Mendes On 'Road' To Oscars?

After almost a decade in theater, director Sam Mendes made his film directorial debut in 1999 with "American Beauty", and won an Oscar.

Three years later, his follow-up, "Road to Perdition," hits theaters and once again the Oscar buzz has started. Early Show Contributor Laurie Hibberd sat down with Mendes for our Weekend Marquee.

"Road to Perdition" takes place in 1930s Chicago. Tom Hanks portrays Irish gangster Michael Sullivan, an enforcer for a ruthless crime boss played by Paul Newman.

The film has a mob backdrop, but it was the underlying theme of family relationships that attracted Mendes to the project. "I just love the simplicity of the story, but the complexity of the themes that the film was dealing with," he says. "And I loved the canvas. And I loved that era. And someone had said-- when they sent me the script, they said, 'I think Tom Hanks might be interested.' So he was in the back of my mind when I started reading it. And by the time I got to the end, he was in the front of my mind."

Luckily for Mendes, Tom Hanks agreed to do the film.

Mendes commented that he was nervous about meeting Paul Newman, but the distinguished actor left a lasting impression on him. "The first time I met Paul, particularly Paul, I was nervous," he says. "You know he (Newman) can't get any better than the career he's had. But then watching him work and the selflessness of it, you know it's what turns him on. And you realize that when you've acted for 50 years, it's in the blood. You know it's very moving to see that. And it's exciting."

With winning the Best Director Oscar for "American Beauty", Sam said he didn't feel the pressure of duplicating that success with "Road to Perdition." "The pressure for me was after "American Beauty," before I decided to do "Road to Perdition." That's when I kind of froze for a couple of months thinking, 'Well, what am I going to do now?' But the moment you have another project, you know, you're interested in living and breathing again. And you know you've just got something to do every day that fascinates you. And that is just a very fortunate position to be in," he says.

"Road to Perdition" opens nationwide on July 12th. The movie stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Stanley Tucci.

Fast Facts:

• Born August 1, 1965 in Redding, England.
  
• In 1990, Mendes began directing for the Royal Shakespeare Company. His credits include "Troilus and Cressida" with Ralph Fiennes and "The Alchemist."
  
• In 1992, Mendes was named artistic director of one of London's leading nonprofit studio theaters, the Donmar Warehouse.
  
• In 1994, Mendes' production of "Oliver" debuted at the London Palladium. The show went on to earn the distinction of having the longest run of any show produced at that theater in 1998.
  
• In 1994, Mendes' made a revival of Kander & Ebb's "Cabaret", which debuted at the Donmar Warehouse in London.
  
• In 1998, Mendes made his Broadway debut with "Cabaret." The show won many major theater awards that year, including the Tony Award for Best Musical-Revival.
  
• In 1998, Mendes' "Othello" won rave reviews and enjoyed a limited run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
  
• 1998 also saw Mendes return to Broadway with "The Blue Room", starring Nicole Kidman.
  
• In 1999, Mendes made his cinematic debut with the film "American Beauty", starring Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. The film won extraordinary reviews and Mendes won the Best Director Oscar for it.