communists!”Sowewereinvitedto
alltheseplaces.Wepenetratedthe
armybecauseRichardhadcontactsand
becauseofme.Thearmydidn’tknow
whattomakeoftheseHollywoodguys.
Isit trueyouhada phoneyscript?
Boylehaddummiedthescript—I was
notinvolvedinthat—sothatthebad
guysweretherebels.Hewentdown
therethreetimes.Hekepttellingmewe
couldgetanApocalypseNowlookfor
$50,000,whichis possible.Youhave
majorequipmentinSalvadorbecause
thePentagonis givingthemequipment.
They’vegotsomebigstuffdownthere:
tanks,planes,helicopters.Twomonths
laterourmilitaryadvisor,LtColonel
RicardoCienfuegos,waskilledbythe
rebelsona tenniscourt.Hispicturemade
thefrontpageofTheNewYorkTimes.
I neverforgetwhenI sawit.Ourhopes
toshootinSalvadorwentdown
thetoilet.Boyle’splanwastoshoot
therebelsinMexicolater,which was
a prettygoodplanactually.
Howdidyouthinkaboutcasting?
OriginallytheideawastohaveRichard
Boyleplayhimself.I haddonesome
screentestswhereheandDoctorRock
playedthemselves.It wasreallyfunnybut
JohnDalysaid,“Thisguy’sa joke,you
can’tusehim,yougottagetsomeactors,”
soweendedupwithMrWoodsandMr
Belushi.Everyonehatedeverybodyelse.
TheactorshatedBoyle.Boylethought
theywerepussies.It keptgoing back and
forthforthewholeshoot.
Whatareyourmemoriesofthatback
andforth?
WoodscouldnotstandBoyle.He
thoughthewassleazy.Boylewasdrunk
a lot.Hewoulddisappear...Hewasquite
a characterbutI lovedhim.Hesuedme
intheendandthat’swhereI lostit with
him.Hewasbrokeallthetime.I helped
himasmuchasI could.I gothiminto
theWGAwhichgavehimwelfarefor
therestofhislife.Richardwasthe
kindofguywhowouldrunoutinfront
ofa carinSanFranciscoandgethit
foraninsuranceclaim.Toquotethe
movie,he’sa schemeranda scammer.
Didn’tyouplayWoodsandBelushi
offagainsteachother?
No,I didn’t,butthathappenednaturally
becauseWoodsis quitea difficult
character.Hewaskillingit,Belushiwas
muchlessexperiencedandkindofknew
it.Therewasquitea bitofgiveandtake.
Woodswasquiteegocentricatthattime.
Wefoughtconstantly.Thereweresome
rough days where Jimmy and I would just
goatit.Whentheconfessionscenecame
alonglaterinthemovie,I saidtoWoods,
“I’mgonnashoota confessionscene,just
saywhatthefuckyouare!Aweaseland
a rat!”I didn’tgivehimanydialogueand
heactuallysaida lotofthethingsthat
I saidtohim.I almostwantedtokillhim
a fewtimes.Butwhenwefinished,he
literallycameuptomeandsaid, “I think
youmadea greatfilm.”Howconfrontationaldidit get?
I didn’tfeelthreatenedbyWoods
becausehewasa coward.Jimmywas
a littleupsetbecausewehada lotofwar
stuff.I hadthisplanecomeinlowand
buzzhimandJohnSavage.Hewasn’t
usedtothat.HereallythoughtI was
goingbacktoVietnamandbecoming
a psycho.Hewasa germophobeand
hatedMexico,wasterrifiedofit.Jimmy
wasa painintheassbutwebecame
friends.Weseeeachotherandwelaugh
aboutit.It wasn’tlaughableatthetime.It
wasastoughasit gets.I guess the torture
bondedusina way.Whatelsewasgoingdown?
BeyondtheWoodsproblems,therewas
nomoney.Thecurrencygotdevalued
beforewestartedshootingandallof
a suddenourbudgethadshrunkbyabout
35 percent.It wasa nightmare.Cheques
wouldbounceafterthreeweekssoactors
wouldscreamandyell.Therewere
unionproblemsinMexico.Theywere
verystrictinthosedaysandtheywould
quitonus.Therewerethreeorfour
walkouts.I becamesofatalisticit didn’t
botherme.I wouldjustgotosleepand
belike,“Wakemeupwhentheycome
back.”Butit wasfunbecause we got
somethingonfilm.Wasn’ttherea run-inwiththe
womanfromtheMexicancensors?
Thatwasfunnytoo.There’snodoubt
Salvadoris prettydirtysowe’dthrow
junkonthestreet.Atonepointwe
hadtogetthiswomanoffset.She
wouldobjecttoallthatshit:“We
can’thavethatimpressionofCentral
America.”Wealwayshadtobargain
withhersoI gotholdofourvery
handsomeproductionmanagerand
said,“Justgofuckher.”Heactually
didhisdutyandit worked. He got
a promotion.Whatotherguerillatacticsdid
youemploy?
Welied,cheated,stole.We’djustkeep
shooting,keepgettingit down.It was
alwaysstop-start,stop-start.I hadthe
filmfinancecompanyonmyassallthe
time. He was a one-eyed guy, RichardClockwisefrom
above:Woodswith
ElpidiaCarrillo(who
playedBoyle’s
girlfriendMaría)and
OliverStoneonset;
JohnSavageas
strickenjournalist
JohnCassady;
Sometimefriends
BoyleandCassady
cometoblows;The
horrificaftermath
of war.ALAMY, REX SHUTTESTOCK, RGA