Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans

Camera B rolling.

And action.

OK.

Uh, why don't we just dive in and have a look at uh... Steve,

what do you think of the circumstances that might have

led up to the disease itself?

How do you perceive that?

Two ways.

One is asbestos poisoning in my lungs, which is very rare.

Two is, I think, there were times

when I was under pressure.

I had a battle in my business with somebody

for about five years, so I think I really wanted

to let go under pressure.

It all began when a super star

who loved auto racing decided to do a picture about his sport.

That was most seminal moment in his life.

What was happening when we were shooting this movie should

happen to no man.

I just wanted to get it down on film, what

I thought it was all about.

Ladies and gentlemen, the male world

film favorite, Steve McQueen.

Thank you.

If you had your life to do over again,

would you do it the same way?

Damn right.

Every bit of it, because I think film

is a very important medium.

When he was the number one superstar in the world,

he was, like, I think, 38 years old.

People went nuts wherever he went.

He was American Royalty.

Groovy.

Thanks.

I started on a farm, in the state of Missouri,

and I lived there in my youth, and I got

out of there as quick as I can.

His background gave him

a courageous element that stood him in very, very good stead

at that time.

I don't know very much about art or music,

except things that I like.

Basically, I come from the gutter,

and I'm not a compromiser.

He didn't give a shit, you know?

If there was a fight to be had, he would not turn his back,

and it doesn't matter who it was.

I bet you're a perfectionist.

Well, I try to do a good job.

You know, I try.

"The Thomas Crown Affair" and "Bullet" were my two

pictures with Steve McQueen.

I convinced him that every time he went on the set,

no matter what the director said,

he should recite the mantra.

I decide what is right and what is wrong,

and I don't have to explain it to anybody.

I like women, but I'm a little afraid of them.

I'm not going to make a commitment,

because if you make a commitment to a woman, they can hurt you.

I won't pick a fight, but if you pick a fight with me

or back me into a corner, I will fucking kill you.

He used to recite that to himself

when he went on the set, regardless

of what the directions were.

And he played that character, I thought, just brilliantly.

Which do you enjoy more, acting or producing?

Well, I'm sort of hung.

I like producing, as long as I'm acting,

because I think the ultimate is to have creative control.

He loved the part in the "Thomas Crown Affair,"

playing Tommy Crown.

Big business guy, no one knows anything more than him.

He aspired to that character.

He wanted to feel like he was a bit of a mogul.

Now, the movies are changed.

It's not a game anymore.

It's big bucks, heavy bucks.

And those people play for keeps out there.

He got this into his head, that he would build us an empire.

After "Thomas Crown," he said, I'm going to build us

an empire, baby doll.

If I have my name on there,

they can no longer pawn me off as just

a candy ass movie star who they've got to be easy with.

This puts me out front as an executive.

So therefore, they have to deal with me.

The juice.

He got the juice man, he got the power.

It was a very smart, intelligent, sophisticated move

for him to form a production company

called Solar, and exercised his clout in the way he did.

And the first person that he told,

his agents that he wanted to reach out to be his partner

was my father.

I'm standing here with Bob Relyea, the executive producer

of Solar Productions.

We had been through "The Magnificent Seven."

We'd been through "The Great Escape."

The company was a very well organized,

real production company.

The relationship that Steve and I had in our families

was extremely close.

You actually throw a temper?

Can you?

Injustice bothers me a lot sometimes,

and I get angry about things, and so forth.

And I suppose I fly off the handle sometimes.

Steve trusted Bob.

If there was a problem, he'd just grab him by the shoulder,

and he'd take him off to the side.

As much as you want this, Steve, this passion doesn't mean shit.

And Steve got it.

It was a real coup to get him to come to Cinema Center Films,

and to be involved with his company.

That, in itself, was a major accomplishment.

It wasn't just "I'm the biggest star in the world."

It was I'm going to decide what films I make.

I'm going to decide who the directors are,

and I'm going to make that racing picture

that I always wanted to make, and it's

going to define my career.

I race motorcars, because I enjoy it.

I like the competitive element.

I like beating the other guy.

I do enjoy the feeling of power.

It was his thing.

It was his passion.

And if you find your passion in life, you know you got it made.

I remember the first time I raced, I was very frightened.

It scared me.

I didn't like the idea of being frightened,

and I wanted to overcome it.

That was one element.

The other element, and it is a very pure thing.

It's one of the few things in life you can't fix.

When you're out there by yourself,

you're very much by yourself.

The risk taking, the need for adrenaline, the what

do I have to lose attitude that he seemed to project,

it just matched McQueen's soul, his personality,

and his essence.

Racing drivers are a different breed.

When you're in the car behind the wheel,

you tune everything off.

There's one thing that you are focused on,

and that is to perform, to win.

And he had that.

For 20 years, an almost

forgotten airport has echoed to the fury of cars and speed.

Sebring was as close as you get to the brother of Le Mans.

If you're ever going to get a taste

of what it's like to be in an endurance race, this is it.

Just a week before, he had broken his foot

in the motorcycle race.

And I said, you better not do this.

He said, no.

He said, I can do it, I can do it.

What about shifting and clutching?

Must be pretty difficult.

Well, it's a little difficult. I can't use a foot rest.

And we've put some sandpaper on the bottom,

taped it on, so I keep it on the clutch pedal, adjust it.

We went for it.

It was like a Hollywood script.

A surprise to most of the 57,000 who looked on

was the McQueen Revson Porsche 908.

The two have done a Masterful job.

What was incredible about that race is suddenly,

they were winning.

With this combination,

Sebring could have a storybook finish.

Approaching the 11th hour, the Porsche closes the gap

on the faltering Ferrari.

The McQueen pits were overjoyed, thinking

the Ferrari was in trouble.

And out of the darkness, one car would emerge the victor.

It took Mario Andretti two cars

to beat us and only pass us on the last laps of the race.

The 12 hours of Sebring was over,

and Ferrari had won.

McQueen Revson was second.

We were mobbed at the end of the race.

Steve gets up on the car and gives the peace signal.

And it was like Moses parted the waters

or God appeared in the sky.

Silence.

That was my biggest thrill, for me,

because I guess being an actor, people don't really

expect you to do it as well, and I

was a big man of my house with my kids for awhile, anyway.

That was a major, major happy time in his life.

I remember when he came home.

Yeah.

He was in a good mood for about a month after that.

After the Sebing Race, he wasn't

looked at just like, oh, he's the actor,

superstar, Steve McQueen.

He was admired by the other drivers