The Making of 'Road to Perdition'

Boy, do the people who made this film have high regard for its young director, Sam Mendes. Two veteran acting mega-stars - Paul Newman and Tom Hanks - and legendary cinematographer Conrad Hall, just gush over the guy.

Mendes hadn't worked on a film since winning an Oscar for "American Beauty." Hall, who has been nominated for nine Oscars during his illustrious career as a photographer of films, said he would do any film Mendes wanted him to do. The respect is mutual, of course. Mendes said Hall can drive you crazy at times being so meticulous with scenes but when you see what's he shot each time, it's all worth it.

Newman commented, "This guy know what he is doing. A lot of directors can give you instruction, but if you're in trouble, very few can get you out of it." Newman, loved his role here and the script as a whole. "It was just right for a gentleman of my age," he smiled.

Hanks liked his against-type role as a killer. He joked, "The Road To Perdition is not The Road To Utopia or the Road To Bali. You don't want to go this way, but my character was a man who should have been predictable but he wasn't. He was highly unpredictable."

Jude Law also was excited about playing a role he wasn't used to doing. "I wanted to do something that was as far away from anything I've ever done, and this certainly was it!"

Those are veteran stars but some of these guys have gone on to bigger and better things, like Daniel Craig, who plays Hanks' really-evil brother. He is now the now "James Bond."

You have a fantastic crew here but as Mendes, said, "this is a film that speaks in images more than dialog" and everyone was pleased with how it turned out. They also were very impressed with Chicago, where it was filmed.