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American Morning
Interview of Jerry Bruckheimer
Aired January 14, 2002 - 09:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn now to the war on terror. Somalia. There is speculation it could be the next battleground in the war on terror. It is a place the U.S. military remembers al too well. The U.S. is concerned al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan will try and regroup in that African nation.
And while the military turns its attention there, Hollywood is recounting the last tragic mission in Mogadishu when 18 U.S. soldiers died in the film "Black Hawk Down."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: RPG!
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: You all right? You okay?
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Yeah. I can hear bells ringing.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Come on. Come on. Go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Joining me is the producer of "Black Hawk Down," the legendary Jerry Bruckheimer. Thanks very much for being with us.
JERRY BRUCKHEIMER, PRODUCER, "BLACK HAWK DOWN": Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure.
COOPER: I spent a lot of time in Somalia, in Mogadishu, and I thought the film does an excellent job of -- for capturing the surreal atmosphere of the situation there. It is a movie, though, which shows American soldiers in harm's way. After 9/11, was there any concern or thought about not releasing the movie at this time?
BRUCKHEIMER: Never. It's about their courage, their bravery, and their commitment, and to set the record straight. I mean, the press has labeled this a debacle. It wasn't a debacle. They were in there to capture two lieutenants of this warlord Mohamed Aidid who had killed 24 Pakistani peacekeepers. Not only killed them, skinned them.
COOPER: Right.
BRUCKHEIMER: We were out to get them. We were there purely on a humanitarian mission to feed the people. 300,000 people died over there from starvation, so we were there for the right reasons. We had no interest there whatsoever. We have no oil, no gas, no American interest, so our guys are real heroes for doing what they did.
COOPER: I thought what was interesting about the movie, though, it really leaves the question open, really leaves for the audience to decide whether the mission was a success or a failure. Was that intentional?
BRUCKHEIMER: Well, it was a success as far as the military is concerned. As far as humanitarian part of it we've left, which is unfortunate, right after our soldiers were killed over there.
COOPER: I understand after 9/11, though, you considered adding postscript to the end of the film. What was it going to say, and why didn't you add it?
BRUCKHEIMER: Well, at the end we decided not to put the postscript on, let the audience decide what the movie is really about. What it had said is, our troops pulled out, it was considered a failure in American policy, and since then, you have Rwanda, where a million people were hacked to death. Bosnia and Kosovo. So, none of our troops went in, and the last card said, since September 11th, our troops are now back on the ground.
COOPER: What do you think the lessons of the film are, in relation to the current war in Afghanistan?
BRUCKHEIMER: You've got to give the military what they need in order to get the job done. What happened over there is our soldiers asked for these C-130 gunships and tanks to go in there. The Defense Department for whatever reason, said no, because they didn't want this to turn into another Vietnam. So, the soldiers didn't have the assets to do the job.
COOPER: You got a lot of cooperation from the U.S. government in this film. They gave you the Black Hawks to use. How did you get that?
BRUCKHEIMER: They were a big fan of the book. I met with William Cohen, who was the secretary of defense at the time under Clinton. He was a fan. We were doing Pearl Harbor at the time, so I told him I was going to do this book, "Black Hawk Down," met with General Shelton, who was the head of the joint chiefs of staff, he was a fan of the book. It was on the recommending reading list for the Army, so it was an easy road --
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: And they loaned you the Black Hawk helicopters.
BRUCKHEIMER: They gave us Black Hawks and about 100 U.S. Rangers, 160th (ph), who are the great pilots, the helicopter pilots.
COOPER: You bought the rights to this book two years before it even was published.
BRUCKHEIMER: Right.
COOPER: Why?
BRUCKHEIMER: I love process. I love getting inside a world you will never be a part of. There's no way you can see the way our forces operate, especially our Special Forces in modern warfare. Nobody has ever done it. This is the first film that will show you that.
COOPER: All right. Well, the movie comes out on the 18th. Jerry Bruckheimer, thanks for coming --
(CROSSTALK)
BRUCKHEIMER: Thanks. Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure.
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