DreamWorks Rights ‘Castle’s’ Flag

To promote its new Robert Redford prison-themed action drama, “The Last Castle,” DreamWorks recently mailed press kits to media outlets around the country containing an image on the CD of an American flag flying upside-down, the traditional sign of distress.

The flag is a crucial plot point in the film. But included in the press kit was a disclaimer that read: “Please note that the CDs and CD covers which depict our teaser campaign for ‘The Last Castle’ were printed prior to the tragic events of Sept. 11. We apologize for any concern this may cause.”

“On the morning of the 11th [after the terrorist attacks], all of us got together and decided collectively as filmmakers--not for marketing reasons but personal convictions--that not one of us wanted to see [the upside-down flag] anymore,” said director Rod Lurie. “If we had an American flag, we wanted to fly it right side up.”

Despite the unfortunate timing, “The Last Castle” is infused with American patriotism and love for the flag. What is unusual is that the patriotism unfolds among inmates of a maximum-security military prison.Written by David Scarpa and Graham Yost, the film centers on Redford as three-star Gen. Irwin, a once-legendary commander who has been court-martialed and stripped of his rank. The iron-fisted warden (James Gandolfini) initially respects Irwin, welcoming him to the prison, but eventually that respect turns to resentment and then hostility as Irwin continually confronts the warden on his methods and rallies the inmates to rebel.

While guards face off against prisoners, there is no getting around the fact that they are all U.S. soldiers, so with real-life American servicemen facing combat overseas, is this the right time to release this film?

“I came to the conclusion that the American people have a habit of telling us what is appropriate, not the other way around,” Lurie said. “We have shown the movie all over the country at research screenings, and people seem to be very moved by it.” The film opens Friday and also features Mark Ruffalo from “You Can Count on Me” in the cast. *

Compiled by Times staff writers