PicoBlog

EMILIO ESTEVEZ
When did the idea for The Way first come to mind?
It began when I was in the middle of casting a follow-up to Bobby which was a big, expansive story. Then the funding finally came to a crashing halt around September of 2008, and my father had come to Spain and walked part of the Camino with my son, and an old actor friend of his. So we began these conversations about making a movie in Spain and I began to work on a draft, using The Wizard of Oz as a template.

With Tom as Dorothy...
Yes, Tom [Martin Sheen’s character] is Dorothy; the Dutchman [Yorick van Wageningen] is the cowardly lion; the girl [Deborah Kara Unger] is the Tin Man with the broken heart; I didn’t have my Scarecrow yet, and then I stumbled upon the book written by Jack Hitt [Off the Road: A Modern Day Walk Down The Pilgrim's Route Into Spain] and thought about using a writer with writer’s block, using Jack himself [portrayed by James Nesbitt] and his experience on the Camino, as the fourth character. He’s our Scarecrow and when we found the hay bales that you see in the movie along the Camino, I decided that that should be where Tom and the others find him. Initially I had been reluctant to talk to anyone about that Wizard of Oz analogy, but it’s very clear and I don’t think it’s a negative.

You’re making a habit of directing your father…
I know all his fits and phases, like he’s never met a person that he didn’t like, and kindness is an instinct for him. He’ll jump into a crowd, shake everyone’s hand, sign all the autographs, and that’s the wonderful thing about him. But that is also not who Tom is, so I had to keep reminding him that he was not all smiles.

You’d have to remind him that the character was extremely conservative and reserved?
I’d remind him: ‘Tom voted for George Bush. Twice!’ Enough said. Tom is emblematic of how America is viewed by the rest of the world - somewhat cut off.

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