What was the genesis of this project? What drew you to want to make a film about drone warfare?

It used to be the case that if you went to war with a country, a fighter pilot would actually go to that country. And now we're in a situation where we fight a lot of wars by remote control. I was interested in how a character like Ethan's character might deal with the schizophrenia of that. The other aspect I found interesting is the fact that a lot of these pilots, especially the ones who have actually flown in combat zones, feel like cowards when they're engaging in drone warfare from afar. The military was going to issue a medal for drone pilots, but they had to rescind it because there was an outcry from actual pilots.

How did you gain insight into the day-to-day stresses of this new warfare? And what are some grisly examples?

I spoke to several drone pilots. Up to now, if you were a jet fighter, you would drop your ordinance and fly away; we've never asked pilots to hover over the scene of their destruction and basically do a body count, which the military calls “damage assessment." We've never asked pilots to shoot a missile and watch as kids run, playing into the target zone right before impact.

This guy I spoke to witnessed one strike where they had blown off a guy's leg and he was obviously dying. He was glowing white because heat appears white in thermal imaging. He gradually got darker and darker as he bled out, until he was the color of the ground. Again, we've never experienced anything like this. It's no wonder there is so much burnout in the drone program. It's a combination of mind-numbing boredom punctuated by moments of horror.

Gamers and gaming culture is reflected here, yes? Do you think gaming culture has infiltrated our military?

Without question, because the military modeled drone controls on PlayStation itself, they actually use similar joysticks. They even recruit gamers in shopping malls because of their skills. They don't want the Tommy Egans of the world anymore, they don't want people who know how to fly because that's not what they need. Pilots are not the best at operating these drones from a cubicle. Some of these fighters don't even have a rank, they are basically civilians doing this.

What are your personal feelings on drones? I get the sense, in the movie, you wanted to convey the pros and cons?

It's foolish to be anti-drone. You may as well be anti-Internet. It's here and it's not going anywhere. On the other hand, we have to be careful that our War on Terror doesn't actually cause terror. There’s a risk that when we kill a terrorist, we create more. On a personal note, I was very touched by the fact—and I put it in the script—that kids in Waziristan grow up hating blue skies because it's ideal conditions for drones to fly. They wake up with smiles on their faces when it's a gloomy day, because drones have trouble seeing through the clouds.

I also wanted to get across how this new form of combat means, maybe for the first time in history, that this type of war can go on forever. Drones are cheap compared to manned combat aircraft, there is no risk of dead pilots or live hostages. The drone program went on uninterrupted from Bush to Obama. It can become a perpetual war, war without end, war with little risk of political fallout. It doesn't matter if we're "winning" or "losing," winning or losing doesn't really apply. It just goes on and on.

We may pull troops out of Iraq or Afghanistan, but the drones will stay. I hope this movie sheds light on that and starts a national discussion. It's long overdue.

Good Kill is now showing in theaters across the nation. The film stars January Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Bruce Greenwood, and Ethan Hawke as Major Tommy Egan.