- Title: USA: KURT RUSSELL'S ATTEND FILM PREMIERE OF HIS LATEST FILM "SOLDIER"
- Date: 10th October 1998
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 10) (RTV-LA) KURT RUSSELL SAYING (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH ) "WHAT IS INTERESTING IN A MOVIE LIKE THIS IS THAT LINES ARE A WAY OF EXPRESSING YOURSELF. THEY'RE A WAY OF SAYING WHO YOUR CHARACTER IS AND WHAT YOUR CHARACTER IS THINKING AND FEELING. WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE LINES, WHAT'S REALLY WEIRD TO ME, WHAT I DISCOVERED VERY Q
- Embargoed: 25th October 1998 12:00
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- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVADICK6VX9MI7PYXKF0DR7JSA75
- Story Text: After taking a break from science fiction in the recent down-to-Earth thriller "Breakdown," action star Kurt Russell is returning to the futuristic genre that re-established him as a star in "Stargate." Russell attended the World premiere of his newest project "Soldier"
on October 21 in Hollywood.
In the film, Kurt Russell plays Todd, the ultimate warrior who was selected at birth and raised throughout his life to do one thing well, fight and kill.But despite his sterling record as one of the best there is, Todd's glory days are over and he has become obsolete.
This is because scientific advancement has fostered a new breed of warriors.Their expertise in battle is unmatched; their stamina is unsurpassed and their ruthless capacity for killing is second to none.
The best of these next generation human fighting machines is Caine, played by Jason Scott Lee.In a government test to demonstrate his superiority, Caine is pitted against Todd and two of his squad members.Severely wounded in the fight and presumed dead, Todd is dumped on a remote planet -- a garbage outpost populated only by a peaceful group of lost and forgotten pioneers.
Gradually nursed back to health by the settlers, Todd begins to learn about the humanity in him that was all but destroyed by a liftime of killing.But when Caine and his new battalion of soldiers attack the outpost, Todd is called to defend his new home.
"Soldier" is directed by Paul Anderson, whose previous credits include "Mortal Kombat" and last year's science fiction thriller "Event Horizon."
"Soldier" is written by David Webb Peoples, the man who was nominated for an Oscar for writing Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" and who also wrote the screenplay for Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic "Blade Runner."
Other cast members include Gary Busey as Russell's superior officer and Kurt's own son Wyatt, who plays the Todd character at age 12.Russell also brought Wyatt out to the film's premiere.
For this role, Russell had to get used to acting without speaking, since his character is bred to fight and kill, not negotiate.In fact, he hardly has any lines of dialogue at all.Instead, he had to rely on his facial expressions and body language to communicate the role of Todd.It was a unique challenge for the actor.
Another challenge for Russell was to get into extremely muscular shape, the kind of shape a lifelong soldier would have.To do this, he trained intensively for a full 18 months prior to production with a respected Hollywood fitness trainer.Even with production got under way, he would still work out on the set in between takes, although he admits he was at first a little embarrassed by this.
For Anderson, the best part of constructing the garbage planet of Arcadia was picking out bits of movie memorabilia to use as scrap trash on the set.The main set covered 38 thousand square feet of Stage 16 on the Warner Brothers lot.The scrap heaps on the set included the F-117 stealth bomber from Russell's earlier film "Executive Decision," a wheelchair from "Demolition Man" and a spinner car from "Blade Runner."
"Soldier" opens in theaters throughout the United States on Friday, October 23. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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