- Title: Cast call "Hacksaw Ridge" an important life lesson
- Date: 4th November 2016
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - OCTOBER 23, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR MEL GIBSON SAYING: "There has always been war, there will always be war, it's just a sad fact of the human condition and who we are, we're warring people... and every now and then we get our fill of it and it stings and we walk away for a generation or two and then pretty soon we're at it again, we forget because history regurgitates itself and I think that will always be the case. But this is a vital message right now, it's love in the midst of hell."
- Embargoed: 19th November 2016 00:43
- Keywords: Hacksaw Ridge Mel Gibson Andrew Garfield Sam Worthington Vince Vaughn Hugo Weaving Teresa Palmer
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / VARIOUS
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / VARIOUS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA00256W23WT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Director Mel Gibson's latest movie, World War II drama "Hacksaw Ridge," is an important life lesson for today, according the cast and director.
The film is a true story about American Army medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, but refused to kill people and became the first conscientious objector in American history to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Andrew Garfield plays Doss and is supported by a cast that includes Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Hugo Weaving and Teresa Palmer. "Hacksaw Ridge" is Gibson's fifth film as director.
He told Reuters: "I'm kind of discerning about material, almost too much I think at times... so is Andrew (Garfield). His agent said. 'This dude read the script and he likes scripts! He's very discerning.' So I thought... Wow."
Discussing his pacifist on-screen persona, Garfield revealed that the film made him look at war from a fresh perspective, saying: "If we get deeper in touch with who we are as individuals then maybe we'll come up with some more imaginative way of dealing with conflict because war is a lot of imagination really, to throw a punch is a lack of imagination, to stay in the tension of a conflict is much more courageous instead of exciting it with a physical action as far as I can see. I mean I'm not saying that I've never thrown a punch but I never felt good after I have thrown a punch."
Co-star Vince Vaughn plays Sergeant Howell, Doss' superior officer. He told Reuters that his involvement in the movie made him consider his identity and responsibilities as an American.
He explained: "This was a guy who was a Seventh Day Adventist, which is a very particular type of faith. I think it speaks more to someone of faith and what they can accomplish when they believe in something is really the story. It's someone with a real commitment to what they believe to be true in their faith, who is unwavering in that. I think it's the way that he does it, he doesn't disrespect people who disagree with him, he doesn't bully them, he doesn't verbally humiliate them and he just lives his life in a way true to what he believes and by example."
"He ends up becoming someone who changes a lot of lives, and save a lot of live and helps a lot of lives, I think it's one of the oldest lessons of man, and sort of the establishment of America, that the individual could choose what they felt right in and that's something that we don't want to lose," added Vaughn. "The majority could tell people what they think is right and take away someone's ability even for faith, or lack of faith, it's something I'm very proud of, being an American, is religious freedom and freedom of speech and the 2nd Amendment and all of these rights that are important that the individual should be able to decide what they feel right about. I think Desmond's is a great story that illustrates that."
"Hacksaw Ridge," arrives in theaters on November 4, 2016. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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