To get audiences to go see a film is a completely separate issue.

To get audiences to go see a film is a completely separate issue.

Hollywood is not stupid, contrary to popular belief; it's really a lot of intelligent people trying to figure things out.

There's a picture of the real Coach Gary Gaines in the book and he's sitting in the locker room after a game, and he just looks so much like Billy Bob, that we went to him.

I did not want 'Battleship' to be perceived as an American war film. I wanted to do everything I could to make the film accessible to a global audience. It felt like bringing an alien component to the film would help take the American jingoism out of it.

I wanted to do a naval film and I flirted with different ideas, most of which ended up being too intense. So when the idea of 'Battleship' was first suggested, I was instantly drawn to the challenge - could I invent a movie around the idea of five ships fighting five ships?

I'm a huge fan of the Navy. My father was a Naval historian, and I've been studying Naval battles forever.