video transcript

Stars Clint Eastwood and Leonardo DiCaprio shared the red carpet Thursday night (November 3) in Hollywood for the world premiere of the biopic, "J. Edgar." Directed by Eastwood, the film stars DiCaprio, as F.B.I director J. Edgar Hoover, a complex character who can comfortably wear either the title or villain or hero in the film. As seen through the eyes of Hoover himself, J. Edgar explores the personal and public life and relationships of a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it during a life devoted to his own idea of justice, often swayed by the darker side of power. "J. Edgar" also explores the mysteries and innuendo surrounding Hoover, ultimately leaving it up to the viewer to decide whether the first director of the F.B.I was a cross-dresser or the extent of his close relationship with colleague Clyde Tolson, played by Armie Hammer. Those complexities are what attracted DiCaprio to the part. SOUNDBITE Leonardo DiCaprio saying (English): "I don't necessarily have to believe in someone's political ideology in order to play them or even sympathize with them. I don't know even how much I did empathize with J. Edgar Hoover, but I knew that he was a great patriot at one time in our country and I think that he transformed our country in a much different time period than I know about. It is ultimately a story about how absolutely power corrupts absolutely. This man at the end of his career was a political dinosaur and he stayed in power for way too long and he did not recognize that our country was changing during the civil rights movement." The all-star cast also includes Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas and Judi Dench. "J. Edgar" opens on November 9. John Russell, Reuters.