n 2013, Tom, a CIA agent working undercover in a hostile area of Afghanistan, has his true identity made public overnight. So here he is, in the company of an Afghan translator whose head has been put on a price, entangled behind enemy lines.
Then begins a perilous race against time through the desert. Written by Mitchell LaFortune, a former US military intelligence officer, the spy thriller Mission Kandahar (VF) marks the third collaboration between actor Gerard Butler and director Ric Roman Waugh.
“I’ve seen, like everyone else, a whole bunch of films set in the Middle East. Mitch’s screenplay stood out because he worked in the field for ten years during the War on Terror [dans la foulée des attentats du 11 septembre 2001] “Explains Ric Roman Waugh, joined in Los Angeles.
Mitchell LaFortune was, among other things, inspired by his own experiences in the said field in the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations.
“What Mitch managed to do with his screenplay is a bit like, I think, what the movie Sicario has accomplished with the drug war, which is to give us the human factor on all sides involved. Mission Kandahar is not limited to the only Western point of view in the face of one-dimensional Middle Eastern villains. The film looks at each faction in a way that offers a more three-dimensional portrait of the situation. All this, in a context of action that does not let up for a moment. »
However, Ric Roman Waugh specifies that his mantra is never to stick to “action for action’s sake”.
“I make films, but when I go to the cinema, I’m like any spectator: the film presented may have cost 200 million dollars, if I don’t feel emotionally invested, I lose interest in what is on the screen. I always try to provide an emotional access point for the audience in relation to the characters. So that the action scenes, when they occur, are not only entertaining: they become engaging. »
Mentor Tony Scott
However, when it comes to action scenes, Ric Roman Waugh knows all about it. Indeed, before becoming a director, he was a stuntman for a long time, among others on films Days of Thunder (thunder dayby Tony Scott), Last of the Mohicans (THE last of the mohicansby Michael Mann), Hook (Captain Hookby Steven Spielberg), and Last Action Hero(THE last of the heroesby John McTiernan).
When asked if there is a lesson learned in this former professional life that he continues to apply in the second, Ric Roman Waugh answers without hesitation: “A smart guy knows how to surround himself with people even smarter than him. : in a field as collaborative as cinema, this is fundamental. I learned that the hard way, on sets where the directors kept all the information to themselves and refused to include the team in their creative process, under the illusion of controlling everything. But I also had the counterexample, with Tony Scott [1944-2012], whom I made my mentor. Tony took care to create a collaborative, friendly work environment. It made everyone rally behind him and give their all, because everyone felt part of the process. On each shoot, I think of Tony, and I try to do like him. »
This attitude, we understand half a word, served Ric Roman Waugh well on Mission Kandahar : his film, he confides, the most complex to date, both narratively and technically as well as logistically.
“It’s a film that takes place in six languages, which echoes several cultures, several territories… I have to provide you with a lot of information, as an audience, but while entertaining you. So it is out of the question for two characters to suddenly stop to explain to each other who they are, what they do, and why. Except that this information, I still have to pass it on to you so that you are not confused, especially since here, allies today can be enemies the next day. It’s a delicate balance to maintain. »
As for the technical and logistical aspects, Mission Kandahar was filmed in Saudi Arabia, which was both a privilege and a challenge.
“The script was so authentic… The first thing I said to the producers was that there was no way we were going to shoot in New Mexico and pass it off as the Middle East. I did not know then that Saudi Arabia was preparing to reopen its territory to international filming. Our film was the guinea pig, since Mission Kandahar is the first major production shot there since Lawrence of Arabia (Lawrence of Arabia, 1962). We were starting from zero. We set up this infrastructure to manage 400 people from 25 countries… Several of these people were there to help us ensure that as many details as possible were correct. Everyone got involved on an emotional level that threw me off. »
Like a brother
Speaking of emotional involvement, after three films made with him, either Angel Has Fallen (The final assault), Greenland (Greenland) and now Mission KandaharRic Roman Waugh says he considers Gerard Butler “his brother”.
“ Angel was extraordinary for me, because with Gerry, I had, for the first time, the impression of finding a dance partner for the cinema. Often actors who are action movie stars don’t like to show vulnerability in their roles, not really. They also don’t like their characters to have real flaws. Gerry is quite the opposite. He’s a very down to earth guy. We are now like two brothers. And like most brothers, we stubbornly argue and bicker, but always make up with a big, manly hug. And the best idea always wins. »
This philosophy, Ric Roman Waugh intends to stick to it in the pair of films that he must shoot soon. Yes, both will feature Gerard Butler, his action brother.
The film Mission Kandahar
takes the poster
May 26.
What Mitch [Mitchell LaFortune] managed to do with its screenplay is a bit equivalent, I think, to what the film Sicario achieved with the war on drugs, which was to give us the human factor on all sides involved. Mission Kandahar is not limited to the Western point of view alone in the face of one-dimensional Middle Eastern villains. Ric Roman Waugh »