Thirteen Days DVD Extras
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The DVD commentary of Thirteen Days involved Mike DeLuca (executive producer), David Self (screenplay writer), Roger Donaldson (director), Kevin Costner (producer/actor), Armyan Bernstein (producer) and Mike McAlister (special effects coordinator)
Roger Donaldson: The hardest parts to cast were the two Kennedy brothers. I felt right at the beginning of this project that unless we managed to find two competent actors to play these parts we'd be in big trouble. We looked long and hard - even the actors we finished up using, we brought them back time and time again for auditions, convinciing ourselves that these were the guys to go with. And I personally feel that we did our homework well in finding the right guys and that we did find the right guys.
Army Bernstein: If we couldn't cast those parts correctly we couldn't even have a movie.Army Bernstein:Watch also Kennedy's body language....it's fairly well known he had Addison's disease. He had a really bad back and was in pain. He was uncomfortable standing straight for any length of time. He leans a lot, on furniture.......I think that Bruce's performance, aside from being just generally fantastic, gets so many nuances. It's so layered and textured -- it's really worth studying. Looking at one of his other films and then at what a character he created here. It's just an amamzing job.
David Self: The first time when I saw him in front of the camera, it struck me more as possession rather than a role.
David Self: Both the guys got the aggressive intellectualism of the Kennedy brothers just right, I think.
Mike De Luca: I was struck the other night when Steven Culp was telling us that what they would do, they would have face offs with each other and they would try to get in character and get into arguments and they would continue and see how long they could stay in character.....putting themselves through a test....David Self: This is one of my favorite moments of Bruce's in this film where he says, "There's something amoral about abandoning your own judgment," and that this will not go the way of the Bay of Pigs. It's a really moving moment.
on the "I said for a second" scene:
Army Bernstein: That's a really cool moment - he's so slick there. You think for a moment Clint Eastwood is President.on JFK's televised speech:
David Self: Is this the first thing that you shot, Roger?
Roger Donaldson: Yes, the black and white version of this - was the very first thing......Bruce begged to do it again but we said no.on a large cut from the film:
Roger Donaldson: It was a great shot that didn't make the movie. There was a scene where Kevin walked past the demonstrators outside the White House. I remember when we were shooting it, somebody was holding up a sign and I looked and it said "Send Elian Gonzales back!" And I pulled him out of the audience and I said, "Hey you, come here with that sign!" And guess who walked out holding the sign? Bruce Greenwood! In costume!
On Kennedy during the blockade
on filming the scenes around the conference table:
Mike McAlister: I love this whole concept of the President being personally in charge of that blockade. It's like the President as superhero.
David Self: It's also really very sartorial. He's looking very, very good!
Army Bernstein: It's a great suit
David Self: Isn't it? He looks SO good!
Roger Donaldson: All these costumes are based on real photos
Army Bernstein: I love those looks. They're so wistful.
Roger Donaldson: Directing large numbers of people around a table is some of the hardest things to do. You don't have much to do with it other than the look in people's eyes. The acting becomes very, very important....how good the actors are.on the scene with JFK telling off Maxwell Taylor:
Michael De Luca:Kennedy's very tough in this scene, too. It's another macho moment.on the scene where JFK refuses to accept the downed pilot as an intentional act of war:
David Self: I think he cuts an elegant figure here in terms of leadership -- not rushing to judgment. I think of that Evan Thomas quote, "Some myths are true. This was their finest hour."
on declaring war at last:
David Self: He finally capitulates here
Mike De Luca: Greenwood's remarkable here. He's wearing the weight of that decision.on RFK and Sorenson's plan to ignore the second Russian message:
[Kennedy smiles and chuckles with amusement:]
David Self: I love Kennedy's reaction to that!on reading the final telegram
David Self: I love the shot coming up with Kennedy with the ruffled hair and the sweat shirt. What's great about the shot with Kennedy - you can even hear him sigh. Right, Roger?
Roger Donaldson: That's one of the things I did when I mixed it - I pulled the breaths up, I think we actually even lifted them up so you could hear them.
Mike De Luca: And you just knew he stayed up all night!
David Self: It's right here! The sigh!on the scene where JFK greets his staff after the crisis is over:
Mike De Luca: This scene always had a little sadness for me. It's very sad because you know what's going to happen to this guy.
David Self: And also because he didn't claim it as a victory! He's very, very good in this scene.on the final shadows of JFK and RFK:
Roger Donaldson: People think we created the shadows digitally, but it's the real shadow of the actors....
Roger Donaldson on cutting the scene where JFK tells O'Donnell he won't meet with a journalist:One reason I particularly liked THIS shot was that I felt Bruce Greenwood was a lot like JFK in this scene. So for that reason I was a bit disappointed, but it had to go.Roger Donaldson on a cut scene where Kevin Costner walks past some demonstrators outside the White House:
While we were filming it, I looked into the crowd and I see one of the demonstrators holding up a sign that says, "Send Elian Gonzalez Home!" and I pulled this actor out of the crowd and it was Bruce Greenwood holding this sign, dressed in costume!