Exclusive Interview With Peter Landesman On Parkland

Next month marks the 50th anniversary of the president’s assassination. Why did you feel it was important to tell this particular side of the story now, half-a-century after his death? How did you work to make the film unique from other narratives that have been made on his assassination?

Peter Landesman: Well, it’s going to be on people’s minds now, anyway. It seemed like the time to come out with a film that could be the renewed face into the whole event.

There have been many biopics on JFK’s life and assassination. Are there any particular movies or filmmakers who influenced your shooting style on Parkland?

Peter Landesman: I look at Paul Greengrass’s earlier movies, like United 93 and Bloody Sunday. I also look at the first 20-25 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, which is very influential to me.

How do you think Parkland compares and contrasts to the other films that have depicted JFK’s death?

Peter Landesman: I don’t think about it like that. I was specifically thinking about this film and what I was trying to do.

Bill Paxton worked as one of the producers on the film. What was the process of collaborating with him while you were shooting?

Peter Landesman: It was great. Bill’s committed to that part of the world, and understands the fascination the Kennedy assassination has. Later on the filming, he went off to direct his own movies, but he was very instrumental in the beginning of this film.

Tom Hanks, who you mentioned earlier, also served as one of the producers on the film. How did he become involved as a producer on the film? What was your working relationship with him like on the set?

Peter Landesman: I had written a movie for him about Watergate and Deep Throat. After that, he put the book into my hands. Tom was instrumental in getting me on the project, and we worked very closely together on the screenplay. But then he did a play on Broadway while I was shooting the movie. Until then though he was very heavily involved with the film on a day-to-day level.

Parkland features a diverse cast, including Tom’s son, Colin, as well as Paul Giamatti and Ron Livingston. What was the process like of casting the actors, particularly since the film features a large ensemble set of characters who are based on real people?

Peter Landesman: Colin’s a great actor; I could care less whose son he was, that was of no interest to me, whatsoever. He was amazing in the movie, as he was powerful and dependable and great to work with. I would work with him again tomorrow. The casting process was humbling, as some of these actors are some of the best actors of our time. They felt missionized by the power of the story, and felt an obligation to it, in the same way I did. Most of the actors were my first choices. They read the script, we sat down and they felt what I wanted to do jived with what they wanted to do as artists. It all worked out for everyone.

Billy Bob Thornton gave a particularly memorable performance as Agent Forrest Sorrels of the Secret Service’s Dallas office.

Peter Landesman: It was amazing. He’s also from that part of the world, and is an actor who means a lot to me, personally. I wanted someone in that role who would be calm and strong, and he captured those emotions.

You hired relatively unknown actors, Brett Stimely and Kat Steffens, to play John and Jackie. Was it important for you to cast actors who audiences weren’t familiar with for those roles?

Peter Landesman: Yes, because I didn’t want recognizable faces in those roles. Then people get into the whole impersonation thing, like, does he look enough like him? Does he do a good enough job acting like him? It wasn’t about them, it was about everyone else.

Did you have any rehearsal periods with the cast before you actually began shooting the film?

Peter Landesman: No, we didn’t have time for rehearsals.

Parkland includes some lesser-known reported details, including how the president still had a heartbeat when he arrived at the hospital. Why was it important to you to incorporate the little-known facts into a story people have speculated about over the past 50 years?

Peter Landesman: Well, those little details were what the movie was built on. There’s nothing in the movie that anyone’s ever seen before. It leaves aside all the expected images that we already know. The entire focus of the film is on those details, because I felt that was much more interesting and fascinating and telling. Those details are Shakespearian. Like ripping the seats out of the plane, as they were having trouble getting the casket into the plane, and all the carnage and trauma, were all details that I never knew.