Read More @HJ Reviews: 2 Videos 3 Movie Clips By David Bruce, Webmaster 24 Photos with Comments By David Bruce, Webmaster Lions, Yes... But How? Jacob Sahms Previews: 2 Trailers and Synopsis By David Bruce, Webmaster

Trailer:

(Trailer can be downloaded for QuickTime and MPG formats)

“Had this just been a film about the war, I probably wouldn’t have been attracted to it, because I knew the war was going to see a lot of different treatments over time. Instead, what interested me about LIONS FOR LAMBS is the way the story uses the war as a catalyst for three very personal stories about issues that interest me more: the role of the media, of education, of politics and youth in America. It was the idea that these stories could somehow come together, in a dramatic way, to compel audiences into thinking about where we are right now that really intrigued me.”
-- Robert Redford

Interviews and Production Notes


Six People and One Nation At A Crossroads:
Robert Redford on LIONS FOR LAMBS
Robert Redford has always been drawn to emotional stories about the very fabric of American life, stories about common people engaged in and touched by the broader issues that face our youthful, democratic nation. It is this thread, which has been woven through the entirety of his diverse career – from screen star to director to champion of the independent filmmaking movement -- that drew him to LIONS FOR LAMBS, a script by a relatively unknown, young writer named Matthew Michael Carnahan. More...


Not Turning Away:
Matthew Michael Carnahan’s Inspiration for LIONS FOR LAMBS
The inspiration for LIONS FOR LAMBS originally began with the unconscious flick of a remote control. While leisurely watching the tube one night, young screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan switched away from a harrowing television news story about Iraq to search for sports . . . and then wondered why. Why, in a time when so many people express concern over the direction of our nation, are we tempted to turn away? Why are we not looking at and talking about these things directly, passionately, with all the fervor and emotion that the ideas of freedom and hope for the future and idealistic sacrifice evoke? More...


The Journalist and The Senator:
Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise Match Wits in Washington D.C.
Heading the cast of LIONS FOR LAMBS are two of the most popular and lauded screen stars of our times: Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, who have never performed together on screen. By embodying broadcast journalist Janine Roth and U.S. Senator Jasper Irving in the midst of one brief but potentially world-altering meeting, they each got a chance to bring to the fore two palpably real human beings caught up in one of the most intense and serious tug-of-wars of our times: media freedom versus political power. More...


The Professor and The Student:
Robert Redford and Andrew Garfield Have a Galvanizing Conversation in Berkeley
While Janine Roth and Senator Irving parry back and forth in Washington, a different kind of duel is taking place in a college professor’s office on the opposite coast. Here, in scenes that form the heart of LIONS FOR LAMBS, the history teacher Dr. Malley confronts a student he thinks has what it takes to make a difference – if only he could find a reason within to truly take a stand. More...


Two Soldiers On a Ridge:
Derek Luke and Michael Peña Fight For Their Lives In Afghanistan
The multiple strands of LIONS FOR LAMBS are woven into a heartbreaking climax as two devoted young soldiers and best friends struggle for survival on a remote mountain ridge far from the film’s more heady conversations. Here, Arian and Ernest, two remarkable former students of Dr. Malley, have been sent on a secret mission in an effort to turn the tide in the war in Central Asia – and are ready to sacrifice everything for their country and each other. Their actions and heroism lay bare the inescapable human side of the debates that occupy those in more powerful positions. More...


Around the World in Simi Valley:
Shooting LIONS FOR LAMBS
Although LIONS FOR LAMBS takes place on both coasts of America and across the globe in Afghanistan, in order to shoot quickly, the entire production was undertaken, indie-style, in a super-fast schedule entirely in Southern California. Working with a crack artistic crew including Academy Award®-winning cinematographer Philippe Rousselot, production designer Jan Roelfs and costume designer Mary Zophres, Redford was able to transform Simi Valley’s Rocky Peak into the rugged mountains on the Afghanistan border. More...