What initially attracted you to the project ?
The story had a built-in ticking-clock suspense factor. At the centre was a Captain whose decisions under pressure were vital and supporting him were many brave submariners prepared to subject themselves to radiation to fend off disaster. The nobility of their sacrifice was an important part of the film for me.
How and when did you discover the story of K-19?
In 1994, I heard the story of how in 1961, 129 men on board a Russian submarine had faced up to this major nuclear incident. They had the fate of the world in their hands. I saw this as a great opportunity to acknowledge their contribution to our survival. As the script came together, I met many Russian submariners and nuclear physicists and the culmination of my research was being invited to the Russian Naval base where K-19 is berthed to see the submarine for myself.
What particularly fascinated you about doing a film like this?
One of the elements in the film that really fascinated me was not to look at the world in bi-polar terms of us vs them or east vs west, which was a by-product of the Cold War. It was fascinating to look at Americans through the eyes of the "enemy" and see that we are not quite as impervious to imperfections as we like to think we are. I wanted to re-evaluate the us vs them paranoia in the hope that we don't repeat mistakes we've made in the past.
How do the Russians themselves view the incident?
The Communist regime didn't consider this to be a shining moment in history and assigned no heroism to it. They classified it as merely an accident. I hope the release of the film may change that.
"K-19: The Widowmaker" opens in UK cinemas on Friday 25th October 2002.
