Pconf

What was your reaction to critics' views of some of your movies?

I work for people who pay to see my movies, not those who are paid for seeing them, but I am human, I have feelings so sure, they can hurt me.

You travel a lot. Do you miss your children?

My family is very important to me. I organise my work around them. I am divorced so my children spend time alternately with their mother and with me. I have organised this tour to last exactly a week and I will spend time with my children upon my return.

Today you are accompanied by your girlfriend Christine...

Since we met we have travelled together. When you find a partner you want to be with them.

Do you have plans to marry?

In just the same way as any two people who meet, we are taking our time, enjoying getting to know each other and travelling the world together.

How do you see your immediate future?

I want to stay in this business but not necessarily in front of the camera. After I made 3,000 Miles to Graceland I took some time out and enjoyed wide open spaces and fresh air and I found myself asking "have I missed something in this life"?

And did you find the answer?

Not totally, but the fact that I was questioning that shows that I am changing. I don't see myself doing what I do now for ever.

MADRID - 15.3.01

Kevin's Press Conference in Madrid was covered in all the major Spanish newspapers. Most described Kevin as extremely affable and one in particular registerd her surprise at how down to earth Kevin was because he moved the tables and chairs so that journalists could see and hear him clearly! All commented on Kevin's partner Christine remarking upon how happy and affectionate the couple were - one Spanish journalist wrote: "they never let go of each other's hands".

Kevin opened the Press Conference by saying how pleased they were to be in Madrid - "Coming to Madrid was a personal choice. We had the chance to go to many places in the world - we chose 3 and one of them was Madrid because you take movies very seriously here". There was then a Question and Answer session:-

What criteria do you use in choosing to make one movie and not another?

I love to go to the movies, I go once a week with my children. I have a love of movies, they fuel my life. They're filled with images that I'll never ever forget. That's what I try to do when I make movies - to create moments that perhaps you'll never forget. I don't just choose movies with the big message, I want people around the world and in my own country to enjoy them.

Do you have plans to direct again?

I don't know what the next film I direct will be. It will probably be a long movie even though they are not so popular, but that is what I like and believe in

Thirteen Days is an historical film but it also addressed human emotions and human errors...

Yes, that is exactly what makes it a film as opposed to a documentary

Do you remember where you were on 16 October 1962?

I remember exactly: I was seven years old and I lived with my parents in a small Californian town called Compton. Like any protective parent, my parents tried to shield me from what was happening, but I sensed that something was wrong. Everybody was building bunkers in their gardens and I wanted one! But my father didn't make one, neither did he stockpile food supplies as many people were doing. And we were given excersises at school which were designed to protect us.

Why a political film in these non-political times?

I agree, these are cynical times. The value of Thirteen Days is that it offers an intimate glance at a crucial moment in history which could have altered the world. I miss leaders like the Kennedy brothers, John and Bobby, people who had a philosophy and world-wide vision.

Is this the first time you have taken a supporting role?

I did that in order to protect the movie. If I had played JFK it would have distracted audiences. I am an open uncynical person. I don't make movies just for money - I'm not obsessed with box office figures, I have a different mentality than that. In this Industry I sometimes feel like a salmon swimming upstream.

During the Crisis, your character "escaped" to go and see his family. Did you identify with that facet of the character?

Yes I did. I think that both men and women will identify with that - the fact that he is loyal to the President but he also worries about his wife.

What was it that excited you about making Thirteen Days?

I believe that it is an important piece of history for the world and it emphasises that the Kennedy brothers worked to safeguard not only the interests of America, but those of the entire world. We must all learn the lessons of several wars - the US and the USSR put the world in danger, but the message is that there are good men and women who have a world-wide vision. Yet we are still pointing these missiles at one another. It seems to me that we have fallen asleep at the wheel.