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Valkyrie – An Interview with Christopher McQuarrieGerald D. Swick November 21, 2008 | 11 comments | Print | E-mail In one office in the movie, there are props that were actually items in Hitler’s office. Items strangely found their way into the movie from collectors. People have all these collections of what is essentially Third Reich contraband, and normally they have to be pretty quiet about it. They’re anxious to be able to share their collections. ACG: I don’t see Erwin Rommel listed among the characters in this film. CMQ: Rommel doesn’t appear because he really wasn’t involved in the central events, as with many other important people in the German resistance. In early drafts (of the script) we included many people, but it felt like they were having cameos. Stauffenberg’s brother Berthold, for example, had a major influence on Stauffenberg’s life. But because we really didn’t show Stauffenberg at home, we felt by having Berthold in the movie we were doing him a disservice because his role felt extremely diminished. It was something I wound up having to explain to his descendants.
CMQ: It was moving. One of the things that struck me the most was a house we chose to film in. When we went to scout the location, I found a framed document in the otherwise empty house that said that was the house that had been used to conceal the bomb. After three days of shooting, a member of the crew brought his grandmother to the set. She had pictures of herself in that house. Her father was executed as part of the conspiracy. We didn’t know that when we chose it as the film location, but here we were filming in the house. ACG: The trailers show some intense scenes in North Africa, when the air attack that wounded Stauffenberg occurred. How long did it take to film those? CMQ: We actually shot the North Africa sequence in three-and-a-half days. It was extremely well organized because it had been months in the planning. We finished shooting in Berlin in October ‘07 and shot the Africa sequence in June of ‘08. Those scenes were filmed in Apple Valley, California. We had scouted Spain and Jordan trying to find terrain that resembled Tunisia. As it turned out, California actually had the best terrain. ACG: I believe you once wanted to bring the story of Alexander the Great to the screen. Are you a history buff? CMQ: I always have been. Alexander was my first crack at doing a historical movie. That’s where I developed the techniques of developing a movie based on historical events. I worked on it with Peter Buchman; it was his first screenplay. He went on to do Che. I guess I’m drawn to history because the main thing in writing a movie is to have a good ending, and with history I know how it ends. ACG: Once, in an interview with Cynthia Fuchs, you said that directing your own movie, The Way of the Gun, taught you that you "talk too much," that you have too much dialogue in your scripts. Valkyrie is a film that would seem to require a good bit of dialogue in order to help history-challenged viewers understand all that’s going on. CMQ: Yeah, you would think that. We found ourselves paring it down, making it more and more efficient as we went. It’s remarkable how spare the dialogue is as the movie goes on. There are no big speeches. ACG: You’re perhaps best known for writing noir crime thrillers. You even won an Oscar for The Usual Suspects. How did that background influence you in creating this history-based thriller? Pages: 1 2 3Help Armchair General by bookmarking to
            Tags: Historical Figures, interview, movies, World War II
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11 Comments to “Valkyrie – An Interview with Christopher McQuarrie”
Thank You very much for this site. I cannot remember when I singed up for this site, It has been awhile, but I come back here often. Thank You for the emails and the fsatenating articles that are on this site. Thank You for this site and this interview.
By Len Hawkins on Nov 24, 2008 at 5:53 pm
This is the first time I had the chance to read articles in this forum long after I have registered. In fact, I think this is the first time that I’ve open the forum again. I find the interview very fascinating specially for someone like me who is a history buff and an avid student of historical figures. I wonder if there are other features on Asian war generals like North Vietnamese General Giap. Cheers to Armchair General
By E. Mercado on Nov 24, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Thank you so much for this interview! I can’t wait to see Valkyrie once it comes out in theatres. Stauffenberg was a real hero who was not afraid to do an unpopular and extremely dangerous thing; he was also a German war hero who fought with distinction in North Africa, as well as a Catholic—a combination that is rare to say the least, and not found often in WWII.
It is articles and interviews like this that make the Armchair General website such a great place. Thank you to all of the ACG magazine and website staff for all of the great work you do! I am very thankful to you today more than ever, on Thanksgiving. God bless!
Sincerely,
Alexander Wilson
By Alexander Wilson on Nov 27, 2008 at 9:41 am
Thank you very much to send me this message. I am a English learner. So I am very happy that I can join in this forum. It will do a lot to my English study. Thank you very much.
By sophie on Nov 28, 2008 at 7:31 am
The web site Axis History Forum has a site on “German Genenerl Casualties” in which they discuss von Staufennbergs career, education (1936 Genral Staff Course) and backgroud.
By bigun6605 on Dec 3, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I can’t wait for this movie to come out. They need to make more movies about WWII – least our future generations don’t forget this horrible war and repeat it!
Hilter was a mad man and should have never been in power but for every bad thing there is good that comes from it and I’m sure there was a reason for all of it.
Christopher McQuarrie – if your listening here are some future ideas for moves based on history.
The story of Saul or Paul from the Bible and his entire life – it would be a amazing and rare account for a movie. Trust me.
Maybe a movie about the “Winter War” in 1940 when the Soviets invaded Finland and how they defeated them beginning highly out-gunned and out-numbered.
A movie about the Nazi seige of Leningrad and how the Russian people survived almost four years of starvation in that city.
Just some ideas…………………..
By Blitzkrieg the 2nd on Dec 8, 2008 at 11:01 pm
It’s very telling of these people to discuss their motivations for making motion pictures, its almost the story within the story. Thanks for the interview. Love reading World War II
By odanny on Dec 10, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Personally, I thought the movie was amazing.
I’m not one for Tom Cruise (usually), but I liked this.
It was well written, well directed, and well cast (for the most part).
I cannot wait for this movie to come out on DVD.
This interview just added to my excitement. Great interview!
By jcms_academic.superbowl on Jan 16, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Sources. What were McQuarrie’s actual sources? Which ones out of many did he use? Why isn’t a history magazine asking him about his approach to and use of historical materials?
This interview reads like a puff piece from any dumb entertainment publication, not something that is appearing in a serious magazine for history buffs, who want to see serious topics dealt with with the care and attention that they deserve.
Right?
Ask the man real questions the next time.
By Mike on Oct 29, 2009 at 12:32 am
For example, “the exact fuses that Stauffenberg used”. Who cares. Hollywood is famous for its overemphasis on trivial details of this sort, while getting the characterizations of the historical figures wrong.
Whose books did you use, fellah? Which records state the manufacturer of Stauffenberg’s fuses?
By Mike on Oct 29, 2009 at 12:41 am