The International - Interview & Clips!

They own your money. They run your life. They control everything.

No, it's not the new business model for the British banking industry, but the tagline for Sony Pictures' new action thriller The International, released on February 27, 2009.

Directed by Tom Tykwer (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer), The International sees Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Own) and New York Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) go up against one of the world's most powerful banks. After discovering the multi-national institution is involved in many illegal activities including money laundering, arms trading and the destabilization of governments, Salinger and Whitman's investigation takes them around the world...

It certainly sounds like a must see for anyone who's felt the desire to get revenge against their bank manager for overdraft charges. And to get some insider information, we spoke to stars Clive Owen and Naomi Watts about what we can expect.


The International is actually based on a true story; did you have to undertake a lot of research for the film?

NAOMI WATTS [Director Tom Tykwer] gave us a bunch of literature to read. It's mind blowing to think that can go on. Obviously, this is an extreme level where so many people are involved, and there are so many links that it's impossible to prove them guilty. The fact that [Louis and Eleanor] are brave enough to go up against it is what makes it interesting as a movie. Two people can make a difference!

CLIVE OWEN The thing that attracted me to [the film] was that it felt like those Seventies paranoid political thrillers; it was intelligent, it was well researched, it was based in fact, but at the same it was obviously a big international, exciting thriller. So it’s not dumb, but no one’s pretending it’s not a big movie.

It's certainly a very big movie, with a number of impressive set pieces. How did you prepare for such an intense level of action?

CLIVE OWEN I thought, ‘Well, having done Shoot ‘Em Up, I don’t need any more gun training!’ I think the Guggenheim sequence in this film is probably one of the most exquisitely realized I’ve ever been involved in. It was a huge scene within the movie, and Tom’s [Tykwer, director] preparation was extraordinary.

Months before we even started shooting, he and I walked around the Guggenheim and he had the whole thing planned out. When we did the first full rehearsal with all the stunt guys, you felt that it was going to be a pretty extraordinary sequence.

[And here, for your entertainment, is that very same Guggenheim sequence in all its glory...]



You certainly shot in some amazing locations, including Turkey, Italy and Germany, as well as New York City. How do you cope with the schedule?

CLIVE OWEN You arrive, there’s no real time to acclimatize, you hit the ground running and you start shooting. On a film like this, environment is hugely important. You’re trying to suggest that this huge international bank is almighty and all powerful, and it’s very important that my character runs around the world trying to get close to these people, because that’s how far their reach is.

NAOMI WATTS The scene we shot in Milan was probably the most challenging. It was very fragmented. There were so many people in that scene, [at the] the political rally. It was shot very much out of sequence. When you shoot things like that, you've got to stay focused and it was spread out over many days.


Director Tom Tykwer was obviously central to helping you stay on track during a demanding shoot. What was it like working with such an involved film-maker?

CLIVE OWEN I think Tom Tykwer is as good a director as I’ll ever come across. He is really unique and has a grip on all aspects of filmmaking. He’s a bit of a workaholic, but I had a really great time with him. I really liked the script to begin with, and he was constantly honing and refining it. But the rhythm of his work is one that, by the time you come in there to shoot it, we’ve ironed out anything that needs to be ironed out. We don’t have those last-minute discussions on set.

NAOMI WATTS He's so well prepared at all times. Firstly, what he did was create a schedule that suited me and my newborn baby. I got to the set about two months after they had started shooting and I shot five consecutive weeks which is all I thought I could manage, so I loved that he did that for me. He's a very sensitive and fair person.

Once I read the script, he talked about his style and how he wanted to shoot the film. He sent me a bunch of films from the '70s, these kinds of political thrillers so I could get in the mindset of it all.


Clive, many of your on-screen characters have faced some serious adversity; how do you put yourself in their shoes?

CLIVE OWEN My job is to put people in the place of understanding what your character’s going through. It’s simple, you can do it in a movie kind of way and try and look cool with your gun, but I’m more interested in trying to convey what it might really be like to be in that situation. That’s my job as an actor, and I always treat those scenes like that, so I’m never trying to look cool. It’s about trying to put people in the position, and think about how terrifying it would be to be here right now.

And Naomi, how did you prepare for your role?

NAOMI WATTS I met with an Assistant District Attorney in New York. I was able to talk with her about what it's like in the office and being a woman operating very much in a man's world. She basically said you have to be on your game the whole time. Most of these men are pretty tough and they'll try to take advantage of you. Not in a sexual way but in a power struggle kind of way so you'd better be on your game and not be slinking around the office!


Clive, were you a bit disappointed that you didn’t get to have a romantic moment with Naomi?

CLIVE OWEN It would have been a very cliché thing to suddenly have them fall for each other. I really like it because I think it’s very mature, and what drives them is their commitment to what they’re trying to do. There is definitely an attraction there and, you know, in another time, another place, there is the possibility that they would make a good couple, but ultimately it’s about two people who are very committed to their cause, and they share that.


Want to know more? You only have a week to wait until The International hits your local cinema but, in the meantime, here's the trailer...



Interviews by Judy Sloane