By Max Evry
In “Vantage Point”, star Dennis Quaid plays a secret service agent named Barnes who has been previously traumatized when he was shot protecting the President of the United States during an assassination attempt. He is called back to the line of duty to escort the President into a conference in Spain, but when the President is shot and panic ensues, it's up to Barnes to find the assassin. What he doesn't know is the assassination was only the tip of the iceberg and many twists and turns will take Barnes through a labyrinthine plot where no one's allegiance is certain.
A genial Dennis Quaid sat down with us to discuss “Vantage Point” as well as his role in the currently lensing summer blockbuster “G.I. Joe."
DENNIS: It was really interesting. Mostly it was a few ex-Secret Service guys came down to Mexico City and trained us for a few weeks before we started shooting. It was mostly about choreography, how they protect the President when he goes into crowds and receiving lines. It's almost like a football team, everyone knows their job. It's all been planned out six months in advance to begin with, nothing happens impromptu in those situations. Within the crowd too. You have the guys in front of the President as he goes down the line, someone behind the President with his hand up under his jacket under his belt so he can jerk him out of the way, guys that are three rows into the crowd scanning everybody, and guys behind the crowd.
Q: How did you make out at the “Rescue Dean” exercise?
DENNIS:That was like playing capture the flag, basically. That's one of their training exercises. “Dean” is a kidnap victim supposedly but he's really a duffel bag filled with sandbags so he's very unwieldy and you're supposed to find him and bring him back to your base, and there's another team out there trying to keep you from doing that.
Q: And you won, right?
DENNIS: We won… we won by attrition but we won, yeah. (laughs) Seems like a silly game but it gets everyone to work together as a team.
Q: Did you get to grill some agents?
DENNIS: Yeah, that was kind of the most interesting part for me, their stories and experiences, and also relating the experiences of others that had been within the Secret Service over the years.
Q: Can you share one (that won't get you tracked down)?
DENNIS: For instance, the Reagan assassination attempt, even though it was ultimately a failure those guys still feel like it was a failure on their part because they should have caught it way back there. They receive a lot of threats to the President every day from all different sources throughout the country and the world, and they have to check out every one of them. They keep tabs on people, call ‘em up every once in awhile, find out where they are, form relationships with them.
Q: How is it different working in an ensemble like this as opposed to being the traditional lead?
DENNIS: Sort of like Andy Warhol's 15-minutes of fame. You get to be the star of yours for 15-minutes, and then you're a glorified extra in everybody else's story… just like in life! (laughs)
Q: Does it take some of the pressure off?
DENNIS: Yeah! It was actually a very fun way to work. I thought it was such an interesting way to tell a story. I'd seen “Rashomon” before, and I think there was actually an American version of “Rashomon” made shortly after that. It had Paul Newman in it and… I can't remember the name of it. [ed. Note- it's “The Outrage”, 1964] It was told from three different points of view. It's a very interesting way to tell a story.
Q: Any surprises for you when you saw the finished film?
DENNIS: Well, the car chase. We really wanted it to be good, and I did a lot of the driving myself ‘cause I only have 17 lines of dialogue in this movie so I had to do something. To see it all put together, because it was done in bits and pieces over a 10-week period, was very exciting. I just love to drive too.
Q: What are you looking forward to the most working on director Stephen Sommers' “G.I. Joe”?
DENNIS: Just having fun. My generation is only familiar with G.I. Joe the doll, which really didn't do much. He was “G.I. Joe, fighting man from head to toe”. The generation of 35-year-olds remember the television show, and that's really more what it's going to be like. The actual playing out of it, the way it's written, the way we're gonna do it is more like the cartoon show and a little like the old James Bond, the “Dr. No”, S.P.E.C.T.R.E., lots of gadgets, things like that.
Q: How do they make the action figure of you?
DENNIS: My first day on the set they started doing that. You go into a trailer and they have this scanner. You sit in a chair and they do your face. The scanner does a 3D scan from all sides of your face. Then you stand up and they scan your body, and from there you make your figure.
Q: Out of all the titles in your filmography, what is the standout for you?
DENNIS: My favorite movie experience still remains to be “The Right Stuff”, because it was such a boyhood thing wanting to be an astronaut. My favorite astronaut was Gordon Cooper. I read the book before they even mentioned about doing a movie. I read the book and thought, “Wow, I'd love to play Gordon Cooper if they ever do this.” And then I got it! From there I got my pilots license, Chuck Yeager was on the set, flying with him. It lasted nine months. Not only that but the director and the cast were so close. It was just a special time.
"Vantage Point" is now playing in theaters everywhere
