:09:55.730 we don't need a narrator kind of giving us the background. Like, 185 00:09:56.389 --> 00:09:58.750 you really need that narrative art. You need that

through line. 186 00:09:58.830 --> 00:10:01.340 And John totally agreed. and helped shape that and so 187 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:04.120 we added a narrator to the and it's really kind 188 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:06.820 of me telling the story of finding these letters i 189 00:10:06.860 --> 00:10:08.879 also joke with john originally we were doing the play 190 00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:12.480 i played the narrator because it's literally me whose story 191 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:15.440 we're telling and eventually john fired me so we had 192 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:18.539 to get a real actor in and to play Andy Carroll, 193 00:10:18.899 --> 00:10:20.399 even though I was sitting there right there, like, hi, 194 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:23.740 I can, but there were logistical issues and so forth. 195 00:10:23.779 --> 00:10:25.580 So it's just, it's one of our little inside jokes. And, 196 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:27.120 you know, John and I have been working together for, 197 00:10:27.139 --> 00:10:30.659 I mean, almost 20 years now and going strong. And 198 00:10:30.700 --> 00:10:32.379 I think that says a lot about, you know, our 199 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.919 relationship and about the letters and really this overall journey. 200 00:10:35.940 --> 00:10:38.409 Because I just want to emphasize there is this larger 201 00:10:38.490 --> 00:10:40.750 project behind all of this, behind the play of the film, 202 00:10:40.789 --> 00:10:43.529 which is I'm still seeking out war letters and emails. 203 00:10:44.029 --> 00:10:46.929 So the film is not the encapsulation of the final 204 00:10:46.970 --> 00:10:49.769 story of the war letters project. It's just one more 205 00:10:49.809 --> 00:10:51.460 part of it, and it's just going to keep going 206 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:52.009 and keep going. 207 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:54.259 Well, yeah, I wanted to ask a little bit more 208 00:10:54.279 --> 00:10:59.139 about the project as far as what's your process? Going 209 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:03.059 even back to Dear Abby, when you get overwhelmed with 210 00:11:03.539 --> 00:11:06.179 all of these letters that are coming in, Is it 211 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:08.330 just a matter of like, okay, now I have. 212 00:11:08.210 --> 00:11:12.149 To digitize it? Like, what are your steps for this? 213 00:11:12.970 --> 00:11:14.509 So this is back in 1998. 214 00:11:14.509 --> 00:11:16.809 So the column ran on Veterans Day in 98 in 215 00:11:17.149 --> 00:11:19.720 newspapers across the country, again, back when people read newspapers. 216 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:22.580 So I was not expecting the onslaught. I was working 217 00:11:22.620 --> 00:11:25.019 on an entirely separate project. I was an English major, 218 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:27.299 and I worked on a project with a Nobel laureate 219 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:30.610 named Joseph Brodsky. where we distributed free poetry books in 220 00:11:30.649 --> 00:11:32.750 public places. It was based on a speech he gave 221 00:11:32.789 --> 00:11:34.350 where he said a book of poetry should be put 222 00:11:34.629 --> 00:11:35.889 in every hotel room in the country. 223 00:11:35.909 --> 00:11:38.549 I wrote him a letter, speaking of writing letters and 224 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:39.200 starting projects. 225 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:42.559 And we ended up donating, I think, upwards of 5 226 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:45.539 million poetry books across the country before he passed away 227 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:45.659 in 97. 228 00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:45.779 And so. 229 00:11:48.710 --> 00:11:51.289 That was kind of my focus all that time. But 230 00:11:51.309 --> 00:11:52.669 then as I started reading the letters, I think this 231 00:11:52.750 --> 00:11:55.950 is where not being a historian, I was ruthless when 232 00:11:55.990 --> 00:11:58.220 I read through the letters. If it didn't have my attention, 233 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:00.799 because I'm not looking for the granular things of what 234 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.279 happened at Chancellorsville and a certain date or whatever, it 235 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:06.460 was just like, does this letter move me? Or is 236 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:08.840 this letter funny? Or is it different, unique in some ways? 237 00:12:08.980 --> 00:12:11.840 And I think having someone not part of the military, 238 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:14.779 not a historian, was almost an advantage to the project 239 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:16.600 as it began and as it's been going. Now, of course, 240 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:19.850 having been immersed in this for almost three decades, I 241 00:12:19.889 --> 00:12:22.669 know the military fairly well, know so many incredible people 242 00:12:22.730 --> 00:12:26.110 who are veterans, troops, family members. And I just want 243 00:12:26.129 --> 00:12:28.710 to emphasize that we have all of those voices in 244 00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:29.149 the film. 245 00:12:29.409 --> 00:12:30.889 We don't just do the service members. 246 00:12:30.970 --> 00:12:33.129 These are not just all combat letters, that we have 247 00:12:33.169 --> 00:12:36.110 letters from the home front, from the parents, because I 248 00:12:36.149 --> 00:12:38.549 feel like they're often overlooked and they serve just as 249 00:12:38.610 --> 00:12:42.409 much in times of war as the actual troops and combatants. 250 00:12:43.070 --> 00:12:45.889 Do you, I don't want to say this the wrong way, 251 00:12:46.860 --> 00:12:49.240 it feels like you would take letters from both sides 252 00:12:49.259 --> 00:12:49.919 of a conflict. 253 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:52.500 Well, you know, actually, I'll let John talk about that, 254 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:54.679 because he was part of that journey of why we 255 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:57.460 decided to kind of expand to other countries. 256 00:12:58.220 --> 00:13:01.159 Well, I mean, as far as the book, maybe you 257 00:13:01.179 --> 00:13:05.129 want to talk about that with when you did Behind 258

00:13:05.169 --> 00:13:08.929 the Lines. But as far as the movie, I'll address that. Yeah, 259 00:13:08.950 --> 00:13:11.730 it was really an important aspect to see sort of 260 00:13:11.789 --> 00:13:15.559 both sides of things. Now, some of those You know, 261 00:13:15.620 --> 00:13:17.700 some of those things, some of those letters did not 262 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:20.559 make it into the final cut of the movie. Some did. 263 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:24.139 But we always felt like that's a really important aspect 264 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:29.740 of things. And, you know, I think for one reason alone, 265 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:33.879 is it something that Andy and I have talked about 266 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:36.559 and noticed, and I've worked with the actors about this 267 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:39.960 over the years, is that if you strip the letters 268 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:45.179 of their names, their dates, their salutations, You know, the 269 00:13:45.350 --> 00:13:48.470 sentiments are the same. You know, the dear mom, you know, 270 00:13:48.509 --> 00:13:51.470 I wish I was home. One of the letters says, 271 00:13:51.509 --> 00:13:53.230 you know, I'd love to be home so you can 272 00:13:53.250 --> 00:13:56.769 tuck me in at night. You know, and those kinds 273 00:13:56.820 --> 00:14:03.539 of sentiments, they're not geographically specific. And the humor, the resilience, 274 00:14:04.580 --> 00:14:08.379 you know, that's a pretty captivating thing for me from 275 00:14:08.450 --> 00:14:11.600 a dramatic point of view and in terms of you know, 276 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:14.659 creating one of the themes of the play and the 277 00:14:14.700 --> 00:14:18.620 movie is that in the end, we're all the same, 278 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:25.419 you know. Now, there's right and wrong, you know, I 279 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:30.419 don't want to diminish that. However, you know, on the ground, 280 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:35.570 you know, most of these troops are 18-year-old kids, you know, 281 00:14:36.370 --> 00:14:42.500 and they're scared, they want to be home, and You know, 282 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:47.159 so that's always been a really compelling thread to sort 283 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:51.340 of keep kind of pulling on in both the play 284 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:51.820 and the movie. 285 00:14:52.659 --> 00:14:54.399 And just to touch on what John was saying earlier, 286 00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:57.950 it was actually American veterans who told me, you should 287 00:14:57.990 --> 00:15:01.190 expand the collection to other countries. And I said, yeah, 288 00:15:01.289 --> 00:15:03.389 I've gotten a couple of British letters, Canadian letters, stuff 289 00:15:03.409 --> 00:15:04.929 like that. I said, no, no, you should even go 290 00:15:04.950 --> 00:15:08.129 to Germany, go to Japan, go to Vietnam. And I 291 00:15:08.169 --> 00:15:10.789 didn't find a lot of letters from the other side 292 00:15:10.809 --> 00:15:12.990 so much as I did from

people who are allies. 293 00:15:13.070 --> 00:15:15.769 So they are very much represented both in the play 294 00:15:15.789 --> 00:15:18.620 and the film and the overall project. And one, I think, 295 00:15:19.500 --> 00:15:21.200 not to give away a big part of the film, 296 00:15:21.659 --> 00:15:23.899 but one of the things that people aren't expecting is 297 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:25.059 that they're uplifting letters. 298 00:15:25.539 --> 00:15:26.879 And some of these letters are. 299 00:15:26.860 --> 00:15:31.840 By former enemies writing to people who they'd hurt and 300 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:34.600 asking for forgiveness. And we We actually didn't include this 301 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:37.070 in the film, but it's in the play. During World 302 00:15:37.090 --> 00:15:39.909 War II, there were these things called balloon bombs, where 303 00:15:40.149 --> 00:15:44.470 in Japan, they sent over the Pacific these balloons, and 304 00:15:44.490 --> 00:15:47.110 they were supposed to land in America. And one of 305 00:15:47.149 --> 00:15:50.240 them did in Oregon. Family was out picnicking. Again, this 306 00:15:50.299 --> 00:15:53.139 is during World War II. The kids thought it was 307 00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:54.820 a toy because it was all shiny, and they picked 308 00:15:54.860 --> 00:15:59.080 it up, and it killed this entire family. And decades 309 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:02.789 after the war, one of the then teenagers, Japanese woman 310 00:16:02.830 --> 00:16:05.090 who built the bomb heard about this and. 311 00:16:05.029 --> 00:16:06.919 Was just like incredibly distraught. 312 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:10.299 And so she wrote this really beautiful letter to the 313 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:13.580 descendants of the family and included a thousand folded cranes. 314 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:15.200 And so that's just to kind of give you idea 315 00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:17.679 of like, when we talk about letters from different countries, 316 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:20.860 it really scans, you know, it really spans a huge 317 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:23.779 kind of aspect of humanity, as John was saying, that 318 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:27.259 it's letters of hope. And I think it's very important, 319 00:16:27.299 --> 00:16:30.000 John touched on, that they're actually funny letters of humorous 320 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:32.750 letters in the film and and people don't expect that 321 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:35.230 but troops write very funny letters home and so we 322 00:16:35.250 --> 00:16:37.529 felt that we had to represent that uh at both 323 00:16:37.549 --> 00:16:38.629 in the play in the film. 324 00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:41.820 What is the the process as far as like you 325 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:45.000 know approaching people for their letters i mean i imagine 326 00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:47.159 there has to be a modicum of trust there do 327 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:49.850 you ever run across where it's like well i'll tell 328 00:16:49.870 --> 00:16:51.169 you about this but i don't want to give you 329 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:52.529 these things Yeah. 330 00:16:52.570 --> 00:16:54.230 I mean, people have all different reactions. 331 00:16:54.309 --> 00:16:56.789 Now, usually it's either the letter writer or their family 332 00:16:56.809 --> 00:16:58.730 who's giving us the letters. Now, we do get letters 333 00:16:58.750 --> 00:17:00.909 that have been found. We have an incredible letter that's 334 00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:04.029 in the film by a young sailor inside a ship 335 00:17:04.069 --> 00:17:07.359 at Pearl Harbor describing to his sister moment by moment 336 00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:09.930 what's happening. I mean, he's just in the ship. He's 337 00:17:09.970 --> 00:17:11.890 trapped in the forward engine room. So he doesn't know 338 00:17:11.910 --> 00:17:14.680 that it's the whole Japanese Navy essentially coming to Pearl 339 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:16.819 Harbor and starting all this. But he knows what he's 340 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:19.359 going through. And the bombs are going off. People are 341 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:22.769 screaming on the intercom. It's incredibly dramatic. That was found 342 00:17:22.809 --> 00:17:25.250 in the attic of a home in Seattle by the 343 00:17:25.289 --> 00:17:28.230 family who moved in. And so because the sailor had 344 00:17:28.289 --> 00:17:31.619 an unusual last name, you know, very unusual spelling, we 345 00:17:31.630 --> 00:17:33.180 were able to track down his family. 346 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:34.799 They had no idea about the letter. 347 00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:37.640 So in that case, you know, it was given to 348 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:40.000 us by a stranger, but we got the permission of 349 00:17:40.019 --> 00:17:42.480 the family to use it. I actually first used it 350 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:45.970 in Behind Lines, the book, and then we use it 351 00:17:45.990 --> 00:17:49.009 in the play in the film. So it's, I try 352 00:17:49.029 --> 00:17:52.549 and establish trust. I joke, I feel like I have 100,000 353 00:17:52.549 --> 00:17:55.210 grandparents across the country because I have all these people 354 00:17:55.250 --> 00:17:58.069 from the World War II era, World War, sorry, for Korea, Vietnam. 355 00:17:58.490 --> 00:18:02.069 And we become like family. I mean, we establish relationships. 356 00:18:02.890 --> 00:18:05.789 It's just been really, really a blessing to get to 357 00:18:05.829 --> 00:18:08.190 know these people. And the fact that they, as you said, 358 00:18:08.329 --> 00:18:10.150 are willing to share something that in many ways is 359 00:18:10.170 --> 00:18:13.230 very vulnerable in some cases and very obviously of great 360 00:18:13.289 --> 00:18:13.970 sentimental value. 361 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:16.920 Dan, was there one particular moment, you're talking about that 362 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:19.779 kind of niggling feeling in the back of your head 363 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:21.920 when you're like, oh, maybe

there's a movie in this. 364 00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:24.069 Is there a particular time that kind of pushes you 365 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:26.440 over the edge and says, oh, I have to make 366 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:31.809 a movie out of this? That's a really terrific question 367 00:18:32.250 --> 00:18:36.029 to try to pin down a moment. I'll say something 368 00:18:36.069 --> 00:18:40.789 that has been interesting to me, and I've thought about 369 00:18:40.849 --> 00:18:45.069 it often, is that one of my former students, who 370 00:18:45.970 --> 00:18:51.049 was in the play several times over the years, couldn't 371 00:18:51.089 --> 00:18:54.079 do the movie because he was out of town when 372 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.799 we were in the studio. Or I would have loved 373 00:18:56.839 --> 00:19:01.099 to have him in the films. Terrific actor named Donathan Walters, 374 00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:03.619 based out of New York. We just had a screening 375 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:06.059 in New York City, and he came and he said 376 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:10.990 it was so amazing to see the movie. Because he said, 377 00:19:11.309 --> 00:19:14.529 I felt like when you were directing the play all 378 00:19:14.569 --> 00:19:19.359 these a decade ago, it had a filmic quality to it. 379 00:19:19.509 --> 00:19:23.009 And he said the way it just naturally flowed right 380 00:19:23.069 --> 00:19:27.630 into a film. So I guess to answer your question, 381 00:19:27.789 --> 00:19:32.990 maybe that little voice started much before I actually realized it. 382 00:19:33.589 --> 00:19:36.769 And the way I would sort of create the stage pictures. 383 00:19:36.890 --> 00:19:40.680 And I think some of that really sort of bled 384 00:19:40.740 --> 00:19:45.089 right into, you know, the Maison Sainte or the, you know, 385 00:19:45.150 --> 00:19:47.789 sort of the overall look of the movie and how 386 00:19:47.849 --> 00:19:53.920 those various components come together on screen and as opposed 387 00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:57.640 to just hearing their voices, which was a conscious choice 388 00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:01.119 that I made because, you know, it's not the norm, 389 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:05.329 you know, and if you look at Ken Burns' movies 390 00:20:05.529 --> 00:20:09.450 and he's sort of the iconic figure and America's storyteller 391 00:20:09.470 --> 00:20:13.039 and And I've had the opportunity to meet him twice 392 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:16.319 and listen to him. And he's very vocal about saying, 393 00:20:16.579 --> 00:20:18.980 why do you have to have actors on screen? He said, 394 00:20:19.140 --> 00:20:21.210 we just need their voice. You know, we want to 395 00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:23.190 be in with the archival footage. We want to see 396 00:20:23.210 --> 00:20:25.190 the letters. We want to see that. So I sort 397 00:20:25.230 --> 00:20:29.509 of broke Ken Burns's rule. And by the way, we 398 00:20:29.549 --> 00:20:33.049 are big fans of Ken Burns because his

organization, the 399 00:20:33.089 --> 00:20:36.880 Better Angels Society, helped sponsor us to make the movie. 400 00:20:37.900 --> 00:20:42.660 And so we're We're very grateful. But I wanted a 401 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:47.000 little bit of a different aesthetic. And so that was 402 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:50.720 sort of the genesis of that, of sort of trying 403 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:54.660 to translate what was happening on the stage and yet 404 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:57.880 put that on screen. And so we have live actors 405 00:20:58.019 --> 00:21:01.880 on screen, letter in hand, and sort of bringing these 406 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:06.440 letters to life. And in a, I hope, pleasing way 407 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:10.190 to the audience, incorporating the archival footage and the letters 408 00:21:10.230 --> 00:21:15.220 themselves into the visual aspects of the movie. 409 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:16.579 Oh, absolutely. 410 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.619 And I love that it ties back to the play 411 00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:20.880 and it ties into the book and everything, so it's 412 00:21:20.900 --> 00:21:23.259 like this whole package kind of coming together, not to 413 00:21:23.380 --> 00:21:26.519 call it a package, but I thought that was very effective. 414 00:21:26.539 --> 00:21:31.690 I am curious, though, outside of the play, what were 415 00:21:31.710 --> 00:21:33.690 some of the biggest challenges? I mean, I'm sure. 416 00:21:34.089 --> 00:21:37.779 coordinating just the filming of these actors was probably a lot. 417 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:40.700 But then outside of that, you're making a quote-unquote regular 418 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:43.700 documentary as well. I mean, there's a lot of challenges 419 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:46.160 to be faced and to be solved. How are you 420 00:21:46.180 --> 00:21:49.980 guys approaching these? Well, I will say the scheduling of 421 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:53.309 the actors was not easy. In fact, we had Laura 422 00:21:53.349 --> 00:21:58.430 Dern scheduled, studio booked, ready to go. She texts me 423 00:21:58.650 --> 00:22:02.130 the night before. She said, I have laryngitis and there 424 00:22:02.210 --> 00:22:05.099 is no way that I can come in tomorrow and 425 00:22:05.220 --> 00:22:08.619 she was very sick. So just lots of challenges along 426 00:22:08.660 --> 00:22:10.759 the way with that. But in the end, you know, 427 00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:13.680 we had a terrific production team. One of our producers, 428 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:18.000 Bryce Seria, really terrific in terms of organization and pulling 429 00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:21.980 all those pieces together and working with everybody's schedule, which 430 00:22:22.089 --> 00:22:25.609 is difficult. But I will say one other, then I'll 431 00:22:25.650 --> 00:22:27.630 pass it over to Andy, you know, see what he 432 00:22:27.690 --> 00:22:30.309 felt along the way. I think one of the challenges 433 00:22:30.369 --> 00:22:33.470 I always felt was there's just so much great material. 434 00:22:34.450 --> 00:22:37.269 I didn't, if I have Laura Dern in the studio, 435 00:22:37.390 --> 00:22:39.930 I didn't have her just do two letters. She did 436 00:22:39.970 --> 00:22:42.849 a number of them. Michael C. Hall did a number 437 00:22:42.869 --> 00:22:45.890 of letters. And in the end, we had a lot 438 00:22:45.910 --> 00:22:49.289 of footage and a lot of amazing material. And to 439 00:22:49.329 --> 00:22:52.250 sort of, you know, to be able to pare that down, 440 00:22:52.269 --> 00:22:54.390 I think our first cut of the movie was well 441 00:22:54.430 --> 00:22:57.809 over three hours. And it was good. And it, you know, 442 00:22:57.829 --> 00:23:00.430 there was, I didn't want to lose anything. But of course, 443 00:23:01.309 --> 00:23:06.289 you know, so it goes. So we, you know, cut 444 00:23:06.410 --> 00:23:09.869 and pasted and moved this over here, tried that. You know, 445 00:23:09.910 --> 00:23:12.490 we tried different things. And in the end, I'm very 446 00:23:12.549 --> 00:23:15.450 happy with the length of the movie that we got. It's, 447 00:23:15.690 --> 00:23:18.789 in my view, it's as good as it's ever going 448 00:23:18.809 --> 00:23:22.380 to be. It's perfect for me and what I wanted to, 449 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:25.440 the story I wanted to tell. But in the end, 450 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:28.579 it was really, really hard. And, you know, we battled. 451 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.519 You know, Andy and I would have long, long conversations 452 00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:34.059 on the phone about what you know, a piece that maybe, 453 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:37.099 you know, I was considering cutting and he said no, 454 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:38.420 or something that I was going to cut and he 455 00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:41.259 would say no. And, you know, so it was a 456 00:23:42.339 --> 00:23:44.839 lot of collaboration. And in the end, a decision needs 457 00:23:44.900 --> 00:23:47.839 to be made. And I worked with a couple of editors, 458 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:51.759 two different editors who were really helpful with sort of 459 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:56.400 shaping the stories and creating an arc, as it were. 460 00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:00.279 So it's not just a bundle of letters. It's, there's 461 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:04.619 a story being told here. But yeah, That was quite challenging, yeah. 462 00:24:05.450 --> 00:24:08.140 And just so people know, John mentioned three hours. He 463 00:24:08.180 --> 00:24:10.000 literally cut it in half. It's an hour and a 464 00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:11.980 half now. And I think one of the things that 465 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:14.220 we both hope for is that because we have so 466 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:17.740 much of this extra material, amazing letters that were never 467 00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:20.900 shown on the film, to do a series where we 468 00:24:20.920 --> 00:24:23.960 pick a topic, whether it's love letters or combat

letters 469 00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:26.339 or letters by prisoners of war, and just focus on 470 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:28.619 that for 20, 25 minutes and then kind of have 471 00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:31.380 a whole series of those whether they're available on YouTube 472 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:32.579 or whatever streaming channel. 473 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:35.740 I mean, the film is on YouTube, it's on Amazon Prime, 474 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:36.500 it's on Apple. 475 00:24:36.980 --> 00:24:38.660 And to really, because so many people come up to 476 00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:40.869 us afterwards saying like, I really want to know more 477 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:43.109 about that one topic. And like, that's exactly one of 478 00:24:43.130 --> 00:24:45.789 the things that we want to actually explore and do 479 00:24:45.890 --> 00:24:46.710 a deeper dive into. 480 00:24:47.430 --> 00:24:49.210 Well, yeah, I'm curious as far as like, what's your 481 00:24:49.230 --> 00:24:51.630 web presence? Is there a site where people can go 482 00:24:51.710 --> 00:24:54.380 and contact you about their letters and be able to 483 00:24:54.779 --> 00:24:55.779 donate them potentially? 484 00:24:56.619 --> 00:24:58.299 So there are two that I would focus on. One 485 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:01.269 is just war letters.com. And that focuses on the project 486 00:25:01.410 --> 00:25:04.069 and my contact information and getting letters, all that. 487 00:25:04.549 --> 00:25:08.390 We also have behind the lines, doc.com. 488 00:25:08.410 --> 00:25:10.930 So doc for DOC for documentary behind the lines doc. 489 00:25:11.250 --> 00:25:14.480 And that's really the website for the film. And then 490 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:17.099 also we have the Instagram behind the lines doc, and 491 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:20.519 that's it. So just the at behind the lines doc. 492 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:24.130 And so people can get more updates about the film and, 493 00:25:24.470 --> 00:25:26.630 you know, just we've been very blessed to get really 494 00:25:26.670 --> 00:25:29.470 great reviews. And so it's those are the places that 495 00:25:29.490 --> 00:25:31.759 people can find out. And as I said, the search continues. 496 00:25:31.859 --> 00:25:35.380 So I'm still looking for those great correspondences. I'm doing 497 00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:38.259 a new campaign with a focus on emails. And that's 498 00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:40.099 why John and I were talking about emails before, jokingly, 499 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:44.240 by the 9-11 generation. So the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, 500 00:25:44.609 --> 00:25:46.690 we have some of their emails in the film. There's 501 00:25:46.710 --> 00:25:49.009 some of the best correspondences that I think are in 502 00:25:49.029 --> 00:25:51.710 the film. But that generation sort of feels like nobody 503 00:25:51.750 --> 00:25:54.890 wants to save our correspondences and they're not as good 504 00:25:54.950 --> 00:25:56.710 as the previous one and it's just not true what 505 00:25:56.750 --> 00:26:00.079 they wrote was as powerful as found poetic as anything 506 00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:02.599 that's come before it's it's just more of like a 507 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:06.420 typed out letter just but through email so the content 508 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:07.839 is really extraordinary. 509 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:11.579 I was pretty astounded when you said that the restrictions 510 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:15.069 on you know email and letters had gone down over 511 00:26:15.089 --> 00:26:17.109 the years rather than increasing. 512 00:26:17.549 --> 00:26:20.700 When you say restrictions you mean like you You know, 513 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:22.740 you mentioned, well, there was the one letter which I 514 00:26:22.819 --> 00:26:26.000 absolutely loved, which was, you know, the concern about the ant, 515 00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:28.349 and then you find out that it's all code for 516 00:26:28.849 --> 00:26:31.589 where this person is going. You know, you couldn't, you know, 517 00:26:31.609 --> 00:26:35.230 there's even the reference to loose lips and everything, and 518 00:26:35.250 --> 00:26:38.829 I was surprised that by the time we got into 519 00:26:38.970 --> 00:26:42.329 the later conflicts that we were able to actually share 520 00:26:42.369 --> 00:26:45.319 more information other than, you know, troop movement. 521 00:26:46.119 --> 00:26:48.500 Yeah, and we mentioned this in the film that it 522 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:51.730 was starting in Korea, where letters were no longer censored, 523 00:26:51.769 --> 00:26:53.609 and it just kind of went into Vietnam. 524 00:26:53.890 --> 00:26:55.710 I mean, there has been some censorship. 525 00:26:55.750 --> 00:26:57.269 I know I have friends who are involved with Iraq 526 00:26:57.309 --> 00:26:59.549 and Afghanistan, and they couldn't write certain things from the ship. 527 00:26:59.910 --> 00:27:01.490 I don't know if there was an algorithm that was like, 528 00:27:01.609 --> 00:27:04.049 if you mentioned a country or whatever, it would shoot 529 00:27:04.069 --> 00:27:06.390 back and you couldn't send it. I can't remember exactly 530 00:27:06.410 --> 00:27:09.420 the specifics. But also, it's really World War I or 531 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:11.299 World War II where you have the most censorship. Civil 532 00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:15.559 War letters were not censored. So even in World War II, 533 00:27:16.059 --> 00:27:20.509 like the Pearl Harbor letter, That letter was as detailed 534 00:27:20.569 --> 00:27:24.259 as you could be. Interestingly enough, he survived. That's how 535 00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:26.079 he had the letter, of course, the young sailor inside 536 00:27:26.099 --> 00:27:28.700 the ship. He could not send that letter for a 537 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:31.299 year because of censorship. So even though everyone knew about 538 00:27:31.339 --> 00:27:33.950 Pearl Harbor, he still could not. He wrote the letter, 539 00:27:34.170 -->

00:27:36.549 and his superiors said, you can't send that now. So 540 00:27:36.890 --> 00:27:39.630 they allowed him to do about a year afterwards. But really, 541 00:27:39.809 --> 00:27:42.930 except for those two major conflicts, most of the wars, 542 00:27:43.049 --> 00:27:45.519 people wrote what they wanted to write. A lot of 543 00:27:45.539 --> 00:27:48.779 times they self-censored because if it was really something traumatic, 544 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:51.319 they didn't want to, you know, distress or worry the 545 00:27:51.339 --> 00:27:53.400 people on the home front. And that's why we have 546 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:55.000 a lot of humorous letters because that's the way of 547 00:27:55.019 --> 00:27:57.589 being like, hey, I'm okay. You know, things are, you know, 548 00:27:57.609 --> 00:28:00.210 we're playing little pranks on each other or something funny 549 00:28:00.230 --> 00:28:02.329 happened the other day. So we wanted to make sure 550 00:28:02.369 --> 00:28:05.369 that was in the film as well. But it is 551 00:28:05.390 --> 00:28:08.329 something that we discussed about censorship and how people use 552 00:28:08.369 --> 00:28:09.470 codes to get around it. 553 00:28:10.190 --> 00:28:12.460 And I think that's just one of the other fascinating things. 554 00:28:12.359 --> 00:28:14.259 About these letters is whenever I feel like I've exhausted 555 00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:17.960 a subject matter, someone surprises me with something i've never seen. 556 00:28:17.819 --> 00:28:21.299 Before that's fantastic i want to know more of what 557 00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:23.619 you guys are working on now and but before that 558 00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:25.339 i want to know what was the reaction to the 559 00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:27.019 film when it came out when did you both get 560 00:28:27.059 --> 00:28:29.859 to see this with an audience for the first time well. 561 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:31.640 We really new york i think new york was our 562 00:28:31.700 --> 00:28:33.690 big that was the final cut. 563 00:28:34.049 --> 00:28:37.730 Yeah yeah it was terrific i mean the the response 564 00:28:37.789 --> 00:28:41.789 has just been wonderful and heartwarming and people are moved 565 00:28:42.630 --> 00:28:46.009 i mean we've I've heard multiple times that this is 566 00:28:46.069 --> 00:28:51.569 a life-changing movie, that a theme we hear over and 567 00:28:51.609 --> 00:28:55.890 over again is everybody needs to see this. High school kids, 568 00:28:55.990 --> 00:29:01.319 college kids, politicians is another one we hear often, you know, 569 00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:07.140 that politicians should see this film. And I agree, but 570 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:11.880 I also say it's also for families to watch, anybody 571 00:29:11.900 --> 00:29:15.430 connected to the military. anybody who's had an uncle or 572 00:29:15.490 --> 00:29:18.970 a grandfather or a great-grandfather who fought, and that is 573 00:29:19.049 --> 00:29:23.150 a wide reach. But I think, as we were saying before, 574 00:29:23.769 --> 00:29:27.869 the underlying themes of the movie sort of transcend military 575 00:29:27.930 --> 00:29:34.970 as well. They're human stories. These are about people, you know, 576 00:29:35.009 --> 00:29:38.269 living their life through the prism of war, which heightens everything. 577 00:29:38.289 --> 00:29:46.400 And that's very worthy to see that and to experience 578 00:29:46.460 --> 00:29:51.839 what they've experienced and to know what they've experienced. Yeah, 579 00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:54.839 I think people feel generally sort of a bit transformed 580 00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:57.980 after the movie, is my experience and what they've told us. 581 00:30:00.430 --> 00:30:02.599 And this happened in New York, is people come up 582 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:04.500 to me and say, I was kind of dragged here 583 00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:06.500 by a friend or a relative. 584 00:30:06.519 --> 00:30:08.559 I was like, I don't know what to expect. And 585 00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:10.960 I was so moved by these correspondences. 586 00:30:10.980 --> 00:30:12.599 And one of the things that John and I have 587 00:30:12.619 --> 00:30:14.730 talked about that we hope this film will do is 588 00:30:14.750 --> 00:30:18.990 kind of bridge the civilian-military divide. Because I think 1% 589 00:30:18.990 --> 00:30:22.210 of the population is involved with the military, and so 590 00:30:22.230 --> 00:30:26.539 you've got 99% that are not. I think the reactions 591 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:28.500 that have moved me the most are the ones by 592 00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:32.000 civilians saying, I had no idea what these service members and. 593 00:30:31.960 --> 00:30:32.819 Their families go through. 594 00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:34.660 I mean, you see it in film, like, you know, 595 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:37.440 Saving Private Ryan and stuff like that. But this is 596 00:30:37.460 --> 00:30:40.640 a much more like personal, intimate look at all different 597 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:43.299 people from all different wars. And so I think that, 598 00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:46.420 as John said, educators have said to us that this 599 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:48.960 should be shown in colleges across the country. And because 600 00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:51.019 it's not a history lesson, like people like me who 601 00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:53.509 didn't like history, are drawn to a film like this 602 00:30:53.569 --> 00:30:57.210 because it is just one human story after another that 603 00:30:57.250 --> 00:30:58.670 we can relate to in some way. 604 00:30:59.339 --> 00:31:03.339 Absolutely. So, Andrew, you mentioned the email project. What else 605 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:03.940 are you working on? 606 00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:06.220 That's really, I mean, you know, the film is just 607 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:06.920 coming out now. 608 00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:09.299 We're hoping to do a screening in Los Angeles in 609 00:31:09.339 -->

00:31:11.420 January with Erin Gurel. 610 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:13.440 We've talked with her about that. She's of the Freedom 611 00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:14.200 Writers fame. 612 00:31:14.940 --> 00:31:18.589 And we're hoping other people will sponsor screenings, you know, 613 00:31:18.750 --> 00:31:22.759 civics organizations, public libraries. And really kind of get it 614 00:31:22.859 --> 00:31:24.160 out there. I mean, obviously, it's great that we're on 615 00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:28.099 the platforms that we're on. But one of the facts 616 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:30.279 I heard not too long ago, when Hamilton came out 617 00:31:30.819 --> 00:31:34.059 on Disney Plus or whatever, more people saw Hamilton in 618 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:36.720 one day watching it, you know, in their homes, whatever, 619 00:31:37.140 --> 00:31:40.619 than the thousands of Broadway performances they had done. And 620 00:31:40.740 --> 00:31:43.319 so I tell people, I didn't start this project to 621 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:46.299 write books, do plays, or have a film. I use 622 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:48.160 the books, the play, and the film to spread the 623 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:51.650 word about the project and that it's ongoing. So for me, 624 00:31:51.710 --> 00:31:54.609 it's just, you know, keep seeking out those letters that, 625 00:31:54.710 --> 00:31:57.009 you know, that are not expected. And I think as, 626 00:31:57.019 --> 00:31:59.000 you know, John and I talked about, hopefully to really 627 00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:01.539 make a series out of this and use all this 628 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:03.019 great material that we have that's still there. 629 00:32:03.819 --> 00:32:07.079 John, obviously, yeah, supporting the film is going to be huge. 630 00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:09.380 Is this pretty much your life for the next, you know, 631 00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:15.450 foreseeable future? It is, but I am a full-time professor 632 00:32:15.910 --> 00:32:20.359 and working, you know, doing that. you know, trying to 633 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:24.109 keep these students all moving in one direction. But I 634 00:32:24.170 --> 00:32:27.710 also have a really interesting project that I have started 635 00:32:27.750 --> 00:32:32.250 working with these two women, and I'm not quite sure 636 00:32:33.130 --> 00:32:36.690 why I have to work through these things. First war letters, 637 00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:39.240 and now there's a book. It's called If I Don't 638 00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:42.279 Make It, I Love You, and it's survivors in the 639 00:32:42.359 --> 00:32:47.039 aftermath of school shootings, a book of testimonials. Amy Archer 640 00:32:47.099 --> 00:32:49.380 and Lauren Kleinman, and I've been working with them, and 641 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:54.700 we're I'm developing a script very similar to If All 642 00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:56.660 This Guy Were Paper that Andy and I worked on. 643 00:32:57.440 --> 00:33:01.700 And it's a school project. It's something I'm doing through school. 644 00:33:01.740 --> 00:33:08.980 So we're taking testimonials. They traveled around the country. I 645 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:15.720 think 2017 to 2021 letters. Survivors, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, 646 00:33:16.509 --> 00:33:22.690 and sometimes the survivors themselves. administrators, teachers, and they took 647 00:33:22.710 --> 00:33:24.809 these testimonials, and so we're going to put those on 648 00:33:24.829 --> 00:33:30.329 the stage and see where that takes us. So that's 649 00:33:30.410 --> 00:33:34.970 a side project. But yeah, the main focus here, of course, 650 00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:38.839 is my main job and getting this movie out. We're 651 00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:41.839 very proud of it. We feel that it has a 652 00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:44.640 lot to say, and it has healing aspects to it, 653 00:33:44.680 --> 00:33:48.420 the movie, behind the lines. And one thing, you know, 654 00:33:48.440 --> 00:33:51.440 worth noting, we didn't really touch on this, but it 655 00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:55.240 was a conscious choice all along as well to, it's 656 00:33:55.299 --> 00:33:59.769 not a political film. We don't, there's no agenda here 657 00:33:59.849 --> 00:34:02.849 as far as that goes. And I think that's worth 658 00:34:02.930 --> 00:34:05.569 noting that it's really just a human story and it 659 00:34:05.609 --> 00:34:08.269 has real sort of healing properties, which is something else 660 00:34:08.309 --> 00:34:11.889 that we've heard that this movie could potentially, you know, 661 00:34:12.250 --> 00:34:14.389 sort of heal some of the divide in this country. 662 00:34:16.190 --> 00:34:18.610 I'm really proud of that when I hear that from 663 00:34:18.650 --> 00:34:19.530 an audience member. 664 00:34:20.369 --> 00:34:22.389 And just to add real quickly, we've had, there's some 665 00:34:22.489 --> 00:34:26.570 very patriotic letters in the film and people have reacted 666 00:34:26.610 --> 00:34:28.010 very strongly to those in a good way. 667 00:34:28.070 --> 00:34:29.460 And obviously the. 668 00:34:29.449 --> 00:34:32.500 Letters that talk about the horrors of war. And it's 669 00:34:32.539 --> 00:34:34.760 interesting because the veterans are the ones who seem most 670 00:34:34.820 --> 00:34:37.980 appreciative of like, thank you for not romanticizing, you know, 671 00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:40.760 or glorifying something that at its core is, you know, 672 00:34:40.780 --> 00:34:43.980 people killing people. And so again, there's no agenda to 673 00:34:44.019 --> 00:34:46.739 the film in that sense. But, you know, we have 674 00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:48.760 people from all we can tell from different political stripes 675 00:34:48.820 --> 00:34:51.320 coming together and saying, we agree that this is the 676 00:34:51.340 --> 00:34:54.119 kind of message that, you know, regardless of what side 677 00:34:54.139 --> 00:34:56.360 you're on, it's going to resonate with you. And it 678 00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:58.119 really does have the power, as John said, to bring 679 00:34:58.179 --> 00:35:00.639 us together as opposed to creating more division. 680 00:35:01.980 --> 00:35:04.119 Well, John and Andy, thank you so much for your 681 00:35:04.139 --> 00:35:06.280 time today, guys. This was really nice meeting you. And 682 00:35:06.340 --> 00:35:07.539 thank you so much for the movie. 683 00:35:08.699 --> 00:35:09.340 Thanks, Mike. 684 00:35:09.429 --> 00:35:11.280 Thanks so much. It was a pleasure to talk to you. 685 00:35:16.190 --> 00:35:26.030 We'll be right. 686 00:35:25.190 --> 00:35:25.409 Back. 687 00:35:46.820 --> 00:35:52.460 Hello, my love, I heard a kiss from you. Red 688 00:35:52.500 --> 00:35:59.210 magic sat in plain near, too. All through the morning rain, 689 00:35:59.309 --> 00:36:04.940 I gaze, the sun doesn't shine. Rainbows and waterfalls run 690 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:10.940 through my mind. In the garden, I see the west 691 00:36:10.980 --> 00:36:17.010 purple shower belt. her cousin's dressed in green. 692 00:36:16.570 --> 00:36:19.610 Pretty music out here so happy and. 693 00:36:19.550 --> 00:36:22.369 Loud blue flowers echo from a cherry cloud. 694 00:36:22.170 --> 00:36:27.050 Feel sunshine sparkle pink and blue playgrounds will laugh. 695 00:36:26.889 --> 00:36:28.889 If you try to ask is. 696 00:36:28.909 --> 00:36:30.949 It cool is it cool. 697 00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:41.639 If you arrive and don't. 698 00:36:41.489 --> 00:36:46.050 See me, I'm going to be with my baby. 699 00:36:47.219 --> 00:36:47.880 I'm free. 700 00:36:47.940 --> 00:36:48.380 Fly home. 701 00:36:52.050 --> 00:36:58.820 Over the sea Stained window, yellow candy screen Sea speakers 702 00:36:58.909 --> 00:37:06.900 of kites With velvet roses digging freedom flights A present 703 00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:09.380 from you Strawberry letter. 704 00:37:08.909 --> 00:37:11.329 22 The music plays are setting. 705 00:37:11.090 --> 00:38:38.070 For you Thank you. Thank you. A president from you. 706 00:38:38.369 --> 00:38:44.429 Strawberry letter 22. The music plays, I sent in for 707 00:38:44.690 --> 00:38:45.030 a few. 708 00:39:52.230 --> 00:39:53.349 Thank you.