Shock and Awe, with Rob Reiner, Woody Harrelson, James Marsden, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jessica Biel, open in grand theaters on Friday, July 13, 2018. [19659017] (19659010) Allison Kugel: Tell me about the research you did to prepare for the role of Knight Ridder's bureau chief in Washington, John Walcott.
Rob Reiner: Walcott, Warren Strobel, Jonathan Landay, and Joe Calloway were all involved in scriptwriting. They met us several times to review the screenplay to make sure it was accurate, and they were there for the shoot and totally handmade. There is nothing in the film for which they would not give their approval. In fact, my speech in the film was the speech that John [Walcott] gave. It was Jonathan Landay who came to see me and said, "You should do this speech that John Walcott gave us." John Walcott told me the speech and I told him about it. I wrote. We put it in there and pulled it that day
Allison Kugel: I came across an interesting statistic that has upset me. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2018, 43% of Americans still believe in 2018 that the war in Iraq was a good idea.
Rob Reiner: (Laughs) How was it? good idea?
Allison Kugel: Forty-three percent. That's a lot of people. How to reach these people with this film, Shock and Awe and get them to look at him with an open mind?
Rob Reiner: In marketing terms, I do not know how you reach people like that; it's not my expertise. What I can say is that if you think it was a good idea or not, you have to agree that sending people to death because of a lying is not a good idea. We killed and wounded about thirty-eight thousand [Americans] and more than one million Iraqis were killed or wounded. Two trillion dollars of Americans [money] were spent for this [war] and they have increased over the years. I would say that it's never good to go to war based on a lie, even if the results are something that you think is positive. We went out and we ended up having to face ISIS in addition to all that.
Allison Kugel: If social media had been at the origin of the wars of Vietnam and Iraq, how do you think the media landscape would have impacted the narrative?
Rob Reiner: In the case of the war in Iraq, it would have benefited even more the administration. The problem we had with those of us who thought we should not go is, just like the four guys from Knight Ridder, we were missing the zeitgeist of patriotism that came out of 9/11 . If (former Vice President, Dick) Cheney wanted to spread the false story that there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, that aluminum tubes could be used to enrich uranium (In the In the weeks leading up to the war [Iraq]senior government officials repeatedly stated that Iraq had attempted to acquire more than 100,000 high-strength aluminum tubes for centrifuges The enriched uranium is one of two materials that can be used to make nuclear weapons. He was developing weapons of mbad destruction, if Dick Cheney had access to social media, it would strengthen their case and people would feel really unpatriotic when they opposed it. Shock and Awe, with Rob Reiner, Woody Harrelson, James Marsden, Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Biel, opens in theaters on Friday, July 13, 2018. (19659010) Allison Kugel: And the Vietnam War?
Rob Reiner: The Vietnam War could have been different because at that time. there was a fervor for anti-communism. People were worried about communism and the domino theory, and all that. He could have cut both ways on that one. What we have found is that social media makes it very difficult for people to understand what is true and what is not. The Russians have been playing these active action games and disinformation campaign games for a long time. We do it too, but it becomes a weapon when we talk about social media. It's very difficult to overcome the lies. That's why they say, "A lie makes its way five times around the world before the truth is put on his pants."
Allison Kugel: What was the atmosphere on the set? Have the actors entered political conversations?
Rob Reiner: Of course. Not only did we make this film, but we filmed during the 2016 presidential campaign, so we talked a lot about what was going on. I do not think the mainstream press thought [President Trump] would get the nomination, and I do not think they thought it was going to win. So, I do not think they approved it as they approved Hillary Clinton. It was the biggest problem. Many newspapers will tell you that they did not really dig deep enough into [Trump]
Allison Kugel: Do you think it's okay that the powers that worked behind the scenes are trying to sabotage? President Trump's campaign and support for Hillary Clinton's campaign, did they think it would serve the country's greatest good?
Rob Reiner: I do not think that they should do it for the sake of doing it. They should only bring out what it really is. I do not know what you mean by sabotage. How can you sabotage a campaign unless you tell lies about the guy?
Allison Kugel: Let me restructure the issue in a slightly different direction. Do you think it was acceptable for the Democratic Party to use some tactics to try to tip the bid for Hillary Clinton, compared to Bernie Sanders, during the 2016 primary race? they felt that she was the strongest candidate and pushed her to the Democratic nomination.
Rob Reiner: Now you're talking about a political party and political maneuvers, and what political parties do to have an electoral success. It's different to say that the press would have tried to sabotage one candidate over another.
Allison Kugel: Same moral and ethical problem, but I say it now from a different position. The question is essentially, do you think that it is acceptable to intercept the purity of our democratic election process to serve greater perceived good?
Rob Reiner: No, I do not think it is. And by the way, I think Hillary would have won the nomination anyway. They pointed out that Debbie Wbaderman Schultz did not favor Hillary Clinton. In all fairness, Bernie Sanders was not a Democrat, and they were trying to appoint a Democrat. But I do not think the process should ever be compromised. I can tell you that if the press has spent so much time talking about a presidential nominee who has basically poached people from their life savings as much as emails from Hillary Clinton, he's n & # 39; He could never have become president. There is no way that America is electing a guy who is a criminal who stops people from saving a lifetime. But you only heard about it once
Allison Kugel: There is no doubt that the media chose to feed the beast of sensationalism when it came to the president Trump, and I think they regret this approach.
Rob Reiner: I'm sure they do it. just as the New York Times has apologized about the war in Iraq. It is the job of the media to examine these candidates. And they did not do it with Trump. They spent a lot of time on the cbadette Access Hollywood . Who cares? They have already indicted a guy who had bad badual inclinations. And who cares? If a guy is a criminal and he steals money from people, he then takes money from others to pay them, gee whiz!
Shock and Awe, starring Rob Reiner, Woody Harrelson, James Marsden, Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Biel, opens in the main room on Friday, July 13 2018. (Photo: Castle Rock Entertainment, Vertical Entertainment)
Allison Kugel: In the 1970s, Norman Lear created All In The Family, and the iconic character of Archie Bunker, to which reference has been made. like "an adorable bigot." This character was the famous xenophobe, if you will. You have, of course, played his Liberal son-in-law, Mike 'Meathead & # 39; Stivic. How do you think Archie Bunker would have played with the television audience of today? I think it would have worked well. We are a little more PC now. I do not think you can say some things we said. But the thing about Archie's character was that we were always making fun of him in the show. It was a satire, and whenever his sectarianism and racism were exposed, we would overthrow him and refute him. We would always shed light on ignorance. So, we laughed at that. I think that's how you could do it, as long as people know you're not saying it's a good thing.
Allison Kugel: How your father, Carl Reiner, shaped your political and social ideals. years?
Rob Reiner: This is more the case of my mother than of my father. Although my father is politically active, he will even tell you that his wife (late Estelle Reiner) educated him on political ideas. She was more of a politically-minded person, and my dad is involved too. He walked into the Moratorium to end the war in Vietnam, and you can see him on Twitter. Every night he goes to Trump
Allison Kugel: You do not mince your words on Twitter either. You really go after Trump. After posting a tweet, are you looking at your comments?
Rob Reiner: I was there at first, but now I have nearly half a million followers and there are just so many d & # 39; Between them, and they are so ruthless. They say all these horrible things. "You're a libtard, you're a commie [sic]." I do not really look at him and I do not care what they have to say, because I know who this guy is (in reference to President Trump )). He is a mentally ill who has major emotional issues that he tries to fill by kneeling narcissistically. He admires the autocrats because I think he has an autocratic craving. I think [Trump] would like to be Vladimir Putin; something to have a government where every business has to go through it, and it gets a cut of everything. It stirs up fear and is racist. We have already seen people like this, but it's just amazing that this has happened in this country.
Allison Kugel: The news of today seems to be motivated by fear. Many Americans have taken to avoid the news. How do you think people have to find a balance between staying informed and not succumbing to fear?
Rob Reiner: I think it takes work. There are real fears and real problems. And then there are problems created that have exploded. You must be able to understand the difference and recognize a real threat, and that it is a perceived threat or invented from scratch. The only way to know the difference is to do some reading. For example, if you are only going to read one side, then you are going to think that MS-13 (and the international criminal gang) is crossing the border into America. But if you do your homework, you will discover that MS-13, although a violent gang, does not cross the border. It is a group of local origin and illegal immigration is far from it. This does not mean that you should not have an immigration policy. You need an immigration policy, but it is not a real threat. It is a real problem that children are taken away from their mothers and fathers.
Allison Kugel: What do you expect people to come out of your movie, Shock and Awe ]
Rob Reiner: We We need a free and independent press, a vigilant press, to hold the government to account so that we do not go to war on the basis of lies. The second thing is to realize what a free and independent press costs. What will be the cost? Not only the quality of life of people and lives lost, but the erosion of our democracy.
Allison Kugel is a syndicated journalist of entertainment and pop culture, and author of the book, Journaling Fame: A Memory of an Unbalanced and Discreet Life. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel and visit AllisonKugel.com
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