AMERICAN MADE

AMERICAN MADE I Tom Cruise and Doug Liman reunite for a stranger-than-fiction biopic…

Tom Cruise doesn’t feel the need for speed; he just smuggles it.

We had this competitive relationship where neither one of us would cry ‘no más!’” Director Doug Liman is reminiscing about his first meeting with Tom Cruise for their bonkers Barry Seal biopic American Made. “It was a flight from Florida to London starting at 10pm. At 5.30am, we’re still going, but I refused to be the one to say, ‘Let’s take a break.’ I waited until Tom finally collapsed. I fell asleep before I could even hit the floor.”

In the name of pushing it to the limit, Liman and Cruise followed Seal’s flightpath during the late ’70s when the maverick pilot transported guns to South American rebels for the CIA, while carrying drugs back across the US border for the Medellín Cartel. “Tom and I went off to the really remote recesses of Colombia with just a few small aeroplanes and almost no crew,” Liman smiles. The pair are trained pilots and used their aviation expertise to capture the film’s flying sequences for real. “We love giving audiences a real thrill ride, so together we could do flying sequences that were exciting and not CG.”

This insurance-flaunting sense of adventure reflects the insanity on screen, as Seal plays the CIA and the most dangerous men in the world for financial gain. “I fell in love with the character because he encompasses so many qualities I relate to,” Liman says.

“He’s not a cog in the machine. He’s Icarus. He’s fearless.” But Liman’s connection to Seal goes deeper – Liman’s father served as chief counsel for the Senate during the Iran-Contra Scandal, in part caused by Seal’s handlers at the CIA, here represented by Domhnall Gleeson’s Schafer.

But despite the film’s many implausible twists and turns, “the reality of Barry Seal is even more outrageous,” Liman nods. “There’s a great photo of Barry Seal landing on a Little League field in a helicopter, and he’s loaded 20 kids into the helicopter to get ice cream. I so wanted to do that scene, [but] there’s no legal way to put 20 kids in a helicopter and take off.” So much fun it should be illegal? Here’s hoping.

ETA | 25 AUGUST / AMERICAN MADE OPENS LATER THIS SUMMER.