Dennis Quaid is Thomas Barnes, a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the President, and (above) Sigourney Weaver who plays an American TV news producer, Rex Brooks, in Vantage Point

WHAT THE FILM IS ABOUT:

The President of the United States is in Spain to deliver a major address on terrorism. As he approaches the podium in a crowded square, shots ring out, and pandemonium breaks loose. The president falls to the ground.

This is the setting for Columbia Pictures’ new film Vantage Point, an action-thriller that, for director Pete Travis, was a chance to explore the idea of “the truth” — and the fact that truth is in the eye of the beholder. As Vantage Point unfolds, the film explores the period immediately before and after the assassination attempt from the unique points of view of eight key participants — ranging from the President himself to the Secret Service agents assigned to protect him to a tourist in the square only by chance. “If you were to follow only one story, you wouldn’t find out the truth about what really happened,” says Travis. “As you see each story, you see something else that you never knew before. It’s only when you get to the end that you figure out what really went on.”

WHAT SAY THE STARS:

For Dennis Quaid, who stars in Vantage Point, the film was a chance to subtly shade a performance based on point of view. “There’s the way we see ourselves, and there’s the way others see us,” he explains. “I play my character one way when the story is told from my point of view, but when the film’s vantage point shifts to another character’s POV, I play him as that character sees him — and change again for the other characters. A person isn’t seen the same way by any two people.” And all eight stories are necessary, according to Quaid. “It’s a puzzle, this film, and if you take one piece out, you can’t see the whole picture,” he says.

Mathew Fox says that the twists and turns of his character were immediately appealing. “I’m fascinated with the concept of perspective,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity to play a guy who you think is one way but turns out to be someone completely different.”

Forest Whitaker, who won the Academy Award for best actor for his performance in The Last King of Scotland last year, adds: “When I met Pete, he told me his background — he was a social worker before he made movies! Talk about a different perspective! In that first meeting, I wanted to do this movie, and fortunately, it worked out.”

Neal H. Moritz , the producer, was excited to make the film as a homage to one of his favourites. “Rashomon is a four-star classic, and while that movie is in a league of its own, it’s a thrill to explore some of the same themes,” he says. “Even with the best intentions, we all interpret events differently. If a movie can excite you about an idea, and feature an awesome car chase as well, that’s the best of both worlds.”