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 Banner by Wes Vance |
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For any movie franchise, some feel that one more is one too many. In the case of Sylvester Stallone, he just wanted to give his characters the closure they deserved. With ROCKY BALBOA last year, Stallone went away from the studio system and made his most personal film, which became not surprisingly his biggest hit in years. The actor/writer/director followed it up with a return to his other iconic figure, the war scarred John Rambo for RAMBO, which comes out January 25th from Lionsgate. To promote RAMBO, Heidi Martinuzzi, AKA Superheidi, represented the Colonel's Crypt at a press junket and had an opportunity to speak with Stallone on the film's real life setting, returning to the character, the film's graphic violence, and the legacy of both his film career and the life of John Rambo.
INTERVIEW BY HEIDI MARTINUZZI Sylvester Stallone’s new RAMBO, a close follow-up to the recent hit sequel to ROCKY, also attempts to tie up a few loose ends and give a grand, if not bloody, finale to a character that has become part of American Film History. Mr. Stallone is an extremely charismatic man, despite his thuggish demeanor in many films. He’s also a very smart man and a decent filmmaker with a resume to prove it. RAMBO IV was written and directed by Sly, who also stars alongside Julie Benz.
Cobras, real Thai soldiers and rebels, and a quick shoot involving many night shoots and rain. And centipedes that look like “hotdogs with legs… We couldn’t afford CGI snakes.” Made for a very dangerous shoot. The crew tried to tape shut the jaws of King Cobras to keep them from biting the cast, but “I didn’t realize they aren’t like alligators.” They bit right through the tape. “We have a lot of that for the DVD. It’ll be fun”. At 61 years old, Sylvester Stallone is rather old to be playing an action star. Why did he want to make Rambo IV now? SYLVESTER STALLONE: You know a career has peaks and valleys and either you hearken back to things that you are known for, every actor would like to say they have an in credible palate, but often you are known for certain things, and if I could end my career, finish up the loose ends on RAMBO, because I tried it on the last RAMBO film and it didn’t work. And I tried on the last ROCKY and it didn’t work. I wanted to focus on these two and as fate would have it here I was going through that transition in the past twenty years, where, maybe ten years ago this wouldn’t even have been acceptable, but right now with this inundation of violence and this constant bombardment of CNN every day, I think there’s a frustration building up that needed a release. It was just good timing. It’s been a long time since you played Rambo. Is it weird to come back to a character that you first portrayed over 25 years ago? SS: It reminds me of Eugene O‘Neil’s father, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, he played it for 33 years. One of the most intense scenes in the film involves a black and white nightmare sequence that actually features scenes of Rambo being shot that were deleted scenes from RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD. The message behind this violent dream of Rambo’s is “Accept who are, accept who you are.” Rambo’s revelation early in the fourth installment is clear. SS: I kill for myself. I don’t kill for my country. I’m a killer with a penchant for violence that has to come out… In his dream sequence he’s just wishing it was all over, and if he could have done it all over he wishes Charlie would have killed him because he cannot come to terms with the fact that he’s a killer. The film opens with some shockingly graphic documentary footage of actual atrocities taking place in Burma today. It’s a gritty and controversial choice for Stallone. SS: I was dependent upon the audience not knowing anything about Burma, even though two months ago we learned about the genocide. So, I just wanted to bring them up to date. There’s nothing more impressionable than when you see the newsreels so you know you’re viewing a film that is not just a fantasy… I thought it would add a little bit of gravitas to it. It was going to be a little more elaborate with a voice over but I thought, just leave it at that. Rambo IV is also one of the most violent films to come out in theaters in a very long time. SS: Not one of the most. The most. I worked very hard for this. (smiles) Given how violent it was, how did you get an R-rating for his film instead of an NC-17? How did the MPAA make their decision? SS: They were conflicted but we’re dealing with a real subject. As we speak people are dying and being tortured in the most brutal fashion you can never even imagine. And this film will show that. And if we’re going to actually do anything with this medium other than entertain it’s to perhaps save a few lives and bring an awareness to this. Please don’t water it down. Babies are being decimated, women are being raped. All that happens all the time. People can turn away, they have this option. But don’t go to the PG-13 situation… this is a different kind of movie. This has to walk that thin line. It was almost an experiment how far you can push entertainment but stay true to the bloodshed. Using sometimes as many as nine cameras and often only two, the terrain of the Burmese jungle made for some interesting camerawork that is easily the most dominant aspect of RAMBO IV. SS: I kind of thought this one would be like the character. Jerky, erratic, unsteady, always moving… I can’t walk five feet without tripping over a vine. So I thought the camera should be that way. And also cause of economics. We didn’t have time to put the camera on anything that resembled a dolly. It was quick and run-and-gun. You miss a lot of shots but you get a lot of energy. Sly’s movie legacy is one that will go down in action-movie history. But action films are different now, with a lot more flash and a lot less actual stunt work and effort. How will he fit in to the genre’s ever-changing style? SS: I think that upcoming actors will look at me like an archaic, prehistoric creature that belongs to a certain bygone genre that no longer exists. Because now we’ve become much more scientific and less personal. Most of my peers were very physical. Arnold, Bruce... they were more hands-on. I think a lot of actors today are more hands-off and they’re more intellectual. So, I think it we’ll be like when you go to the Museum of Natural History, and I’ll be the pterodactyl. I always talk to Arnold about it. I say, ‘when are you gonna get over this job? You’ve gotta have some fun! Despite being so old-school action-hero-ey, there is a considerable amount of computer-generated blood and special effects, more so than in any previous Rambo film. How do you explain that? SS: When you are hit flat-out with a 50-caliber, you are literally emulsified. It’s not like a little bullet hole… You’re not slightly wounded. I wanted to show how brutal... the CGI was necessary, because we couldn’t have put that much explosives on a person… I don’t like it, but Jesus, how do you put holes through people? The film ends on a non-violent note (sorry for the spoiler). Rambo leaves Burma and heads home to a father the audience has never seen before. SS: He goes down to see his father. Who, by the way is a full blooded Indian. I decided not to shoot it because it ends up being double epilogue but he realizes where he came from. He comes from a society that is absolutely archaic compared to ours. So, he’s going back into a primitive existence, a hard existence… That’s where he belongs. When he is confronted by people and society, the rage builds up. He defends people who can’t defend themselves. It’s not like he goes out looking for trouble, but he embraces it. Stallone sums up John Rambo’s nature in 5 words: SS: The warrior needs to... war”. And what will John Rambo do once he sees his father? Will his violent streak then end? SS: His journey is over. It’s like an Odyssey, like the Odyssey, he goes through his trials and tribulations. In the end everybody’s thinking, ‘Can I ever go back and have one more chance to try and relive my life, even though there’s not much of it left?’ So to me it’s kind of a happy ending. Will there ever be a fifth RAMBO film? SS: I have a bizarre idea. It’s probably so absurd, but…I mean, if I told you I was going to do a story about a 61 year old boxer you’d go ‘Phhht’. But… if you find the right formula almost anything is feasible. It’s just a matter of making the audience go, ‘That’s feasible. It’s possible. It’s weird, but possible’. SPACE COWBOYS, Hello? But it worked. (Special thanks to Lionsgate and BWR)
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