-Transcript from an interview with a Program Co-Ordinator-

(Jonathan Ledger sits opposite talk-show host Benjamin Brosnan; one leg crossed over the other. He reaches for a glass set onto a low table between them and takes a sip of water.)

Ledger: Did you watch much wrestling when you were a kid? The show-y kind. Not the kind you see on the Olympics, where men roll around in leotards; I'm talking about broadcast wrestling.

Brosnan: I can't say I did. I take it you're a fan?

Ledger: Oh massively so. When I was little that's all I used to do. I would sit in the family room and stare up at the TV. And do you know why I loved it? Because anything could happen. Sure it was all fake, and I know that now. But back then? I remember one time there was this event. A Battle Royale they called it. Every wrestler in the league had to get on stage at the same time and just duke it out. It was great! Nobody was safe, even if they were allied with someone, there was nothing stopping them from turning on them like that.

(Ledger snaps his fingers before again grasping his glass and taking another drink.)

Ledger: That's what I love about The Program. Anything can happen. And what's more, it's one step better than wrestling. It's real.

Brosnan: But some would argue that this-

(Images flash up onto a wall-mounted television between the two men. Photographs of bodies, lined up in duffel bags, appear one after the other.)

Brosnan: -this is too real. Too much for some people. There are some people out there; some who would say that this is going too far. That The Program serves no purpose past the initial shock factor. What do you say to that, Jon?

Ledger: I'd say that's some high class bulls—t. Wouldn't you? Right, you listen here and tell me if I'm wrong about any of this. Ten years ago this whole country was royally effed.

(Cut to a close up of Brosnan's face; uncomfortable with the language Ledger is using.)

Ledger: Am I right, or am I right? Debt was at an all time high, population figures through the roof. Not to mention youth crime. I mean, don't even get me started on that. So what's there to do? Well The Program worked pretty well for the Republic of Greater East Asia. Worked even better in Germany. So we decided to give it a try, and what do you know. For nearly a decade it's done a fantastic job. Hell, every year it just seems to work even better and better. And the kids that win? Stars. Every one of them. Would you rather be swallowed by the tide or let it carry you along? I know what I'd pick.

Brosnan: But -again- there are people out there that take exception to how it works. Surely you must see that? Hundreds of kids every year losing their lives is a pretty steep price for national stability.

Ledger: I'm not saying that it isn't. It's a sacrifice; a pretty huge one at that. But as far as I'm concerned, every one of these kids is a patriot.

(OC, the audience starts to clap.)

Ledger: I mean it, I really do. Death is a horrible thing. But it's also part of life. And the deaths of these kids is as honourable a death as you can get. Other countries, they have conscription; thousands of youths drafted into the army. Do people say that's excessive? No. They're heroes. Doing a great service to their country. It's a matter of national pride. The Program is no different. It's our own unique form of conscription; I'd go so far as to say the best in the world!

(A few hoots split the air as the audience is roused once again.)

Ledger: And yet, still, I'm called a butcher. As if I'm directly responsible for all of this.

(Ledger turns towards the camera, leans forward and stares down the lens.)

Ledger: Let me tell you something: I have no part in what goes on, after we set them loose. None whatsoever; none of the Co-Ordinators do. Think of me like a doorman. I'm there when they arrive, I give them the usual speech. Tried and tested. Then I open that door. Nobody's forcing them to walk through it.

(Ledger breaks into a slight grin and sits back in his chair.)

Ledger: They make that choice all on their own.