Look, we're dealing with the biggest science fiction book ever written!
-- John Travolta
JOHN TRAVOLTA's latest project, 'Battlefield Earth,' is taking him to new heights and strange worlds -- merchandising!
Entertainment Tonight: This is all new to you, isn't it? The merchandise -- other than 20 years ago with The Travolta Doll.
John Travolta: There was the Travolta Doll, a Barbarino doll, the lunch pail, the metal box.
ET: Do you have any of that stuff?
John: There's tons of memorabilia I have. There's 'Saturday Night Fever,' 'Grease' stuff, some 'Urban Cowboy.' For kids, you know, blankets, sleeping bags, things like that.
ET: But this is different?
John: This is toys. This is more like along the lines of 'Star Wars.'
ET: I know that this is such a close-to-your-heart kind of project.
John: Well, yeah. Look, we're dealing with the biggest science fiction book ever written! Five and a half million copies. And it's taken almost 20 years to get made, and finally we got it made. People really want to see it. You helped with that. We launched the teaser campaign on your show and after that, it took off. The Internet was jammed with clicks. We're up to 6 million clicks with the interest on it.
ET: You are in the post-production process right now.
John: Special Effects.
ET: Like that kind of part? Is that your bag?
John: Making a good movie is what I like to do, and that's all part of this.
ET: But this is new -- you're not used to doing post-production?
John: This is new. Special effects and that kind of thing. Some post-production I'm used to doing. But this is more in depth. This is much more responsibility because of the kind of sound design the movie has to have, the sound effects, the special effects. It's another level.
ET: Are you so close that you get to that point where you go, "I don't know if it's done yet." I know you're doing the trailer part. Do you ever question, "God, can it be better or am I happy with that?"
John: No, I'm really happy with the product we got.
ET: How do you know that? How do you know when it's done?
John: You know it's done because it works without special effects and without music. And if you say if this works without all that, we've got a great movie, because when you add the layers of sound effects and special effects and music, it becomes this monster. You go, "Oh my God, this is even better than I thought."
ET: Twenty years you say you have been kind of behind the project. Has it been about that?
John: The book was released it in '80 or '81, so we are talking about 18 to 20 years.
ET: How attached to the outcome are you with this?
John: I think we were very conservative in the way we budgeted this movie. So I feel we are protected in a certain way.
ET: But I mean outside the money. I mean emotionally. If it doesn't go at the box office, if it's not a big hit there, does that dictate to you whether it's a success or a failure? Or is it about just getting this far?
John: I think the anticipation for the project is so great that I'm just basking in the success of the anticipation. I don't even want to think that far. It's been such a great year -- actually, now it's a year and a half -- in putting this together. So we'll see. I mean, you always want your every movie to be a success. I mean, that's par for the course, but this one even more so because it means more to me. But it's so positive so far that failure is not a choice.
ET: It's not really a sequel, is it? It's a completion?
John: It's actually a completion, because the book is actually 1000 pages, and we've done the first 500 pages. So now with the sequel we'll do the second 500 pages which, in its totality, will make the whole book.
ET: So is it fair to call it a sequel?
John: Well, you could call it part two, or you could call it the sequel to the story we didn't communicate. It's kind of a sequel, even though it's part two.
ET: Where are we in that process? Are you committed to doing the second half?
John: Oh yeah, I'm committed to doing that. It's just a matter of when and where and how. We've alerted the writer on his first break, in order to start on the second part.
ET: How much does Kelly have involved in this?
John: She has one scene with me, where she plays my assistant. And she's actually much bigger in the second part of the book and the movie, but she's quite hilarious.
ET: What about in the post production part? Are you running home and going, "Honey, look at this"?
John: Yeah, I will. I'll say, "What do you think of this teaser or this trailer", and she'll give me an audience kind of reaction to it. The last one I did -- she loved that one. And I showed BARRY PEPPER this morning, and he flipped over it, so I figured "Well, okay, we're on our way."
ET: Give me an idea of what a day in production or post production would be like for you.
John: Well, I'm working on another movie right now called 'Numbers,' a comedy. So after work, I eat dinner, put Jett to bed, and then go over to the studio and work on the movie until however long it takes.
ET: Explain the eyes thing to me.
John: Well, in the book, all the Psychos have amber eyes, so I wore contacts.
ET: Is that eerie?
John: Yeah. I've never worn them before, but they are strange to wear.
ET: Does everything turn that color?
John: Not terribly so -- just a little glare of some sort, but not terribly so.
ET: Maybe a fashion accessory now?
John: Yeah, why not? I have different colors!
-- February 17, 2000
Courtesy Entertainment Tonight Online
