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"Night Talk" - Bloomberg
Air Date: 12th July 2008, 7PM

MS: This week. >> tonight, one of hollywood's hottest stars, Josh Hartnett and his new film about the crash of the dot com community. I'm Mike Schneider, and this is "Night Talk." >> we welcome tonight night, we proudly welcome Josh Hartnett. you have seen him starring in "Black Hawk Down" and so many other films. his new film aims at the dot com bubble. It is called "August" and just opened up today.

>> Clip Rolls >> "The start up is over. branding is over. convergence is so over. dot com and everything it stands for, over. So, what's left? What's left is what we do." >> Clip Ends>>

MS: Josh Hartnett is here with us right now. it's good to have you here. this is a -- we've seen you in all sorts of active roles. we've seen you out there as a soldier and as a police detective. to some people, some of the folks in the dot com world were action heros in their own right when things were going well and quite different when things were not. what made you get involved?

JH: I was attributed -- the kind of entire party scene in new york in the late 1990's early 2000s to the.com boom. there were these guys around like my character who treated themselves and were treated in new york especially and in san francisco as rock stars. you know, they were revered, they were, you know, sometimes, you know, just despised, but they were these huge personalities. and what i really like about this story is that it takes -- it takes kind of one of the more unlucky characters in that time period and puts him center stage and he's also -- my character is incredibly -- obviously an incredible salesman, but what i love about the script and what makes it really interesting is it kind of goes back to that era when people would be selling their company without kind of saying too much. kind of more obtuse the sales pitch was, the more people wanted to buy into it because they thought it wasing edge.

MS: It was so complicated you couldn't understand it, but trust me, it works.

JH: Exactly. That's basically my character's sales pitch.

MS: When you do a film like this, you experienced some of that life as a young man just seeing it on the fringe.

JH: i mean, were you in new york a lot during those days? >> i live in new york and i've been here, you know, back and forth between here and minnesota all my career. i've been doing this for 11 years --

MS: so you knew guys like this.

JH: yeah.

MS: did you model anybody --

JH: nobody in particular. the character is so well written that all i had to do was really throw myself in there. i didn't want to make -- i didn't want to be trying to steal any, you know, gestures or ways from anybody i had known or know now, because it just didn't seem fair. but there's definitely a lot of the same psychology in there.

MS: was there a certain look, a certain feel, a certain kind of demeanor about these guys?

JH: yeah. you were around and you saw the kind of -- i don't know, the amazing success on some of it falling apart. the companies were almost being held together by forced personality, so, like, the more -- i don't know, the more you could sell yourself, kind of like an actor or like a rock star, the more people wanted to buy into your company.

MS: as an actor, we know you're portraying somebody. as a rock star, they're performing music.

JH: right.

MS: guys like this, it's almost -- in some cases, not all, but almost like a cult, or at least a cult of personality.

JH: totally. totally. and the more you get people to believe in your line, the better off your company was going to be. so he's -- i guess he's just -- you know, he's playing that out to the end.

MS: when you play a role like this, i mean, do you spend a lot of time -- do you shake the character off, or do you live the character?

JH: in this particular role, because we only had five weeks to shoot it, and i produced it as well, and it's all new york-based and it's a very small film, i didn't have a lot of time to shake it off, so i stayed up all night every night, kind of lived the lifestyle.

MS: as a producer, though, you're the boss, too, so it makes it kind of uncomfortable.

JH: so many producers in a film. i was one of the bosses.

MS: you comfortable with that?

JH: think that i am, actually. surprisingly.

MS: why surprisingly?

JH: well, because i used to be much more comfortable being, i don't know, part of a team and letting other people do the heavy lifting as far as the big decision and stuff like that. now, i just -- this is my 19th film and i've seen it done so many times and seen where things go wrong.

MS: you know where the process is supposed to go. we need to take a break. the film "august" opening today. we'll talk about ringing the bell at the new york stock exchange as well, back with more in a moment.

>>Clip Rolls>> "What do you know about the net? What do you know about new technology? Nothing. not a [beep] thing. The way people communicate, the way people think, the very nature of commerce is changing, and you're scared [beep]. You don't understand it. But you want in." >> Clip Ends>>

MS: true words. josh hartnett is our guest. the film "august," opening up today. it's fascinating, because in some respects, i hate to make comparisons, but sometimes you wonder, is this kind of like the wall street for this deck -- decade in some respects? are you the gordon geckcow of the dot com?

JH: that's a very nice comparison, because obviously michael douglas played that role really well. people are talking about this being "wall street" for the new millennium, but i think it's completely its own stoimp but there are similarities. any time you're talking about someone who is career-driven to the point of obsession and you see their life crumbling around them, that story is best told, i think, here in new york, and, obviously, wall street was and so is this.

MS: when you talk about the way you're describing these guys, there are some in the show biz community who have these same kind of, like, insulated lives that they leave, all self-consumed and self-absorbed, kind of drawing a curtain over the rest of the world outside there. does it make it easier as a performer to understand that, how somebody gets like that?

JH: yeah. i've seen enough people go through at least a period of their life where they act like that. if you look at this character, he does have a certain veil over the world, because he has to focus completely on what he's going after, that if he paid attention to all the real life around him, it would just be a distraction and make him less, you know, able.

MS: so as a producer, how do you -- first of all, you wanted to do it, why?

JH: well, i thought the role was amazing. the director, his first film was totally underrated. he did a film called "xxxy" with an actor i really admire, mark ruffalo.

MS: oh, yeah.

JH: it was a new york-based film as well. when i met him, he was an incredibly clever guy. what he does with this film is it was a new york-based film as well. when i met him, he was an incredibly clever guy. what he does with this film is he uses a lot of really small interesting tricks, but it doesn't overwhelm the story. you know, he's a subtle film maker.

MS: you mentioned, what, 19 films?

JH: i've done 21 now. this is my 19th.

MS: how old were you when you started?

JH: i was 18.

MS: and how did it happen?

JH: it just kind of fell into my lap, actually. i was here in new york going to theater school and someone saw me in a play, asked me to move out to los angeles to audition for "red line." didn't get it. went in for about 14 auditions and didn't end up getting it. but while i was out there auditions for it, i auditioned for a few other things and landed two other roles and started working. it doesn't work that way now, but i got lucky.

MS: luck is always the residue of talent and hard work, isn't it?

JH: well, thanks.

MS: but you went through the rejection process. do you ever say, oh, i don't know. do you have moments where you doubted yourself?

--

JH: particular, i only knew these guys from kind of -- they were on the periphery of my understanding, my life. i wasn't really the kind of guy that went out to all the clubs all the time, but they were everywhere.

MS: did you ever find yourself wanting to -- saying, maybe i should be doing that, too.

JH: what, the dot com? i don't know anything about computers. my character doesn't know that much either. >> it's fascinating, though, the film took how long? >> we shot it in five weeks. 24 days. it's incredibly fast.

MS: we're going to come back and talk more about this and also talk about some of the other work that you've done, which has gotten you to this place. also, the opening bell at the new york stock exchange. not too many people get to do that. back in a moment.

>>Clip Rolls>> "don't go away. >> go! go, blackbird! >> hold on. >> no!" >> Clip Ends>>

MS: Josh Hartnett is with us. his new film "august" opens up today. it's interesting watching, and you remarked it seems like so long ago. 2001. it was pre9/11 when this film was shot, but the film did have tremendous impact. why do you think that was?

JH: We were talking about this before. i mean, i think mark abouten's book was one of those rare pieces of work that isn't really polarizing as much as both sides of an issue can hold it up, and say this is the reason we're on this side of the issue. i remember when i first read it, my mind was kind of blown and i talked to a lot of people. i'm from minnesota, a very liberal kind of background. a lot of people i talked to said this sums up why i'm anti-war. when i went to boot camp for the film and i was in fort ben net, the sergeant came up to me and said, i give this to every one of my recruits when they come in so they have an idea what it's like to be in a war situation. it was obviously being held up on both sides.

MS: people make of it what they will. when you went down to fort benning, what time of year did you go?

JH: we were down in february.

MS: ok, so you went down there for summer, for those of us who have been there, it can be a tough place. did they put you through the whole drill? what did they have you doing?

JH: they had us there for a two-week boot camp, which i think we only had -- we only ended up staying there for about a week. this was my second boot camp, because we went through a boot camp for "pearl harbor" for some reason. sergeant donnelly, who was our sergeant, our drill sergeant up in -- we were in the barracks in hawaii, which sounds great, but it's up in the mountains where it's constantly range and we were running like 15 miles a day and he had us on sleep deprivation for basically a romance. we were doing a film that was a love story. i don't understand why -- >> it can be like that. >> i have no idea why we did that for that movie, but that was actually harder than the one we did for "black hawk down."

MS: really?

JH: yeah. it seemed like a cake walk in "black hawk down." they just wanted us to portray the situation correctly, so they were trying to give us knowledge of what it was like to be there. a lot of the guys that came out were helping us.

MS: throughout the course of your career, you've worked with some legendary names in this business. you've worked with beatty. going back to the jamie lee curtis experience. how old were you when you did that?

JH: i was 18.

MS: you're coming up and you work with names and stars and people that some would call legends, as an actor, does that have much impact on you -- did it have much impact on you individually, i guess is what i'm saying.

JH: each person has a different impact. i mean, i was lucky enough to not expect anything from this business, nor did i really kind of get into this business to become famous or anything. i really, truly like acting and was kind of enamored with the great actors i've met. i mean, i've met -- i've met all my favorite actors at this point that are around. and so when you're talking about people who have legendary status , i was more interested in, like, their few roles that really set them apart. we were talking about how paul newman had this great career. there were certain films that really highlighted how talented he was in the course of this, sort of big budget career, where he's one of the biggest box office stars in the history of the planet, and yet these tiny films sometimes were the things that showcased how great of a talent he was. i was always interested in those tiny films.

MS: why is that, do you think?

JH: because -- i don't know. i'm obsessed with people doing their best work. i love it when i see artists really thriving.

MS: is it more likely to do that best work in the -- what the industry calls smaller pictures?

JH: i think there's more room for experimentation when there's less money on the line. so sometimes. and then there are other times when -- it depends on who you're working with. it's a collaborative process. sometimes you work with directors who are so at the top of their game that they can demand a giant budget at a studio and can do something incredibly experimental and feeling like when you're on the set you're actually creating something new every day. other times, you know, you're just punching the clock.

MS: do you feel comfortable -- when you deal with a director who really wants to take chances, are you comfortable with that?

JH: very much so. yeah. i don't know -- i feel more alive on a film set when it feels like everybody there is making the decisions that are -- the decisions aren't being farmed out back to hollywood. we're making a movie ourselves. there's something about the community of it, it's exciting.

MS: is that going to be -- you're producing this film "august" now. do you plan on doing more?

JH: i think so, yeah. when i find -- there are so many film makers i admire. if i get to work with a quarter of the guys that i really like out there. if i have the power to give them the space to create the film they want to make, then i feel incredibly blessed to be a part of it.

MS: is there any story out there that you really want to tell that you're burning to tell?

JH: there are a few, but i can't talk about them, because somebody else will take it.

MS: deal making in hollywood. you've got this sag situation right now. is it likely that this will shut things down for a while?

JH: it might. i'm actually going to do a piece of theater. i haven't done a play in 11 years.

MS: where? when? what?

JH: oddly enough, i'm doing aned a dapation of a film. i'm doing "rain man."

MS: and you're playing whom?

JH: Charlie Babbit - Tom Cruise's character

MS: when do you do that?

JH: i leave in two weeks.

MS: between now and then, we wish you good luck with "august."

JH: Thank you.

MS: continued good luck. josh hartnett. thank you for coming on. and thanks for watching. we're going to come back with a gentleman who happens to be the highest paid dee jay in the world. this guy opened up the last olympic games and for $100,000 a night you could have him perform for you.

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