Estevez launches his own successful 'War'

Emilio Estevez may look the same, but don't let that fool you. Everything about him has changed

"I feel like I reinvented myself with "The War at Home." says Estevez, whose duties on that compelling new film included directing, producing, and starring. A bad sign, you might say, if you remember his previous similar efforts the abysmal films "Wisdom" and "Men at Work." But that was then, this is now.

"You know, back then I thought I had something to say and it turned out maybe I had a little to say, but it wasn't enough to make a movie. Maybe I had 10 pages to say, those things that were on my mind." the 34-year old Estevez says, grinning, "but I've realized that I'm not a writer: That's not where my strengths lie."

Proving that he definitely does have talent as a director because the driving force in his life, especially after the "painful divorce" he went through with singer Paula Abdul two years ago. He was willing to literally sacrifice everything to follow his artistic yearnings, and that fearlessness has paid off. So has "The War at Home," a searing drama about a Vietnam War-era American family in turmoil, which has garnered rave reviews.

"I really feel that I was in an artistic free fall without a parachute. Four years ago I realized that I was making movies either for the money or because I owed a sequel, or because my agent made a lot of decisions to make films that didn't come from my heart." he says.

"The money was cool. My house is paid off, as a result, and it afforded me the luxury to take risks like doing 'The War at Home.' But it's also means not having a paycheck for two years and we all know that you've got to fill up that till if you deplete it. So now I find myself with the unusual position of being as broke as I was when I got into the business." he says, laughing nervously. "on the one hand, it's terrifying and on the other hand, it's totally liberating."

Luckily for Estevez, he can still command a few millions dollars for his acting services, so refilling the coffers isn't all that tough a proposition. But things are never going to be the same again for this grown-up member of the Brat Pack.

"What's the level of compromise for making that kind of money?" he asks. "How far do I have to sell my soul? What's the price of that? And I don't know if I want to make those kind of compromises any more. I think I'm a different person. I think I've matured to a great extent. I think that I want different things now. That it's not about the celebrity status that you receive because you're doing the next hot movie. It's about doing good work."


Article written by Jenny Peters. Typed by Amy for Presenting...Emilio