Indict the officer involved in the Michael Brown shooting had taken place. So i felt that the story needed to be told. Rose and we continue this evening with icarus, a new netflix film that explores russias longrunning statesponsored doping program. I had the curiosity my whole life, what do the drugs do . Would they make me a better athlete . Could i possibly be a champion . So i had that curiosity. The second part of that curiosity is what decision does an athlete competing on a world level at the best of the sport have to make whether or not theyre going to use or not use the substance if the system itself doesnt work. That was the driving force behind what i did. Rose the night at the movies when we continue. Rose funding for charlie rose has been provided by the following and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and Information Services worldwide. Captioning sponsored by Rose Communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. Rose detroit is the new film from Academy Award winning director kathryn bigelow, set in the 1967 riots and features killing of three black men at the algiers motel. The New York Times calls the film intense, excruciating and entirely necessary. Heres a look at the trailer. I assume this is about what went on at the motel . What happened at the motel . You dont know, il there. There was a lot of shooting. gunfire when i went in there, three kids had been killed. No. So they were killed right before you got there . Yes, sir. Ou carry a. 38, right . gunfire a revolver, you carry a revolver . I do have a. 38. You ever shoot anyone . I didnt do it. Please oh, here we go. Here in detroit, the city of war, violence continues weve made state police and National Guardsmen available. I am declaring a public state of emergency. Its a war zone out there. Theyre destroying the city. Police im going to assume youre all criminals. If you dont talk about this you dont talk about this to anyone ever. Do you understand . This city is rocked, but change is coming i told you what i saw. Im trying to help here. Change is coming whats the matter with you . Change is coming theyre going to kill this man. Change is coming i need you to survive the night. Survive the night survive the night melvin, you want to go home . Yeah. What happened at the motel . Rose joining me director kathryn bigelow, director bryan fogel, producer dan cogan. Welcome. Some of you i saw previous occasions at this table. Tell me how this came to be. This writer next to me whose work is extraordinary came to me with a story set against the detroit riots, detroit uprising in 1967, a true story of a true crime set in the middle of it in the algiers motel, and it was, simply put, an execution, and a portrait of Police Brutality and Racial Injustice that was extremely moving, very timely and topical and about the same time he told me this story, the decision not to indict the officer involved in the Michael Brown shooting had taken place. So i felt that the story needed to be told. Rose because it has lessons for today . Because it has lessons for today. Exactly. Rose had you been thinking about this . How long had you sort of been thinking, this is a story that we talked about it internally for a little while, and what really pushed it over into an actual script was a meeting i had up in detroit with one of the survivors who hadnt told his story in about 50 years and was hearing hes played in the movie by algee smith. It was his recollection of how he tried to survive this night and how his life completely changed that once i heard that i knew it was something i wanted to write. Rose do you still feel it in detroit today . Is it a part of something detroit will always know . I think you feel two things. You feel the resiliency of the city and the people and, at the same time, the sort of a bit of struggle with its history. So i think that dichotomy is very much at play there and pretty inspiring place to visit. Rose did the rise of black lives matter have anyin . I dont think we really discussed that. Input . What do you mean by that . Rose well, just issues raised by well, i mean, its a good point because all of the stuff weve seen in the last five years that has become such a focal point of national conversation, black lives matter, but just a larger conversation about policing, these events are part of a continuum and theyre part of the history that goes back. I mean, the film sort of explores the roots of it but, of course, it predates the film. So certainly what was going on in the moment is were all aware of it because were all alive and present, but it was really this recognition that these are connected, not to draw an easy equivalency between them but all these things are connected. Rose you have a powerful performance. Weve said that to you before. How did you inform yourself for this, other than the life you werent born in america . I think, number one, i am black, and the black experience is a very real thing. Its a global thing. There is a reason you mention black lives matter. There is a reason when there is a rally in the United States, a black lives matter movement, there will be a rally in the u. K. And there was a rally in the u. K. Because theres a universals language when it comes to the black experience, systematic races and all those things. So, for me, it wasnt necessarily a few miles for me to run in understanding the context of the story, but specifically this was about a particularly man, melvin. Rose describe him. The first thing i noticed from speaking with him from our first conversation is hes an introvert. I tried to separate him from the circumstances of what happened that night because i feel like if you connect the two you may get confused. Hes an introvert. A deep sense of responsibility of the community in his community which i relate to because my father is the same way, an agape love, which adont necessarily have that, if im being honest. I had to learn that. Rose describe the character. He rose we saw that in the trailer. Yeah, but hes a man trying to do good who is forced into a circumstance he wasnt prepared for. Melvin, i actually got the opportunity to speak to him, which is great, and i found that hes stern in some respects but also a dogooder. Rose when you talk to somebody and theres a text based in part on real events, are you looking for a spirit . Are you looking for mannerisms, a voice . I look for spirit first because you can embody a lot about a human being when you get his core, his soul. Also, intention because i knew i wouldnt be able to ask him every single night what he would do in this particular seen and circumstance. Once you get the spirit in the beginning, your choices are always guided by that. Rose narrowed town by the text. Yeah, and then there is kathryn bigelow. If im going wrong, you can easily guide me in the right direction by what she said. Rose and the words. And the words. Rose and what about the character you play . Yeah, for me, the first step in approaching it like this is to educate myself where i lacked some pretty critical knowledge. I wasnt aware of the rebellion in detroit, and i think i lacked some knowledge just generally speaking when it came to the specifics of Race Relations in america as john touched upon. We have our own kind of, i suppose, you know, complex racial history in the u. K. , but i really didnt know about this sort of state of affairs in america at that time. So learning the surfacelevel information was important to me. I think delving deep into the topic of race and racial history wasnt necessary because at that point i was really looking to embrace ignorance by playing a racist. I think thats what you do. You form your opinion on a lack of information or misinformation, as it were. So going in slightly ignorant was actually helpful, in that respect, and i kind of just intensified that ignorance in the most kind of aggressive and unapologetic way that i could because i think kathryn and i were in agreement about the fact that this character needed to be exposed rather than be developed with any sort of intention to insight empathy or any real compassion. Rose do you do the research in terms of understanding the facts of a story . Can you do the Research Understanding the look of the story . Is that too easy . No, no, no. I mean, i dont want to speak for mark, but he reported this entire story a significant amount of research. I had to understand and unpact motivations, intention that and really understand the characters and then, in so doing, you also get a visual tap industry of what might be possible in terms of how it will look and how the film will unfold. If i can just jump in, one of the things that was so startling to me when i went back to look at this was that there was a pretty richlydocumented record of this incident from Police Department had done an investigation and talked to a lot of people and there were the transcripts or the summaries of those conversations were available. Rose and what does that give you . Well, it gives me context, it gives me texture, it gives me detail and sometimes there is direct quotes of what people actually said, so it gives me manners of speech, it gives me a lot. Then also the department of justice investigation and, after all the racial strife, theres the corne coroner commi, theres a lot of discussion around this in the 60s. Whats so remarkable is you think, this is relevant to today. Then just a couple of days ago the president of the United States makes remarks in front of a police group where he jokes about Police Brutality. Rose says later it was a joke. Either way, its a joke. But its sort of shocking how little weve learned. Rose how much participation in terms of research did you get from involvement with the Police Officers that were involved in this . Well, two of them had passed away. Rose right. So i had on the police side, there was the written record. Rose right. Which, as i said, was quite extensive, and then on the for the people that survived that were the victims, i was able to speak to the man john portrayas and the other people who had been there that night. Its great to speak to somebody who can bring it to life for you. That was the turning point. The character julie, the real julie was on the set every single day. So giving everybody specificity was extraordinary. And she survived it. Rose but her purpose was to give you specificity and also if she thought you were under the wrong assumption to correct you . Well, i invited that. Rarely did she. I was hoping that would happen. But she was a strong supporter and a real inspiration, i think, to all of us on the set. Rose clearly from the trailer and seeing the movie, theres a sense of fastmoving events. Theres a lot of closeup photography. Give me a sense of how you wanted to make the film so that it would portray, you know, how you wanted to draw the audience in. Well, i think, in our early discussions about it, i knew that it sort of needed to be immersive. It was sort of inviting active engagement with the screen instead of a passive one between the viewer and screen. Rose youre at the center of action. Youre at the center of action that creates empathy and also invites dialogue about what youve experienced. So it becomes experiential. Not unlike how we handled hurt locker when you were given an opportunity to experience a day in the life of a bomb tech. Rose took us inside his skin. And in this case take you inside this annex. Sadly, the outcome is youre humanizing an unthinkable situation, i assume, for most people. So, in so doing, you can kind of, i suppose, walk away with a bit more information and enable an informed response. Rose take a look at this. This is a clip where will is rounding up the guests at the motel. Here it is. Now, lets not be stupid in this situation. crying we still have a crime scene here and youre all suspects, each and every one of you. Dont look at me turn around face the wall sobbing was karl doing the shooting . Huh . Somebody better start getting honest with me. Hey i want that gun we looked around, didnt find a gun. Doesnt mean its not here go find it rose tell me about that scene. Well, during the 1967 rebellion, there was the threat of snipers, and there was a muzzle flash, presumably, that came from the annex, this particular building that theyre in, and melvin dismukes, which i spent time with him preproduction, talked specifically about hearing and seeing the muzzle flash and he with the National Guard detail descended with the Police Officers and state police to find the or jen of the sniper fire and thats whats happening there. What basically will poulter is doing with the other two officers is clearing floor by floor by floor, room by room by room the entire building looking for the gun that is responsible for the sniper fire, and thats kind of the engine of the early moments within the annex. Rose i think you said this, mark, that this script is built on a sturdy base of journalism and history but is not the same as journalism or history nor does it aspire to be. As the screen writer i take responsibility of being the creator of a tale, of transforming these Raw Materials into drama. That separates journalism from drama, from theater, from cinema. Yeah, we need all of it, i think. Rose yeah. So it is a movie, and but its important to remember why youre watching it because its a very, very powerful movie, and im not saying that in any selfinterested way. Rose its the kind of thing you like to do, isnt it . Well, think about zero dark thirty, and think about this. Im drawn to challenging, compelling pieces and stories that have impact and also that can operate with content and messaging. I feel like thats the responsibility i have as a filmmaker to use the medium in a way that is informational, potentially journalistic and also experiential. But informational, i think its really important to you know, in this case, i think what was most important to me was to invite a dialogue about race in this country, and i feel thats really critical. Rose tell me about your own acting training and what has given you the most tools to work with. I decided i wanted to act and went to my local Theater Group which had to do contemporary dance and ballet in order to do acting. It came as a deal package, so i had to do all of it. Rose ballets probably good for motion, isnt it . Its good. I can still boogie down. laughter and after that i went to identity drama school, when i decided i wanted to pursue it seriously, i dropped out of university and went to identity, i met my agent and we started off on the journey together. That training was intense. Rose how long have you been doing this . I have been doing it professionally will be just six years, i think it will be. Six years. Rose and what did you learn from this role, in this performance . Detroit gave me purpose. Rose yeah. I like to do movies that have a big commentary on our world once in a while. I like to have fun most of the times, but sometimes my minds just draws me towards projects that just have serious context and, you know, it changed me in a sense because im having to tell my agents i dont want to go below the standard in detroit because i was exposed to a side of myself creatively rose she got things out of you you might not even have known yourself . Yeah, 100 . Rose did you feel some sense of urgency to make sure that we really find the rawest part of racism and show it . I think what was important, i dont want to speak for mark, was the truth and honesty of the story and tell it with as much integrity as possible. Rose yeah. What do you think, mark . I think thats a good question. Im not sure id phrase it exactly like that but the way i thought about it is that a kind of very frank and unvarnished portrayal without well, you put it so eloquently on a panel the other day that racism is on one level a system of lies. So without trying to put a whole psychological framework around it or kind of like, were not trying to shade it too much because i think if somethings a lie, its a lie. Its very black and white. I was thinking about that and the writing and the character because it would have been easy to maybe not easy, but possible to draw the character in a more not nuance like your performance is amazing, but in a way that its a lie and he believes a lie. That, to me, is sort of there is something about the starkness of that that i thought, why not just go there . Rose he doesnt believe hes a racist, does he . Or have you thought about that . No, i think he believes white doesnt actually makes him racist. Hes wrong, he believes hes right and that makes him racist. Rose where did you get the voice . I dont know. I think i looked at a number of different rose performances . You know whats frightening is you dont even have to look at performances. You can actually look very close to home and see inspiration and thats the unfortunate thing. I think the relevance that this film bears to recent cases of Police Brutality or, of course, harrowingly strong and it is all so relevant. But to see people with a similar mindset 50 years on still operating with the same degree of confidence and still causing such damage to communities and upholding the systems that continue to deny people social justice, its reallife, horror movie material. Rose some of this is in the trailer but let me show this again. Questioning karl green played by Anthony Mackey. This is you questioning, Anthony Mackey. Says there, paratrooper eight years, two deployments. Honorable discharge. This is a fake. No, sir. The this your girl . I just met her. Whats his name . I dont know. His name is karl green. I wasnt asking you. I was asking her. Whats his name . I just said his name. Youre lucky i havent broken your bleep neck yet. I see what youre trying to do. Im not going to cause trouble, but im not going to lie down for you either. Rose what are you thinking . I really enjoy working with Anthony Mackey and will poulter. I like being in that room and around this incredible talent. Rose theres a moment in the directors life where the actors take it even beyond what you would have ever thought . Absolutely. Its magic when that happens and that happened, i think, every day on the set. Rose how does the director get that . There is moments in which you guys take it beyond. Whats her role, then . I think, for me, the best directors know how to collaborate