November 17, 2005

POPE JOHN PAUL II
Sunday, Dec. 4 and Wednesday, Dec. 7
FEATURE

THE PRODUCTION TEAM TELLS WHY THEY WERE COMPELLED TO SHOOT IN POLAND AND ITALY TO TRULY CAPTURE THE HEART AND SOUL OF THEIR STORY ABOUT THE REVERED POPE JOHN PAUL II

Writer/Director John Kent Harrison,
Executive Producers Stephen J. Davis and Matilde Bernabei, Producer Luca Bernabei and Co-Producer Chris Grabowski Discuss Their Roles in the Making of the Mini-Series "Pope John Paul II"

POPE JOHN PAUL II, a new four-hour mini-series event based on the remarkable life of Pope John Paul II, will be broadcast Sunday, Dec. 4 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) and Wednesday, Dec. 7 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.? Cary Elwes portrays Karol Wojtyla in his adult years prior to being elected pope on Oct. 16, 1978, and Jon Voight portrays him during his extraordinary 26-year reign that ended with his death on April 2, 2005. The drama was, appropriately, shot on location in Krakow, Poland and in and around Rome. On set this past August and September, writer/director John Kent Harrison, executive producers Stephen J. Davis and Matilde Bernabei, producer Luca Bernabei and co-producer Chris Grabowski discussed what made Pope John Paul II special and how they strove to tell his story with authenticity and heart.

Depicting the Essence of The People's Pontiff

From the moment his production company started developing POPE JOHN PAUL II four years ago, Rome-based producer Luca Bernabei stressed to everyone involved that it was essential not to lose sight of the fact that although Pope John Paul II was the pope for 26 years, he never forgot that he was a priest. "He remained a priest until the end of his life... giving communion, hearing confessions," says Luca Bernabei. "He was not a pope who merely spoke from a window up high. He was out among the people; he was one of them." American executive producer Stephen J. Davis concurs, "Pope John Paul II had a personal connection with everything and everyone who came in contact with him. It was amazing how, in probably an unprecedented way, he remained true to that balance of remaining personal and pastoral while making great strides throughout the world as the leader of the Catholic church. That feeling is so well played by Cary (Elwes) and Jon (Voight) in the mini-series. That's the magical thread throughout the movie."

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Incorporating an Abundance of First-Person Accounts into the Extensive Research

Writer/director John Kent Harrison shared this vision and, while researching Pope John Paul II, he also sought to learn things about him that would give John Paul II dimension. Among the many findings was that the pope had a quick and warm sense of humor. Harrison not only engrossed himself in a multitude of writings both about and by the pope, he also had the benefit of getting first-hand stories while interviewing a few of the pope's close associates, including Stanislaw Dziwisz, the current Archbishop of Krakow, who is depicted in the mini-series in his role as the private secretary of the pope for nearly 40 years; Dr. Joaquin Navarro Valls, who is also portrayed in the drama for his role as Director of the Vatican Press Office since 1984; and Marco Frisina, the pope's choirmaster, who composed and directed the music for this project. He also interviewed Alberto Michelini. "He had been the first journalist to interview the pope in 1978," explains Harrison. "He became a very close friend of the pope -- his children were even baptized by him. He showed me an enlightening documentary he had made about the pope with all of the footage from the Vatican. He was very helpful to me on many levels, and, most specifically, he pointed out that as a priest, and even a pope, Karol Wojtyla never lost his human touch, his connection with people or his enthusiasm for life."

"We were intent on being as reflective of the man as possible, and, fortunately, we had a tremendous number of people who were very close to him who shared phenomenal stories with us along the way," shared Davis. "Each week it seemed we learned something new, that we felt was important to include in the story. So, the project just kept expanding." Adds Luca Bernabei, "We had a group of 10 consultants in different areas. One of them was Fr. Pawel Ptasznik, head of the Polish section of the Vatican's Secretary of State. There was also a liturgical consultant, historical consultant, a Vatican expert, political and historical experts from Poland, even military and Swiss Guard advisors. We have worked to be very precise and accurate. It's very difficult to get the kind of information we've secured. The behind-the-scenes of the life of the pope is somewhat secret -- it's the way the Vatican protects the pope. Yet, they have been very kind, and have given us a lot of information." Adds Matilde Bernabei, "I'm sure that people who watch this movie will learn something completely unknown to them about the pope, especially from the last part of his life." Harrison agrees, "As I got closer to the people in the Vatican, I thought things would kind of shut down, and they didn't. They shared personal stories that aren't in magazine articles, books or manuscripts. A lot of their personal anecdotes about the pope are in the movie."

The Benefits of Shooting in the Pope's Homeland and His Papal Home Region

As the writer/director, Harrison was intent on creating a look and feel that was as accurate and compelling as what he was working to achieve in the script. These goals led him to film a good deal of the mini-series in the pope's homeland. "Luca (Bernabei) had suggested that I read the pope's last book, Memory and Identity: Conversations at the Dawn of a Millennium, and that inspired me. That was the book that made me veer toward the concept that the heart of this movie is Polish. I was determined to make that Polish part of the story ring true in all its cultural detail. I wanted to understand where the pope came from and why he was perfect for his time... I remember first meeting with the art department in Krakow (Poland) and saying, 'please understand, I want to put Poland in the movie.' So the look, the architecture, the features and the feeling had to be Polish. I wasn't exactly sure what that was. I needed help from the Polish crew members -- and I got it."

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While on set at Krakow's landmark Wawel castle and cathedral in August, Polish co-producer Chris Grabowski (Baltmedia/Projektor for TVP) spoke to the importance of filming this project in Krakow, where the pope had lived for many years. "(Krakow) was the first Polish capital before being moved to Warsaw in the 16th century. This is the most important place for every Pole; this is the heart of Poland. Polish kings are buried here (in Wawel cathedral), and, of course, Pope John Paul II was very deeply connected to this place and was influenced by it. He was a university student, priest, bishop, archbishop and cardinal here -- and he was born in Wadowice, which is about 60 kilometers from Krakow. This was his area and it would be very strange to shoot a project about Pope John Paul II anywhere else."

Adds Davis, "As part of being true to his story, and being true to the heart and soul of the story-telling process, we had to shoot in Poland and in Italy. We could never have recreated, not even on the sizeable budget that we have, the locations that we were fortunate enough to use. In Krakow we shot at the magnificent Wawel castle and cathedral, in the narrow streets of old town, at the church where he was a young pastor (St. Florian's), his family neighborhood and at the Archbishopric, where I would say that we were certainly one of the first, if not the only crew, that was able to shoot there. The public will see images in Krakow and at the Vatican, that have never been exposed, certainly on television, and that many will never see in their lives. They are incredible in their scale and beauty and that's part of creating the magic of this story." Luca Bernabei concurs, "Poland was his country, so we felt we must shoot there. For the first time, [a production] has been allowed to shoot in the Vatican. It was a very delicate process [being given permission to shoot there] because actors are generally not allowed to be filmed in the Vatican. But, because everybody cares so much about the project, this time it was a bit easier." Among the moments shot in Vatican buildings are a scene with the pope (Voight) and Cardinal Wyszynski (Christopher Lee) where they discuss Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement, the scenes in Dr. Navarro Valls' office and a scene with the pope and Cardinal Ratzinger (Mikolaj Grabowski). Additionally, they shot inside the Sistine Chapel to get the visual effects plates that would help them re-create the look of the Sistine Chapel for the conclave scenes that were set there.

Further highlighting the benefits of shooting in Poland, Grabowski notes, "We brought in a number of vehicles from Warsaw from the periods before, during and after the war (World War II). These tanks, trucks, motorcycles, cars and bikes helped us to recreate those times." He also notes that the Polish extras added to the authenticity of the project as they observed actors playing their beloved religious leaders. "We used more than 1,000 extras of different ages. We saw a lot of natural spiritual reactions when they were watching our actors playing the pope. Sometimes we even saw tears in their eyes, so they were very much into this picture."

The Touching Unscripted Reactions of Polish and Italian Extras to the Portrayals of the Pope

Grabowski, Harrison, Matilde, Luca Bernabei and Davis also see the reactions from the Polish and Italian extras as a testament to how well the actors are embodying the pope. "I really believe that it is the first little miracle of the movie," enthuses Luca Bernabei, "that we have people like Jon (Voight) and Cary (Elwes) who so resemble the pope -- and who are so gifted at portraying him." Adds Davis, "We were honestly looking for actors who we felt had an inner-sense of who he was and could really play the role genuinely and with heart -- and we found them. After we were

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done shooting a number of scenes in both Poland and Italy the extras in the crowd were reaching out to Jon (Voight), because to them, he is 'papa.' He is the pope, he so resembles him. When we were done shooting the attempted assassination, a huge crowd scene, at least 50 percent of the extras were in tears -- genuinely. They were not instructed to cry. They were genuinely moved by Jon's portrayal of the pope. In all of my years of making television, I have never seen anything like this." Harrison reveals, "In a number of scenes I let the camera run when Jon Voight is the pope and he is moving toward a crowd. I just let him go into the crowd and began to shoot a documentary, because for a few moments people see him as the pope. It's 'The pope has come back!' or 'This is the Pope!' You see it in people's eyes, you're catching genuine moments. Jon plays it in a way that doesn't capitalize on it, and it feels like a true documentation of what the reactions were to John Paul II."

The Creators' Reflections on Pope John Paul II

Throughout the process of researching the pope and bringing his life to film, the creators couldn't help but be moved, impressed and inspired by him. "He was a leader who was trying to teach people a better way of living," says Luca Bernabei. "He wasn't trying to convert them. He didn't say 'You have to believe.' He said 'I believe.' He led by example. I believe that young people are especially searching for this kind of person -- an old, wise, father-figure telling them the truth and laughing and joking with them. He was the perfect teacher." Harrison adds, "Apart from the Polish theme, it was important to me to articulate his connection with youth -- and his message to them in terms of self-esteem and all the things that young people need to hear from responsible adults. I also wanted to convey that he was a man who genuinely struggled all his life to attain world peace. He was a man who was always positive, who always found the good in people and promoted good. He had a way of captivating people and getting his way through encouragement." Notes Davis, "One of my favorite quotes of the pope was that irrespective of your religious beliefs, all paths lead to the same God. He was a very inclusive man from the beginning of his life until his death. It was important for him to reach out to everyone, and that's a wonderful message. That's why I think this movie is relevant to not only the hundreds of millions of Catholics, but really to anyone."

RATING: To Be Announced
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Press Contacts:         Barbara Abseck  212-975-4637            beabseck@cbs.com
                                                        Susan J. Marks          323-575-2118            susan.marks@tvc.cbs.com