EMILIO ESTEVEZ: DIRECTOR

You'll see the talented brat packer in Young Guns II as an actor, but his real pet project comes out a little later. He directs himself and brother Charlie Sheen in the eco-comedy MEN AT WORK.

We're at Warners' Hollywood dubbing stage and Emilio Estevez is screaming his head off. This Brat Packer turned auteur simply will not be silenced. Well, to be fair, Estevez and his brother Charlie Sheen are actually wailing on screen during a truck chase as Estevez tweaks sound effects on his new comedy, MEN AT WORK.

Estevez is again plunging into Welles/Allen/Beatty territory as he stars, directs, and writes a vision he hopes will attract a few dozen million moviegoers this month. Young Guns II, a current release Estevez merely stars in, may give a residual boost to this pet project he's nurtured for so long. The energetic actor admits his earlier attempt as a complete filmmaker, the 1989 box office failure Wisdom, may have been tackled without all his players on the field.

"on Wisdom I was thinking...I wasn't thinking." clarifies the twenty-eight years old actor during a welcome break from the sound board. "I basically went and shot a script that wasn't camera-ready. I learned my lesson this time around."

Estevez made sure MEN AT WORK was polished and production worthy, having honed it these past five years. In the ecology- conscious premise, Estevez and Sheen play a pair of garbagemen who come across a body in a fifty-five gallon drum dumped on their route. In the ensuing chaos, the two trash retrievers learn that the assassination was connected to a influential politician. Kickbacks involving the illegal dumping of toxic wasted are a factor in the corruption and this is where Estevez wants to make a point.

"We don't want to hit people over the heads with it." says Estevez, who like his father Martin Sheen, harbors an acute concern as to the fate of our planet. "But under the guise of a comedy, a very quirky comedy, we were able to get our message across." Estevez grows very serious. "I've lived in Los Angeles for the last twenty years and have watched Santa Monica Bay really become L.A> toilet."

Back in the studio, Estevez paces over a scene where his equally famous brother and a love interest are being escorted along the beach. They're under much duress as two thugs prod them along bickering amongst themselves. Sheen whispers an escape plan to his very pretty companion, but a goon's line, along with the music cue is obscuring the dialogue.

"Yeah, the music is totally crowding us out," observes our director.

So Estevez and one of the technicians try various mixes as the sequence is run over. And over. Yet over again. They try it once more.

"How does, that feel to you?" asked the techie to the pacing man

"Better. Less offensive," replies Estevez as they lock the preferred mix into place.

"This process is so painstakingly slow." adds Estevez, sitting down with his visitor.

But the film looks pretty darned funny. Estevez shows the reporter several sequences and seems genuinely pleased when the laughs come. But this young man knows it'll need to spill people in the aisles to be able to keep up with this summer's bulk of blockbusters.

"I think if it's not received well, then I'll sort of crawl into a shell and disappear." he laughs. "And come back with some acting triumphs."


Article by David Pecchia. Typed by Amy for Presenting...Emilio