It's good to be associated with this kind of action, this kind of heroism.

In war the heroes always outnumber the soldiers ten to one.

This mixes patriotism, heroism and sex appeal. That covers a lot of bases. Of course some ladies would rather be a sexy Statue of Liberty.

That's somewhat less a draw than it used to be because of the superb modern communications that we have. It is a factor, though, especially in projects that require a lot of interface with the government.

In my opinion, actual heroism, like actual love, is a messy, painful, vulnerable business—and I wanted to try to reflect that.

A boy doesn't have to go to war to be a hero; he can say he doesn't like pie when he sees there isn't enough to go around.