KC: It's really about fathers and sons, isn't it? And of course Tom Hanks plays the father, but Paul Newman plays the man who raised Tom Hanks as a son [Jude says "Yeah"] who pretty much adopted him, and is sort of the... patriarch [Jude says "That's right"] of this community; sort of threatening and benevolent at the same time. What was it like for you working with this cast of actors? I mean, not only Paul Newman and Tom Hanks, but Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci is in it as well... um, the British guy who plays Paul Newman's son--
KC: He was excellent.
JL: He was terrific, yeah.
KC: Yeah, and um... it must've been a bit overwhelming for you. Was it?
JL: Well, you know when you're in fantastic company, it's... I don't know about overwhelming, it's just incredibly exciting because you get the opportunity suddenly--you know, whether you're rehearsing around a table or whether you're on set working with them or visiting the set--it's just an opportunity to
KC: Sounds like there weren't a lot of egos, surprisingly. Everybody was there to work hard; Paul Newman [clears throat] after all these years still works really really hard and is so humble.
JL: Oh, he's a consummate professional. And you know what? A lot of it also boils down to Sam Mendes, who's an incredible leader.
KC: He's your fellow Brit; of course who has his roots in the British theater.
JL: Who of course I didn't meet until I went to Los Angeles [smiles] and he lives two minutes down the road from me! But he has an amazing density of reining everyone in to focus on the job at hand and the film, the vision that he sees, and makes it also a lot of fun. And all about the work, you know...
KC: And he was celebrated of course as director of American Beauty [Jude says "Yeah"]. Not a lot of movies under his belt, so it must've been a fun experience for him working with all these pros.
KC: And I know that you've been in Romania working on Cold Mountain, which is of course about the Civil War.
JL: [smiles and strokes beard] That's right.
KC: Why is it being shot in Romania?
JL: Well, that was a question we all rose! [Jude smiles and Katie laughs] Until we arrived there, and you drive out of Bucharest into the countryside, and they of course
KC: Which the United States might have looked like--
JL: Well not just the United States, I think it could apply to anywhere in the world where we've discovered forestation, you know, and... agriculture. Over there it's literally raw countryside, which you can shoot 360 degrees [does a circular motion with his hand] without a pile on or a roadway. It's also... it encourages the sense of setting up camp, you know? When you're making a movie, it's always nice to feel that you're... you're in this sort of team. Not that you close off the rest of the world, but so you can concentrate.
KC: Right.
JL: And that's certainly something you have to do [laughs] when you're in Romania--there's not much else to do!
KC: Well I'm looking forwards to seeing you in that, because Cold Mountain is such a terrific book and you play a Confederate soldier! I'm really looking forward to hearing your southern accent.
JL: [smiles] I'm still practicing.
KC: [laughs] Are you?
JL: Yeah.
KC: Say [in a southern accent] "thank you, Katie".
JL: [smiles] I can't yet. [covers his mouth and laughs]
KC: You have to call me Miss Katie.
JL: MISS Katie. [laughs]
KC: Yeah, exactly. Thanks, Jude! Good seeing you again.
JL: [nods and smiles] Thank you for having me.
KC: Road to Perdition, by the way, opens on Friday.
