The day downtown Seoul stood still

SeouL — Director Bryan Singer and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie are on a hectic schedule. Together with Tom Cruise, they are on tour to promote their film Valkyrie and will be traveling to seven cities. The kick-off point was in this city last Jan. 16, when they met the Asian-Pacific press and attended the Asian premiere of the picture.

To say that the trip was a success is an understatement. Valkyrie kept viewers on the edge of their seats and was received enthusiastically. Cruise was every inch the movie star whose arrival put downtown Seoul at a stand still. And he looked like he thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get close to his fans in Korea.

Although already used to such reactions, what with films like The Usual Suspects and X-Men under their belts, it was still most gratifying for Singer and McQuarrie to find people responding so positively to a project they feel so strongly about and one that almost never reached the screen.

Valkyrie came about after screenwriter McQuarrie stumbled on the story of Claus von Stauffenberg by accident. “I was in Berlin in 2000 scouting locations for another project. We spent one day going around the city with a guide who was very knowledgeable about the place and the history.

“For our last stop he took us to this place called Bendleblock where there was this monument to Stauffenberg. He was a German colonel who attempted to assassinate Hitler in 1944 and died by firing squad when he was only 36. His is the only monument in Germany to a soldier who served during World War II.

“I had read about attempts to kill Hitler,” continues McQuarrie, “but I had never come across one that really happened. I found the story so fascinating that I asked Nathan Alexander, who is also a great researcher, to look into it and see if we can make a screenplay.

“So he researched and wrote. He took care of the facts and timeline. Then he would turn it over to me and I would put in the drama. That was how the work progressed until the script was finished. Then I put it in a drawer and went on to other projects.”

McQuarrie wrote Valkyrie with Alexander just because he wanted to. “It is a fascinating story but I didn’t think anybody would want to put up the money for something to which people already know the ending or for a movie about somebody no one has heard about.”

That changed when director Singer heard about what McQuarrie had been keeping. They went to school together and often collaborated to great acclaim. In fact, it was Singer who got McQuarrie into screenwriting and kept him from going to the police academy.

But they also occasionally differed in opinion and Valkyrie was one of those times. McQuarrie didn’t see Valkyrie as commercial but Bryan saw it as just the right project to take to United Artists and its executive producer who happens to be Cruise.

“I am Jewish,” says Singer, “I can relate to Valkyrie. Even as a child I already knew that there were attempts to kill Hitler but nobody succeeded. And it was all because of strange little things nobody foresaw like somebody was late or somebody moved a bag. I call it devil’s luck. That was what kept him alive.”

Singer also thought Valkyrie had the makings of a good thriller. Moreover it had elements he had explored successfully in his past films. As in The Usual Suspects, there is a line-up of complex characters. He tackled Nazis and Germany in Apt Pupil. Then there is Stauffenberg himself who was brave and true and greater than an X-Man or Superman because he was real.

“I was committed to United Artists to do a movie,” continues Singer, “Not necessarily with Tom, but of course, we’d talked about doing a film together and I wanted to work with him. I thought he was right for the part. I do not see him as a superhero. I see him as a real-life one with the charisma the role requires.”

“It was quite funny,” laughs McQuarrie. “We met with Tom and he was there as executive producer of United Artists. We wanted him to be Stauffenberg but we were shy about saying so. All we thought we would be making out of Valkyrie was a small film. So we were just feeling our way around. And Tom was too nice to say he wanted the movie for himself.”

He didn’t say how they finally got to ask Cruise and how the actor accepted. But within a few months they were shooting in Berlin and Valkyrie was bigger than they ever envisioned. “It was like magic,” says Singer, “The moment Tom came on board everything happened.”

Bryan brought in his usual collaborators like Newton Thomas Sigel for the photography and John Ottman to edit and provide the music. They got to film in Berlin. They got a dream cast, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp. They even got some surprises, like comedian Eddie Izzard so compelling in a serious role.

Despite those, Bryan and Chris remained focused on how they felt the movie should play out. “I was careful with the facts, especially the timeline. I had to say no to some of Bryan’s suggestions because it would mean changing the facts,” says McQuarrie.

Singer, in turn was determined to stick to classic story telling while also giving the movie a contemporary feel. “I didn’t want it in black and white like most World War II movies. It is not Schindler’s List. Everything had to be correct but the look had to be current.”

As a result Valkyrie is ingeniously edited and has striking visuals. It is a modern thriller that makes for enjoyable viewing. It is not what McQuarrie thought it would be. “I said I was through with thrillers. Now look at what we got. It couldn’t be helped. Stauffenberg’s story is most inspiring but it is also a thriller.”