You're better known for films like "Field of Dreams" than "The Sum of All Fears", so how did you get involved?
My agent called and told me that Paramount wanted to meet with me. I went along and there was Sherry Lansing, the President of Paramount. I said to her, "Are you nuts? Do you want a nice gentle Tom Clancy film where nothing bad happens and everybody's nice to each other, and the audience says, That was cute?" She said "No, but what I don't want is action sequel number 24. I want a film that's about the characters and the politics, that's smart and that has a sense of humour". I said if she really meant that, I would love to make the film.
How much input do real government agencies have on a film like this when you want their co-operation in return?
We sent the script to the Department of Defence and they were very helpful. We got some technical suggestions that proved useful. I was surprised at how co-operative the CIA was, but they obviously like the Jack Ryan series because it presents them in a different light. It's not about a guy who kills people; it's about an analyst who uses his brains, which is what most of the CIA is supposed to be doing.
There's a nice plug for The Antiques Roadshow in the film. Are you a fan?
Paul Attanasio, who wrote several earlier drafts of the script, included the reference to The Antiques Roadshow in the script. But Paul had written made up Antiques Roadshow dialogue, so we had to scan dozens of hours of footage looking for an appropriate bit of dialogue. I just love it when that lady says, "I thought I'd found a lawn ornament."
