Richard Linklater's upcoming movie 'Last Flag Flying' is about Vietnam War veterans who reunite to bury Carell's character's son, a soldier who died in Iraq.
When asked how relevant he finds the movie in today's Trump era, the director said, "That's interesting. I don't know if it's any different. Any president, particularly of our country, is in a really, really powerful spot to influence such things. So if Hillary [Clinton] were there, it would be the same thing, as we know, she hasn't always been a pacifist on these issues. There's always saber rattling going on."
"This is an ageless, timeless tale about how wars affect people. It probably forever falls into the, I don't know what category of war movie it is, hopefully cautionary. Maybe you should just always remember the human toll, not just the big-picture, win-lose element," added Linklater.
The director also revealed a story of them shooting on the election night that they expected to be a party, but then turned out exactly opposite.
"We shot last year in the fall; we were in Pittsburgh shooting the scene with Cicely Tyson on election night. She's a big Hillary supporter and had to vote absentee. We expected that night to be a party; Ted Hope from Amazon was in town with us. As the night went on, we just said, "Well, we got to get up early in the morning, so. The next day we shot the scene with the five coffins covered in American flags, and we just had to laugh and say, "We feel like that's us in there," noted Linklater.
The 'Boyhood' helmer also shared that he does not believe in shooting combat, blood and guts or any of the heroism of typical war movies.
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He added, "But I was interested in the characters. They echo a lot about Vietnam and Iraq and the long-term effects of war: how it bonds people for life, how it tears people apart and kills people."
'Last Flag Flying' which stars Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell and Laurence Fishburne in pivotal roles is slated to release on November 3 in US.