Talking With…Edward James Olmos

Edward James Olmos discusses his experiences as the star and director of the new direct-to-DVD film Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

GIANT: Did the studio have to twist your arm to get you to act in and direct The Plan.
Edward James Olmos: It took me awhile-about two seconds, maybe two-and-a-half, I’m not quite sure.  [Laughs]  I wouldn’t have said yes had I not understand that The Plan was needed to enhance the viewing of the piece itself.  To understand how and why the Cylons did what they did is important to the enjoyment of this entire story.  It was a privilege to be on the show and an incredible honor to be asked to direct my first feature film in this universe.  This has become a labor of love; I get paid for it, but it is something beyond my wildest dreams.  It’s truly a gift in my career and the most extraordinary TV event I’ve ever been a part of.

GIANT: How closely did you work with the writer, Jane Espenson, to shape the finished film?
Olmos: We worked very hard on it together for many, many days and went over every moment, every beat and every single word.  Jane hadn’t been with us for the first year and a half of the show so she had to research and that’s always a process that is so overwhelming.  That’s probably one of the reasons they asked me to direct the piece because I spent every episode in that world from the beginning, from the very first shot of the very first day.

GIANT: You’ve taken advantage of the DVD format to do things you couldn’t do on the show-nudity, for example.
Olmos: In the reality of what we’re doing, this is something that’s really important.  The sexuality and the nudity are not done for effect, they have their story points.  We couldn’t show it in its entirety during the series because of TV regulations, but when we got to the film, all of the constraints were off.

GIANT: The Plan also contains one of the most shocking scenes in the entire series, featuring the Cylon leader Brother Cavil (Dean Stockwell) and a little boy who seeks to befriend him.
Olmos: What viewers won’t really get is that Dean did a film back in 1948 called The Boy With Green Hair in which he played the title character.  For this movie, I wanted the boy to have green hair out of nowhere, but the studio and the producers dismissed it as something too over the top.  I felt just the opposite-The Boy With Green Hair is one of the strongest anti-war films ever made.  So what my clothing designer did was recreate every stitch of clothing Dean wore in that movie.  Someday, they’re going to allow me to go back and put in green hair through CGI and then people will realize what that character really represents.

GIANT: What do you hope viewers take away from The Plan?
Olmos: I would just like them to know that this is the second movie we’ve made and the studio told me that we can visit this universe again if this DVD sells 5 million copies or more.  The sadness is that someone uploaded The Plan on the Internet and you can see it for nothing.  People don’t realize that if they see it for nothing, this is the last time you’ll see this universe again.  So if you’ve seen it for nothing and you appreciate it, please buy it and give it to friends.  Place your vote-invest your time and money.  Tell the studio that you want to see more of it and then we’ll get the opportunity to do stuff nobody can imagine.  Like, wouldn’t you like to know where the Final Five came from?

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is available on DVD now.