HOLLYWOOD – A piercing fire alarm goes off during an interview in a hotel room, yet Denzel Washington remains calm, cool and collected. "I think they're trying to tell me my time's up," he quips.

It comes as no surprise that the two-time Oscar winner is unflappable. As a theater-trained actor, he is prepared to deal with the unexpected and keep the show going – whether in an interview, movie scene or play.

Washington, 55, is now preparing the next generation for a career in show business. His son, John David Washington, is following in his footsteps on the other side of the camera as a producer.

The younger Washington, 25, shows a lot of promise. He convinced his father to do Training Day, American Gangster and now Allen and Albert Hughes' post-apocalyptic The Book of Eli, in which he plays a lone traveler carrying a sacred book across the country in a lawless and dangerous world.

"This has to do with him coming of age," says Denzel Washington about his son. "I wanted him to read more, so I started giving him scripts to read. All my children are movie buffs."

Set in the not-too-distant future, The Book of Eli is about a solitary man who walks across the wasteland that was once America. Empty cities, broken highways and seared earth are all that remain following an unspecified catastrophe. There is no civilization and no law. The roads belong to bands of thieves who will murder a man for his shoes or a sip of water.

Eli (Washington) is a warrior not by choice but necessity. He wants only peace, but if challenged he will cut down his attackers (with a handy machete) before they realize their mistake. It's not his life he guards so fiercely, it's his hope for the future – a hope he has carried and protected for 30 years. The only man who understands the power Eli holds is Carnegie, the self-appointed despot of a makeshift town of thieves and gunmen, and he is determined to get what he wants no matter the cost.

"It's sort of good against evil," Washington says. "I just thought it was an interesting story, a good story. I embraced the primal and spiritual aspects of the story and of this man and how the word can be manipulated."

Taking on the role of producer as well as star, Washington worked on fine-tuning the Gary Whitta screenplay with the twin brother filmmakers – best known for their debut drama, Menace II Society – and his son.

Mila Kunis, who plays Carnegie's stepdaughter, Solara, says Washington initially intimidated her.

"Whether you know who Denzel Washington is or you don't, when he walks into the room, you're going to pay attention," says the actress. "It makes you step up your game."

Entertainment News Wire