Celebrity Interview: Kimberly Peirce

RYAN: Last week we got to attend the very cool, swanky Cinema Society red carpet screening of “Stop-Loss,” where we interviewed director Kimberly Peirce who’s famous for making Hilary Swank a star.

CAROLINE: This movie is very close to Kim’s heart since her brother enlisted in the army right after 9/11. It’s all about the war in Iraq and the camaraderie of the soldiers, especially after they get home and one of them is forced back into battle. Here’s what she had to say:

RYAN: This is your first film since “Boys Don’t Cry.” What was it about this film that inspired you to get back in there?

KIMBERLY: Well, I was here on 9/11 and I’ve lived in New York for thirteen years. I really love my city and when it was hit, it was like a small town getting hit for me. I started going to all the vigils for the victims, and New York was in a state of mourning. We were devastated when America declared war, and I knew that I needed to make the story of the soldiers. Who they were, why they were signing up, what their experience in combat was and in coming home. And not long after that, my baby brother signed up to fight in Iraq, and we were a military family through the Iraq War. It’s a profound experience to have the youngest in your family in harm’s way. God forbid anything should happen.

CAROLINE: How did you use your brother’s experiences to help you with the movie?

KIMBERLY: Well, he was over there so he was helping me understand what the soldiers go through. But I couldn’t push too hard emotionally on his story, because as most soldiers will tell you, “I’m a professional soldier. My job is to fight. If I talk too much about my emotions and I get wrapped up in this, I won’t be as alert and I could get killed on guard.” So hearing that, I actually spent the bulk of my time here and interviewing soldiers around America. I wanted to tell the emblematic story about this generation, and that was the story of patriots who signed up to defend their country, but ended up realizing something very different once they got over there.

RYAN: Our full review of “Stop-Loss” will up later this week.