Interview with DAVID PUTTNAM: A Man Who Hates Rambo

He has made 29 films, including Oscar winners Midnight Express, Chariots of Fire and The Killing Fields. In 1986 English producer David Puttnam took over Columbia Pictures, vowing to make better films more cheaply and with less reliance on big-name stars. Following that formula, Puttnam put the Columbia name on such films as The Last Emperor, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1987. But in his pursuit of reform, Puttnam alienated much of the Hollywood establishment. A year after he was hired, Puttnam left Columbia. Now home in Wiltshire, he is independently producing a series of movies. Bruised...