Emperor Movie Trailer

Posted by Charmaine Blake on Mar 13th, 2013 in Drama, New Releases, War | 0 comments

Emperor Movie Trailer

Tommy Lee Jones stars in a new war film, Emperor. Following the events during World War II when the Japanese surrendered, General Douglas MacArthur played by Tommy Lee Jones finds himself the de facto ruler of Japan. He must decide whether the Japanese Emperor, Hirohito should be accused of war crimes. Caught in a dilemma, MacArthur tasks General Fellers (Matthew Fox) to investigate whether the Emperor should be punished or saved. The actions and decisions of the generals will soon change the history of these two great nations forever. Check out an exclusive interview with Tommy Lee Jones on this new film, Emperor below:

“Tommy Lee Jones as MacArthur in Emperor

I may be the first reporter to ever say this, but I thought Tommy Lee Jones was a great interview.

I recently spoke with the notoriously surly Oscar winner to discuss his latest foray into dramatizing history’s most interesting men: Playing General Douglas MacArthur in “Emperor”.

Part thriller, part love story, and part historical drama, the film begins at the conclusion of World War II in the ruins of Japan, where MacArthur is serving as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. Sporting a personality big enough to match that title, MacArthur is tasked with the enormous undertaking of steering Japan back from devastation and guiding the country towards becoming a thriving democracy.

MacArthur faces the difficult decision of whether or not to try Japan’s revered Emperor Hirohito with war crimes — an offense punishable by hanging. Such an act could easily unhinge not only the recovery efforts, but also the fragile peace. To investigate the best course of action, MacArthur turns to his attaché, Brigadier General Bonner Fellers, played by Matthew Fox.

Sitting across from Jones, his penetrating glare seemingly dissecting my existential worth, it’s easy to see how a man of such obvious gravitas landed the role. As Jones sank his chopsticks into his Japanese breakfast, he spoke to me about the complexities of MacArthur’s world-altering decision, how much fiction is allowed in fact-based films, and his definition of fun.

“Emperor” opens today in limited release.

Adam Pockross: Actually my first research paper ever was written about Douglas MacArthur.

Tommy Lee Jones: What did you learn?

AP: I remember that he had a formidable mother…

TLJ: Yes, she went to West Point with him.

AP: Right! Pinky. I remember that because it was the first time I ever learned the word formidable. So what did you learn about Douglas MacArthur doing your research that surprised you?

TLJ: I was surprised to learn the significant role that he played in the character of life in the 21st Century. He labored very hard to keep the Emperor alive because he didn’t want to break the back of Japanese society. He knew what would happen if the politicians who were in the United States had their way, the politicians who were elected by people, they were clamoring for the Emperor’s blood but he had no — they didn’t have anybody to kill or punish, no leader of state. They couldn’t kill Mussolini. They couldn’t kill Hitler. They wanted to kill somebody.

And those politicians had to respond to those people, and if MacArthur had allowed them to have their way, the Japanese society would’ve collapsed. The war would have gone on and on and on. There would’ve been an utter chaos, uncontrollable, certainly more easily controllable by Joseph Stalin than Harry Truman.”

You can continue reading the interview at Yahoo by clicking here

Emperor is directed by Peter Webber and is distributed by Lionsgate

Browse through the rest of our “Drama” films right in this blog

Charmaine Blake loves movies, musical theater listening to music and taking pictures of anything that she finds interesting. She is a voracious reader and writer, and enjoys her time writing for New Movie Launches. Charmaine loves spending time with her pets and currently has a Siberian Husky, a toy poodle and a cat.