'Are you a draft dodger?' 'Are you a draft dodger?'

‘Battleship’ director grills journalist

In an interview about the international blockbuster, filmmaker asks about Israeli reporter’s lack of army service

By Nathan Burstein 15 May 2012, 10:19 am

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Well, that was awkward.

An interview intended to promote the action movie “Battleship” turned into an uncomfortable confrontation between an Israeli journalist and the film’s enlistment-loving director.

Peter Berg, who helmed the big-budget thriller, took interviewer Jason Danino-Holt to task for not serving in the Israeli military, telling him, “You gotta join the army, [expletive].” The comment followed an unusually intense discussion of Iran’s nuclear program (at least by the standards of a promotional interview), with Berg asking a confused-looking Danino-Holt, “What the [expletive] is going to happen in Israel?”

Danino-Holt, a former host on MTV Europe, looked similarly taken aback when Berg began asking why he’d never served in the military. (The 25-year-old, who elsewhere has claimed he was exempted due to health issues, didn’t say.) “How’d you get out of that? Are you a draft dodger?” Berg asked.

In most parts of the world, “Battleship” is known mostly for being a blockbuster at the box office, and for marking the acting debut of pop star Rihanna. The film opened in Israel on May 3.