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(L to R) Ryan Phillippe and C. Thomas Howell star in ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ryan Phillippe and C. Thomas Howell about their work on ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’, how the project came together, shooting both movies back-to-back, Phillippe’s character’s relationship with his daughter, how Howell brought humanity to his villainous character, and working together on the action sequences.
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You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
(L to R) Ryan Phillippe as “Danny” and Amélie Hoeferle as “Alex” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
Moviefone: To begin with, Ryan, can you talk about how this unusual project came together and what was your reaction to the idea of shooting a movie and its sequel at the same time and then releasing them together on the same day?
Ryan Phillippe: Well, I had worked with the producer, Aaron Kaplan on a mini-series that I did with Juliette Lewis years ago called ‘Secrets and Lies’. So, we had a prior working relationship, and he called me up and pitched me this story that was born out of a real situation with him and his daughter, Jaiden Kaplan, who’s one of our producers. They were on college tours in rural New Hampshire, and on a road where they had no cell service, and she just kind of said to him, “Dad, imagine if we broke down right now, what would happen?” So essentially, once he told me the story about how he and Jaiden had this idea when she was 17, he asked me if I would be interested in developing it into a movie. Which then ended up being two movies, which is incredibly ambitious and rarely done that you shoot a film and its sequel back-to-back. So, there were a lot of challenging elements related to that. But it was just a fun ride, and I loved that a father and daughter conceived it initially, and the story was emotionally at its heart, at least from Danny’s perspective, about a father and daughter attempting to reconnect. Being a parent myself, having two daughters, I found a lot of relatable elements to that, and I just think that it’s unique to have a father and daughter action piece and a survival story like this. So, we developed it over a couple of years and then was so excited when C. Thomas Howell came on board, and that brought the whole thing to life.
(L to R) C. Thomas Howell as “Stanley Dixon” and Amélie Hoeferle as “Alex” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
MF: C. Thomas, can you talk about joining this project and your approach to playing the villain?
C. Thomas Howell: Well, I love playing despicable characters. Finding a flawed character and injecting them with humanity. He’s trying to really do the best for the group of people that he holds a very big responsibility for, their survival in this off the grid culture, and there’s some similarities between the two characters. He’s fighting to take care of the one that he loves, and I’m fighting to take care of those that I love. So, I didn’t really approach him from the perspective of being a bad guy, and that’s what I liked about it, even though he was somebody that was willing to do things that are deemed despicable. He was coming from a good place, at least from his perspective. He felt justified. So, that made it very interesting for me instead of just some sort of socially disconnected psychopath, and that’s far less interesting to me. Really owning the fact that this small village that he created was on the verge of distinction unless he was willing to take some major steps in terms of not allowing that to happen, even if it meant kidnapping somebody. That was the force that I think, at least from my character’s perspective, that drives the movie.
(L to R) Ryan Phillippe as “Danny” and Amélie Hoeferle as “Alex” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
MF: Ryan, can you talk about Danny’s relationship with his daughter and creating that relationship on screen with actress Amélie Hoeferle?
RP: I mean, she’s great. We did an exhaustive search to find the right Alex and saw a hundred girls. But the moment I saw Amélie’s audition tape, I told the other producers that this was the girl. She’s meant to be this angsty teenager at a point in her life where she’s got this desire to be an artist and her mother has designs for her that are not in that realm. I think the fact that on set we had to do so much physical work in this movie. We had to jump into icy, cold water. We had to run full speed over rocky terrain, and this girl did not complain once. Her character in the movie has agency. She is cut of the same cloth as her father and we start to see elements of that, of her fighting back and her using her intelligence. I think that eventually they do start to grow closer together and then he does offer his apologies for not having been around as much. Then it becomes that he wants to save this person that he loves most in the world and would do anything for. As a parent, that’s very relatable.
C. Thomas Howell as “Stanley Dixon” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
MF: C. Thomas, can you talk about executing the action sequences and working with Ryan on those scenes?
CTH: You know, I come from a stunt background. My family, my father, spent a lifetime doing stunts in this business. So that’s not really something that I struggle with, but I certainly prefer standing back and watching Ryan get beat up and thrown into icy cold water as opposed to being a part of that. But we had our moments where he got his revenge and took it out on me. It’s something that I think when an actor can do their own physical stunts, it really adds something to the piece and Ryan has spent a very big portion of his career training and doing that. He’s very coordinated. He’s a black belt in multiple martial arts, so I don’t want to make him that angry. It was easy to get physical and to work out our stunt sequences together. He’s very physical, and it made it fun at times. That can be very tough when you’re working with another actor that doesn’t necessarily have those capabilities and they’re put into that position. Somebody can get hurt. It can look poorly done and it can become awkward. But when you can work with somebody who is capable, it makes it fun.
(L to R) Ryan Phillippe as “Danny” and James Michalopoulos as “Vince” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
MF: Finally, Ryan, do you have a philosophy when it comes to shooting action sequences?
RP: It is a dance of sorts, and we were lucky to have an incredible stunt team, incredible stunt choreography, and we really worked hard at it. Working with Tommy, first, I was excited because I watched him when I was younger, and I loved his work and his performances. But also, the intensity he brought to the role of Stanley ups my game. It makes me a better actor. It makes me lock in and focus a different way. So, I felt fortunate.
‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’ will be available digitally on February 20th.
What is the plot of ‘One Mile: Chapter One’?
Danny (Ryan Phillippe), a former special forces operative, travels with his teenage daughter Alex (Amélie Hoeferle) on a college road trip. After an unexpected detour brings them into contact with a violent, isolated community living off the grid, Alex is taken, and Danny is forced into a desperate rescue attempt.
What is the plot of ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’?
In the second installment, Danny is pulled back into conflict with the same group when Alex is abducted again as part of an act of revenge, sending him into another pursuit against an enemy prepared for him.
Who is in the cast of One Mile: Chapter One and Two’?
(L to R) Amélie Hoeferle as “Alex” and Ryan Phillippe as “Danny” in the Action, Thriller, Suspense film, ‘One Mile: Chapter One’ and ‘One Mile: Chapter Two’. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Ric Roman Waugh about his work on ‘Shelter’, his first reaction to the screenplay, the emotional core of the movie, crafting the action sequences, working with Jason Statham and Bill Nighy, and finding the right tone for the movie, as well as looking back at his prison masterpiece ‘Shot Caller’ and with ‘Greenland 2: Migration’ also currently in theaters, what it’s like as a filmmaker to have two big movies at the box office at the same time.
Ric Roman Waugh attends the UK Premiere of ‘Shelter’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on January 20, 2026 in London, England. Photo: StillMoving.Net for Black Bear.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Ric Roman Waugh attends the UK Premiere of ‘Shelter’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on January 20, 2026 in London, England. Photo: StillMoving.Net for Black Bear.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay, what you thought you could bring to it and why you wanted to make this movie?
Ric Roman Waugh: I was fortunate that Jason had reached out. We’d been trying to work together, and he was talking about this script, which he was super passionate about. When I read it, I got it. Ward Parry‘s script, it just punches you in the gut with great emotion. I thought this is exactly the type of film that I like to do, a movie that can be a big action ride, but has a real emotional thrust in it. So now I’m going to give you your cake and eat it too. I’m going to give you Jason Statham, the action star at his best, but I’m going to remind you what an amazing actor he is as well. My type of heroes, the antihero, the man, or the woman that’s vulnerable, sensitive, dealing with demons, trauma, in crisis, all these things that we love about movies that go back to ‘Shane’ in the ’50s, to ‘Man on Fire’ and ‘The Professional’, because they’re relatable to us. We all deal with different kinds of issues like that. I’ve never been a fan of the 10-foot tall bulletproof, impervious to pain type of hero. I like the mortal human beings and that’s what I love about this movie, is that Jason’s character is not just a man of action, but he’s also a human being and with real sensibilities.
Jason Statham in ‘Shelter’. Photo: Black Bear Pictures.
MF: Can you talk about the relationship between Mason and Jesse, and why he decides to protect her?
RRW: I think the movie speaks on two levels, and I’ll unpack the first one with you, which is that we all tend to put ourselves in some form of exile, and then we’re quickly reminded how much we need each other. I love that this movie, this story spoke to that, about a man mysterious to us living in this abandoned lighthouse, and he saves this young girl from the sea, who’s been trying to give him the time of day, but he’s been completely shut off. He saves her only to realize that she’s probably there to save him from this form of self-exile that he’s been living in trauma and realizing that she is also in a form of exile to herself of trauma and loss. Then they find family in one another. Again, going back to the movies of ‘Shane’, or ‘Man on Fire’ and ‘The Professional’, it becomes about a hero that must shelter this young girl, but also is cognizant of the dark cloud that follows him, and making sure that doesn’t get cast upon her as well. So, they get that great moral dilemma. Am I going to be selfish and keep this young girl in my life because I finally found family and have a connection again? Or am I going to do the right thing and get her to safety, but not have her in my life? I love that dilemma that runs throughout it. At the same time, we give you this big action ride.
(L to R) Jason Statham and Bodhi Rae Breathnach attend the UK Premiere of ‘Shelter’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on January 20, 2026 in London, England. Photo: StillMoving.Net for Black Bear.
MF: Can you talk about Jason and Bodhi’s onscreen chemistry, and did they connect right away on set?
RRW: I got this thing about chemistry. It’s a big thing for me. I think you can put all the best Academy Award winners in front of the camera, but it doesn’t mean they’re going to have chemistry, and we wonder why those movies don’t work. We looked at 500 young girls. There was a wide net. I remember seeing a tape of this little freckled girl, and there was just something about her eyes. There was a deep soul within her, and this vibrancy. So, we brought Bodhi in and did a chemistry test with her and Jason, and it was just electric. We did one of the more emotional scenes in the movie. If you’ve ever been around Jason, Jason Statham is a force of nature. There’s an energy level to him that can be daunting to some people, and intimidating. But Bodhi and him, it was just like electric, watching the two of them together. So, I knew that my job was just to get the hell out of the way, put them in front of the camera and let them do their thing. So, they’re not faking it and they’re not forcing it. It was real, and in fact, I’d remind them, “Don’t be so together as a family unit yet. Still play into the estrangement of things.”
Jason Statham attends the UK Premiere of ‘Shelter’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on January 20, 2026 in London, England. Photo: StillMoving.Net for Black Bear.
MF: Can you talk about working with Jason and what he brings to a movie like this?
RRW: Well, first, Jason is 100% committed to what he’s doing. He is all in, and I met my match with that. I’ve been known to be a juggernaut as well with being very passionate about the things that I’m making, and just waking up every morning wanting to tear into it. That’s Jason. What I also realized is he’s super authentic in his real life, and there is a code that he lives by, the way he respects those around him and demands respect in return. I think they’re all the essential elements that you see in his characters, and that’s why he is so authentic to a lot of people, because he’s living and breathing it in real life. I also really admire the family man he is, and how he is with his kids and with his wife, Rosie (Huntington-Whiteley), and his parents coming to set. So, all those kinds of familial sensibilities were fun to explore in this film, to show you the action star, but humanize him and bring a different aspect to him than you’ve seen before.
Jason Statham attends the UK Premiere of ‘Shelter’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on January 20, 2026 in London, England. Photo: StillMoving.Net for Black Bear.
MF: How involved is Jason in choreographing the action and fight sequences?
RRW: He’s an amazing collaborator. Jason is involved in every aspect of it, and I love that. I love that I’m not going to have to remind him what we’re shooting. I’m not going to have to remind him of what we’re doing. He’s very much about the attention to detail. So, he’s not only involved in the action, he’s involved in every aspect of it, but he also understands that his fighting style is a certain way. He is a real martial artist and a real fighter, so that there’s a way that he wants the choreography to go, because it goes into his more organic way of doing things. I love that, but there was never any moment that I felt like I didn’t have a pure partner in raising the bar together. He’s a prep freak like me as well, which is good because when you rehearse and you get things in a good rhythm, when you get there on the set, you just let it fly, and then you’re raising the bar versus trying to find it. I love that.
(L to R) Tom Malone, Theo Shakes, Savannah Sachdev, Ali Woods, Paigey Cakey, Jay Urban, Jason Statham, Eddie Hall, Ashley Cain and Big John attend the UK Premiere of ‘Shelter’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on January 20, 2026 in London, England. Photo: StillMoving.Net for Black Bear.
MF: There is an amazing car chase in the movie. What is the secret to shooting a great car chase sequence?
RRW: To not treat it as a car chase. For me, coming from the stunt world in my early days, a lot of people asked me what it was like to do stunts. I realized over time what they were really wanting to know was, “What did it feel like? What did it feel like to be set on fire? What did it feel like to be driving 200 miles an hour in ‘Days of Thunder’ and crash on purpose,” and the exhilaration and the fear and all those things. So, when I’m shooting action, I’m trying to immerse you in the action the way I was. I’m trying to put you, in this case in the seat, where the cameras are in the car and it’s from the inside out. So, you’re in the character’s point of view and his point of view becomes your point of view. So, when you’re a bucking bronco going down a hill and the car’s falling apart and bullets are going through it, you feel immersed in that. You’re not watching a car chase, you’re in the car being hunted, and you get a different perspective of it. I always called it trying to make your own IMAX ride out of the action, to always be from the inside out.
(L to R) Naomi Ackie in ‘Shelter’. Photo: Black Bear Pictures.
MF: Can you talk about the tone of the film and the challenges of balancing the action with the emotional core?
RRW: Tone is everything for me, as a screenwriter, as a filmmaker, and it’s being as true to the tone of the material as you possibly can. Not trying to get too cute with it, and not trying to make it over-serious. It really found its place on Jason’s point of view of really choosing to be elegant, where you’re doing everything in a very grounded and authentic way. You’re not forcing more violence. You’re paying attention to what you would do in front of a child to protect her and protect her innocence. So, when you start playing into the fundamental laws of the familial bond between a pseudo father who’s trying to protect a young child, you let that dictate your tone. You let that become your compass and your guide of where you go. I feel like that’s always the true north star for me in anything I’m doing. ‘Shot Caller’ is a movie that I’ve done that is far more violent, but because the tone of it dictates it. So, you do that in an unflinching way because prison is unflinching.
(L to R) Bill Nighy and Jason Statham in ‘Shelter’. Photo: Black Bear Pictures.
MF: In my opinion, Bill Nighy is one of the greatest living actors and every breath he takes on screen feels authentic. What is it like directing an actor of his caliber?
RRW: It was funny, the first day Bill worked, it was the day that he and Jason meet at the end of the movie. I remember my monitors were right around on the other side of the room because it was a very small room, so we couldn’t be inside of it. After the first take, Jason walked over and he goes, “I could hear that guy say anything. It doesn’t even matter what he says.” That’s it. Bill Nighy is just an absolute legend. But I really have been fortunate to work over the years with some of our elder statesmen and stateswomen, like Harriet Walter on this movie, who’s just phenomenal. But from Sam Shepherd to Morgan Freeman to Nick Nolte and my new pal, Bill Nighy, they’re in it. You would think at their time of their life and their body of work, they can phone it in, take the money and run. No, I mean, they just really own the space. That’s what we loved about Bill. Bill came in and just owned it, and we’re talking about turning him into an action star now. He’s an incredible human being, but that work ethic is just next to nothing. It’s amazing.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in ‘Shot Caller’. Photo: Saban Films.
MF: You mentioned ‘Shot Caller’, and I think that is one of the greatest prison movies ever made. I feel like the movie has had a renaissance recently thanks to streaming. How do you feel about that movie now? Do you feel like the film is being rediscovered by audiences?
RRW: Yeah, it’s really rewarding because we made that with a lot of passion and put a lot into it. I went undercover for two years as a parole agent in California to learn the system. I did the first movie ‘Felon’, and then the follow-up ‘Shot Caller’. It’s fun when you make a film that is constantly being discovered and rediscovered and is brought up. It’s really rewarding to have that because I have mine. I have my films that I’ve discovered. I’m like, how the heck did I miss this when it came out? It just blows me away and then becomes a favorite of mine. If ‘Shot Caller’s got a little of that going for its fan base, that’s awesome, because everybody that was involved in it were just amazing people. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, so proud of what he did, and Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Donovan, and Holt McCallany. We can just go on and on. We had just an amazing cast of people. What’s fun about ‘Shot Caller’, to give you an example, the prison riot scene when there’s 250 guys that are fighting out there, 200 of them are real (prisoners). We put MMA fighters and certain people around closer to camera, but we had all factions out there, and they would look like they’re going to literally kill each other. Then I would yell “Cut”, and they would all pick each other up and laugh, because they knew there wasn’t a real life or death situation on the prison yard, but they loved and appreciated that we wanted to make it as authentic as it possibly could be. To this day, ‘Shot Caller’ is one of the teaching tools for the California prison system, where they show that to a lot of the new correctional officers, so they can see what is going on in our prison systems.
(L to R) Gerard Butler as John Garrity, Morena Baccarin as Allison Garrity, and Roman Griffin Davis as Nathan Garrity in ‘Greenland 2: Migration’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Finally, you also have ‘Greenland 2: Migration’ in theaters right now. As a filmmaker, what is it like having two big films at the box office at the same time?
RRW: It’s been surreal because they both mean a lot to me in different ways. We made the first movie ‘Greenland’ pre-pandemic, but it came out in the pandemic. We couldn’t even put it in movie theaters in the US when we were already booked in IMAX and Dolby, because there were no theaters open, but then we were watching it go number one around the world. Then Adam Fogelson, who’s our chairman of STX and now at Lionsgate, he just made a bold move to put the biggest streaming deal ever at that point together with HBO. It luckily became a darling where a lot of people really discovered it in a time that we were all sheltered and stuck inside. We never thought we were going to make a second movie. Then when it got the response that we had hoped for, we decided to mirror the timeline, mirror post-pandemic, and mirror a lot of the things that we had dealt with as well. So, I love that we get to finally see what I call the final chapter of the Garritys, and you can watch these movies back-to-back and see a family that faces real crisis, and finds love and atonement again, and then deals with trauma and tragedy. Those are all these things that make it relatable to us. Then this movie with Jason, ‘Shelter’ is really a dear one. I consider it a badge of honor and a real notch on my belt of the movies that I’ve made. I’m very proud of it and very proud of the cast. It’s just been a fantastic ride all the way through. I hope a lot of people get their butts to the theaters this Friday because it’s a big, fun ride, and it will grab you in an emotional way. It’s a special one. I’m happy about it and hope a lot of people will go and see it.
‘Shelter’ opens in theaters on January 30th.
What is the plot of ‘Shelter’?
A former assassin (Jason Statham) is forced to kill his former organization to protect a girl (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) who had been supplying him.
(L to R) Ric Roman Waugh, Bodhi Rae Breathnach and Jason Statham attend the UK Premiere of ‘Shelter’ at Cineworld Leicester Square on January 20, 2026 in London, England. Photo: StillMoving.Net for Black Bear.
On Netflix on January 16 is ‘The Rip’ a new police thriller that reunites Ben Affleck (‘Argo’) and Matt Damon (‘The Departed’) for the story of Miami law enforcement who stumble on a giant stash of drug cash, and the chaotic moral quandary that opens up between their team.
Following their successful reunion on ‘Air,’ Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have re-teamed on screen for this new cop thriller, handled by veteran director Joe Carnahan.
Looking to fit squarely into the gritty, brutal law enforcement genre, it lets them go full macho –– but has more going on than you might think at first glance.
Carnahan, who wrote the script based on a story by Michael McGrale, has here found a project so ideally in his wheelhouse he might as well have his name written across it.
The story crackles with acronym-heavy police action and plenty of testosterone, but it also finds time for nuance.
And though you might not guess the Miami setting beyond some opening shots (and dialogue drops) given that the scenes are mostly at night in a cul-de-sac, there is plenty of style on display here, particularly as things ramp up in the third act.
Affleck and Damon naturally work well off of each other, finding a dynamic that works as longtime cop friends whose connection is pushed to the limit here.
Around them, the likes of Teyana Taylor (even if she doesn’t get nearly as much to do as in ‘One Battle After Another’), Steven Yeun and Kyle Chandler contribute superb moments.
‘The Rip’ won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if you enjoy your thrillers hard-edged and unexpectedly crafted, it’s certainly got something. And we don’t just mean an unexpected haul of drug money.
A group of Miami cops discovers a stash of millions in cash, leading to distrust as outsiders learn about the huge seizure, making them question who to rely on.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with writer and director Joe Carnahan about his work on ‘The Rip’, bringing the project to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, working with them on set, their characters’ relationship, the supporting cast, building suspense for the twists and turns, the action sequences, working with Netflix, and why he’s not disappointed that the movie isn’t going to be shown in theaters.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Carnahan, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Sasha Calle.
Moviefone: To begin with, I understand that you brought this project yourself to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s company, Artists Equity. Can you talk about that? Also, at a Netflix event last year Affleck told a story about you pitching this project to him as ‘Heat’ meets ‘Training Day’ and his response was, “Kind of like ‘The Town’?” Did that really happen?
Joe Carnahan: That is inaccurate. I don’t know where he got that. No, you know what it was? Matt and Ben and I are all the same age. So, all the films that we loved as kids, ‘Serpico’ and ‘Heat’ and you know, ‘Lethal Weapon’. Like, these types of movies, and I think we wanted to make something like that that was kind of crowd pleasing and in the cop genre, which I love and have had some success with. Someone at Actors Equity got a hold of the script. I had not gone out wide with it. Matt and Ben and I have been friends for many years. The AE executive said, “Let me get it to them”. It got to Matt within 24 hours, and he called me 24 hours later, and then Ben called me. They were like, “What are you thinking for the cast?” I’m like, “What do you mean? Come on, I want you guys.” So, it was just a dream to have guys that were running the studio that could put the wheels in motion here. At the same time, these two are movie stars. They are two guys that grew up together that happened to be movie stars. It doesn’t happen like that. So, it was a joy from start to finish. It really was.
MF: Obviously, Affleck is an accomplished director in his own right, and he and Damon are also Oscar winning screenwriters. What was it like having two veteran actors and experienced filmmakers on your set and working with them to create this movie?
JC: I know. Having them say my lines, these guys who have little gold statues for their writing. It was incredible. Again, they’re both wonderful filmmakers. They understand it. They see it from a 30,000-foot vantage, right? They get what you’re up against. They get what the challenges are, and they get what the obstacles would be. So, I found them to be nothing but lovely and helpful. Especially Ben, who’s coming out of a directorial background. He’s walked the same roads I’ve walked. He’s put in those hours behind a camera. He understands. He’s a world-class filmmaker. He really is. So, to have that level of competency, I could be a fool and still get to the finish line. But they gave me this wonderful grace and room to try things and they were game for stuff. We had a blast, man. We really did.
MF: Can you talk about how their long friendship together and how that really plays into these characters, and was there ever any talk of them flipping roles? Because they both could have easily played the other part.
JC: You know what they asked me, “Who do you want us to play?” I always had in mind that Matt would play Dumars. That is the slightly senior guy. But they absolutely could have gone the other way, which is an interesting role reversal. I’m sure AI will be capable of flipping Matt and Ben’s roles next month. But again, I’m trading on a 40-year plus friendship. The sense of that and the gravitational pull of that is something you could feel when you’re watching them. You know what I mean? You can’t say that about everybody. Not only do they have natural chemistry, but these are two people who love each other. Then once you get in there, now you’re messing with not only that personal history, but you’re messing with who they are as movie stars. You’re messing with their cinematic presence, which is very different. But it was the moving between one and the other, and then sometimes coexisting at the same time, which was fantastic. Again, I think that’s what gives all their scenes this real authentic sense because they do care deeply for each other. Then there are moments where you feel like one of them is betraying the other one, and that lands with that much more presence and weight. So, that was great.
MF: Without giving anything away, the film keeps you guessing the whole time as to who the good guys are and who are the bad guys. Can you talk about creating that suspense and building to the twists and turns?
JC: Yeah, it was a lot of Mike McGrale and I really sitting down and structuring this in the outline stage, which can be tedious and time consuming. But ultimately, it’ll give you the greatest dividends because you’ve really leaned into the technical aspects of screenwriting, which can be tricky. But I think once we did that groundwork, and once the script was done, I wrote it fast. It was like five weeks to write the script. But all of this was rigorously thought out and planned and machined in that outline stage. Then once you knew that it’s like a Rube Goldberg device, like this trip trips that and drops some mouse traps. So, it’s a lot of fun because once you know it’s working on the page, then it just becomes execution on the day. I always say this, it’s like there’s three films. There’s a film you write. There’s a film you shoot and there’s a film you cut, and oftentimes they’re wildly different. This was consistent throughout, I think if anything, it got leaner. We cut down information as we went on because we felt like we understand. I don’t want to pander to the audience. If I feel like we’re condescending, then let’s keep it moving.
MF: Can you talk about executing the action sequences?
JC: I had a second unit director, Scott Rogers, who I just adore, who’s talented and did a lot of work with me and the DP and are a really great group of guys who understood. It’s like, “Here are the boards, here’s what we want, here’s the shots we want, and then anything after that you get, knock yourself out.” Of course, they always give you fantastic stuff on top of that. So, it was a lot of planning. We use this Libra Head, which is this expensive stabilized head for our shots. If we shot sticks or handheld, we’d use the Libra Head. To do that kind percussive seismic thing when the gunfight starts to make you feel like, “Oh, my God.” I wanted to just feel it in your chest. We would destabilize those things. We did what’s called seizure wheels. We just did these kinds of wild shots, but it created this unsettling effect. That’s always what you’re trying to do. You don’t want to feel like you’re treading over the same ground repeatedly and the familiar. You want to mess with it and see what you can do. I think we did some interesting kind of innovative things in that and the action.
MF: We’ve talked about Ben and Matt, but can you talk about putting together the rest of the supporting cast including Teyana Taylor, Steven Yeun, Kyle Chandler, and Scott Adkins?
JC:Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas cast us, and they just did a phenomenal job. I think casting is sometimes 90% of your work. Like, who do you put in this movie? Everyone from Catalina Sandino Moreno to Steve, to Scott, to Néstor Carbonell, who I’ve worked with before. I have a history with a lot of these people. Again, you just get these people working at such a high level. Scott Atkins, who’s not seen the film yet, he will see it tonight. I think he’s just going to be blown away because I didn’t require him to blade kick anyone in the head, which is kind of his stock and trade. So, it’s exciting. When you, when you have this collection of talented people and you get good material, it’s hard to screw that up. You’ve got to work extra hard to screw that up.
MF: Finally, what was your experience like working with Netflix and are you disappointed that the film will not have a theatrical release?
JC: You know what? No, because I think what’s happened is, you know, we used to live and die by Friday night and the weekend box office. It’s like, “My movie didn’t work, and it is dead in the water.” I like that we’ve eliminated that undue tension of, “what if I’m not number one?”. I never liked the box office stakes. Unless you win, then you’re happy. But I think that so many homes now have mini theaters. They have very sophisticated televisions that aren’t that expensive. They have very sophisticated sound systems that aren’t that expensive. I know in my house; I’ve got this great room that is all blacked out with bean bags, and that’s where you watch movies. That movie in that room would play just as well as anything else. Like, that communal experience of being in a dark room with strangers and sharing something, that’s never going away. I certainly love it. I don’t ever want theaters to go, and we’re going to see it tonight in theater. So, we get the best of both worlds. I do think it’s strong, but it’s strong regardless. Netflix has been a dream. Honest to God, I can’t say enough good things about those guys. From the marketing to the publicity, they have been top of the top, and just amazing.
A group of Miami cops discovers a stash of millions in cash, leading to distrust as outsiders learn about the huge seizure, making them question who to rely on.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Aaron Eckhart and director Jesse V. Johnson about their work on ‘Thieves Highway’, why it’s not a modern Western, Eckhart’s research and his approach to his character, shooting the action sequences, working with The D.O.C., and why Eckhart and Johnson love making movies together.
Aaron Eckhart in ‘Thieves Highway’. Photo: SSS Entertainment.
Moviefone: To begin with, Jesse, the movie plays like a modern Western with a lone sheriff pitted against a gang of outlaws. Was that what you were going for and what were the themes you wanted to explore with this movie?
Jesse V. Johnson: I was very much trying not to make it a modern Western. I was trying to make it a modern film, set in our present times, but somehow it kept touching on those same philosophies. So, I guess it worked itself in, but the truth of the matter is once it was all said and done, I saw that. When I was sitting with Sean Murray, the composer, we were trying various motifs and banging away at that. Finally, I think I saw a meme, or something came through on Instagram, and it was the ‘High Noon’ theme. I said, “Sean, you’ve got to use this. This is perfect.” He worked that into it. So, I guess in my heart and soul, it was always a modern revisionist kind of Western. I had tried very hard to keep it as modern as possible, but yes, that moral compass, the sense of duty, the sense of isolation, losing the cell phone and you’re in a place where you can’t rely on technology, you must rely very much on your own human resources. I think all of us, men anyway, of a certain age, we all strive for a little bit of that in our lives. Like, if I just woke up and I didn’t have to go to work at 8:30am, if I could just go out onto the planes and go my horse and round up cows, everything would be so much simpler. I hear ex-military telling me, “God, I just wish I was back inside,” because it’s so complicated. I think we live in complicated times, and I think people like that simplicity.
MF: Aaron, can you talk about the research you did into wildlife enforcement and how that information informed your performance?
Aaron Eckhart: Well, I live on a ranch. I own a ranch, I have cows on my ranch, and I also have two ranchers that live right next to me, who have 400 pair and one guy has no fences, so his cows are all over the road, all the time. Come to find out that they do get stolen. People come with panel vans, and they see a little calf, and they just put the calf in the panel van, they go an hour or two down the road and they can sell it at auction for cash. So, you can pick up a thousand bucks, literally, in maybe two or three hours. So, it’s real. In fact, I talked to my local sheriff about it too, and he had just busted two guys that had been doing that on my road. Of course, they didn’t shoot them like they used to, you know they’d just shoot them in the old days. But it’s still alive and well, unfortunately, so there must be people that deal with it.
Aaron Eckhart in ‘Thieves Highway’. Photo: SSS Entertainment.
MF: Can you talk about Frank’s moral compass and why he just can’t let this one go?
AE: This what I like about the character, he’s an old-fashioned lawman. That’s what he is. He grew up on the range. He grew up around all these ranchers, and he’s got it in his soul. That’s what he is, he’s an old boot. There’s a code out here and as more people come in that don’t know the code, it gets more difficult and more complicated. But that code is a very important code because it’s tied into people’s livelihoods, their dreams, their hard work, that don’t get vacations, that must wake up at 5am and feed the animals, that care for the animals and have an emotional and financial investment in those animals. So, I wanted to bring that in and the idea that there are consequences to your actions. You know, out here, it’s different and then when my partner gets murdered, it’s game on.
MF: Jesse, I know you and Aaron have worked together before, can you talk about your filmmaking partnership and what he brings to set as an actor?
JVJ: Working with Aaron is one of the great privileges of my career. I love working with him. He forces me to rise and be a better director. He does the same thing with the supporting cast and the crew members because they see this guy turning up early, absolutely committed to what he’s doing, always ready to go, with ideas, at the peak of physical readiness always, and never complaining. You know, riling people up, giving them the enthusiasm to do work that they didn’t think they had in them. This is something very rare and when you collaborate like that, you find a partner like that, you hang on with your dear life, with your claws, because it’s the most important thing for a director, the leading man. I’ve been out there with a leading man who is not interested, who was less than motivated, who was doing it for the money, and who was phoning it in. I’ve done everything in my book to try and get their enthusiasm in the project, and it’s met with a blank stare. They have too much going on, maybe a divorce, maybe something else, maybe child payments, whatever, and you can’t reach them. It’s a failure on my part as a director. When you find someone like Aaron, you know, I’m very lucky over these collaborations, it brings everything and challenges. We’re there in the morning talking about what’s going to happen during the day, how we’re going to handle it. Aaron wants to know how I’m going to shoot it, how many takes, are we going to use a stunt double, and am I going to let Aaron do it? Which, by the way, is usually the question, because he won’t let stuntmen come in and do his part. This is how committed and how invested he is in making a good movie, a good character, and this is wonderful. So, for my part, I feel extraordinarily lucky, and I will keep making movies with Aaron for as long as he puts up with me.
(L to R) Aaron Eckhart and Lochlyn Munro in ‘Thieves Highway’. Photo: SSS Entertainment.
MF: Aaron, what do you enjoy about working with Jesse and why is he a great filmmaking partner for you?
AE: Well, you can see his passion, he cares so deeply, and you must put it all out there. I was thinking, while Jesse was speaking, I always think, we’re so fortunate to be given this money and this time and these people to make this movie. Very few people on Earth can do that at whatever level. So, we must take that gift and we must maximize every single second of it. We must appreciate it, and we must augment it. We have to amp it up, bring in energy and excitement, because we’re lucky. We’re lucky to do this, so we can never take it for granted. Jesse’s like that. If I have an idea, if he has an idea, let’s do this, let’s do that. Let’s always be thinking. Jesse’s always right there for me. That’s important because that’s the relationship that counts the most, is the director and the actor. I need to look at Jess and go, if I don’t do it, he’s going to do it. He’ll go out there and do the fight. He’ll go ride the horse. That’s the kind of director I like to work with.
MF: Aaron, can you talk about Frank’s partnership with Aksel in the movie, and what it was like sharing those scenes with legendary rapper The D.O.C.?
AE: He gives a beautiful performance, smooth as silk, just right there, grounded. I didn’t know any of this, I live under a rock but just his voice, his demeanor, and how kind he is as a real person. But he embodied it, and set the pace for it, which was wonderful. He was he was up for everything. He’s just got a great presence and effortless really. That’s what an actor strives for is an effortlessness, and it’s magnetic.
MF: Jesse, can you talk about casting and directing The D.O.C.?
JVJ: He is the most humbled human being you’ve ever met. We just talk about the character and the movie. The only time there was any kind of resistance, he just told me, “I don’t really like guns, Jesse. I don’t like them very much. You’ll have to talk me through that stuff.” He was very concerned about looking as good as he could with a gun, and it was just lovely. It was a lovely relationship, and he was a gentle, creative soul, who’s very about the process of writing and creating. I really liked working with him. I wasn’t familiar with this work. He was hired because he’d done another film for the producers. I felt he just did a really good job, and so many people have enjoyed his performance in this.
Aaron Eckhart in ‘Thieves Highway’. Photo: SSS Entertainment.
MF: Aaron, can you talk about preparing for the action sequences?
AE: I always like to fight. It’s good fighting, shooting, running, always trying to bring energy to the set, whatever it is. That’s my job. So, to hit, take a hit, get down, get dirty, that’s just what I’m there for. I want the audience to see me doing the fights, see me with the cows or whatever I’m doing. That’s important to me.
MF: Finally, Jesse, can you talk about executing the action sequences and the challenges of having to wrangle all the cows and horses for this movie?
JVJ: Cows, horses, trucks with trailers, two miles square sets. It was a lot more ambitious than I thought going into it. But Aaron follows my tastes, which are practical effects and practical stunts. I work with some of the very best stunt coordinators, fight choreographers and car guys in the business. We watch and we plan, and we rehearse. Ultimately, I think the audience is there to see a show and they want to want to know that someone is in jeopardy. They want to feel that visceral buzz of knowing that someone is taking a risk here. If everything looks safe, it tends to be reflected on the actor’s face in their focus and on their eyes, and they’re pretending the environment around them exists. But if you put them in a real environment in cold water, up to their knees, fighting with a very aggressive stuntman, then he is really throwing those kicks and punches. Aaron wants to be in there, and he wants to roll up his sleeves. This is the kind of stuff that I grew up watching and being on the edge of my seat. This is what we’re trying to capture, and this is what it takes. There’s so much reliance on visual effects. This is my continual battle, but thankfully, I think I found a conspirator in Aaron, and we love that kind of filmmaking. It’s a challenge but it’s exciting. We want to put on a show to entertain people.
‘Thieves Highway’ opens in theaters on December 12th and on digital December 16th.
What is the plot of ‘Thieves Highway’?
After discovering a plot to haul stolen cattle in the middle of nowhere, a desperate and isolated lawman (Aaron Eckhart) becomes the only thing standing between a group of dangerous rustlers and a clear run to the border.
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Scott Eastwood in ‘Tin Soldier’. Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Scott Eastwood about his work on ‘Tin Soldier’, his first reaction to the screenplay, his research into cults, what his character is fighting for, working with Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, doing his own stunts, and collaborating with director Brad Furman, as well as giving an update on when ‘Fast X: Part 2‘ will begin production.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
(L to R) Scott Eastwood and Jamie Foxx in ‘Tin Soldier’. Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and why did you want to be part of this project?
Scott Eastwood: The setup was quite interesting. It was original, but it’s something you could imagine could happen if a cult had formed, but instead of a bunch of yahoos, it’s ex-military. I thought that that was an interesting concept and having the one guy who had escaped the cult called back to help the government go in and break it up. At the same time, he is lured in by his wife who had gone missing, that she might still be alive. I thought that was an interesting concept. Also, Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, it was like, that’s a no-brainer. I got to work with those two.
MF: Did you do research into real-life cults and the mindset of a person who is a former cult member?
SE: Yeah. I watched a ton of documentaries about them. Luckily in recent years there’s been a lot of documentaries about these cults, whether it’s ‘Wild Wild Country’ or the Waco stuff. There’s been a lot more docs about them and a lot more deep dives into the psychology and how the brainwashing happens. It’s interesting stuff.
(L to R) Scott Eastwood and Jamie Foxx in ‘Tin Soldier’. Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films.
MF: Can you talk about the relationship between Nash and Bokushi and what was it like working with on those scenes with Jamie Foxx?
SE: Yeah, from the research, they sort of all have the same playbook. They break you down and then build you up and they become like a messiah for people and then it always seems that they turn ugly in some of the manifestations of these behaviors. Whoever these figures are, whether it’s the Bhagwan (Shree Rajneesh), Ron L. Hubbard, it sort of turns dark. Working with Jamie was great. I mean, he made some wild choices with this guy. So, getting to work opposite him was, for me, it made the job quite easy because he’s a bigger than life character, and he brought a ton of interesting choices to him. So as an actor it’s a dream because you just sort of react to those choices.
MF: Did you know Jamie already before making this movie?
SE: I did. Yeah, I did, and Jamie’s a great guy. He’s great and he’s easy to work with and super giving and friendly. He brings a vibe to the set that always gets people to smile and relax so you can be there and have fun doing your job.
Robert De Niro in ‘Tin Soldier’. Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films.
MF: You have some intense scenes with Robert De Niro. How did you prepare for those scenes and were you intimidated working with him?
SE: Just like anything, yes, you feel that you want to do a good job, you want to bring life to this character, but that’s all just reps in the gym beforehand. By the time you get on set, you’ve already done all the hard work. You’ve already done the performance 10,000 times. You’ve done the emotional work, you’ve done all the prep work, so by the time you get there, then you can just relax and do the best job you can do. That all comes from your prep, prepping and doing the performance a bunch, and then you just get to show up and have fun.
MF: What did you learn from working with De Niro, and could you see his greatness in the scene when you were acting opposite him?
SE: Well, I think he would probably tell you the same thing. I’ve intellectualized a little bit about acting with him, and then I’ve also heard him speak through the years about process, but it’s a similar thing. If you’ve done the work and you’ve done the performance 10,000 times and you’ve mined it and go deeper and deeper into everything from all the choices the character would make, and just really discovering that, then by the time you get to the set, the hard work is done. I mean, I’ve heard him say that many times and we spoke about that.
Robert De Niro in ‘Tin Soldier’. Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films.
MF: I’ve heard that De Niro likes to do a table read with the cast before he signs on to a project to make sure it’s something that he wants to be involved with. Is that true? Was that the case on this film?
SE: We didn’t do a table read that I can remember with him. My memory’s a little fuzzy, but I don’t remember doing that. But he is so prepped when he shows up on set. I mean, he has done all the work and really explored the character.
MF: In many ways, as an ex-military and a former member of this cult, Nash is uniquely qualified for this mission. Can you talk about that and how he feels about going back to confront Bokushi?
SE: Yeah, he is. I mean, he’s been in that world, sucked in and was really the only one to get out. So, he’s got that inside information and he’s been pulled back in. He is at the same time, I think, a very tormented character through what he’s been through, so he’s got that pulling at him, the whole movie, which makes him a very complex guy.
Jamie Foxx in ‘Tin Soldier’. Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films.
MF: Nash returns to save his wife, who he is not even sure is still alive. Is that what drives the character in your opinion?
SE: That’s what drives him, yeah. That’s sort of the emotional rollercoaster of the film. That’s the heart of it, trying to discover the truth, get back to the truth and find out if she’s alive. Which made it, that’s like the North Star. That’s all he really cares about. He doesn’t really care about trying to break this thing up. He’s there for his own reasons to see if his wife is alive.
MF: Can you talk about shooting the action sequences and did you do all the stunts yourself?
SE: I think so. Not everything. There were certain stunts, and we shot this movie in Greece. I find that anytime you go into Europe, you get away with a little bit more. You get away with some bigger stunts and get away with some stuff that might not be allowed in the U.S., which always makes for a better movie because you get a bigger production value out of it. But no, there were certain stunts that they didn’t want me doing that I sort of acquiesced and said, “Oh great, let’s let someone else do that one. That one seems like it’s threading the needle a little bit.” But I try to do as much as I can. It just helps the movie. When you can do the most that you can, then the movie becomes more visceral. You don’t have to cheat things; you can do cool camera movements if you keep the actor in those stunts.
Scott Eastwood as “Joe” in the action crime thriller ‘Alarum’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: You’ve played characters with military backgrounds before. Do you have to retrain every time or does the training stay with you?
SE: You brush up on it before you do gun work and before you do that stuff. I think you always brush up on it just to keep it tight and make sure that’s good. But yeah, it’s in the toolbox for sure, so that’s easy for me.
MF: What was your experience like collaborating with director Brad Furman on set?
SE: Fascinating. He’s very complex and very visual. He’s a fascinating guy. We had a very tough shoot, but the movie turned out to be a wild ride.
Scott Eastwood in ‘The Fate of the Furious’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
MF: Finally, can you give us an update on ‘Fast X: Part 2’? Have you seen a script yet or do you know when you’ll begin shooting?
SE: I don’t know, but I know that there’s talk about it and whispers about it right now. It’s happening right now.
Jamie Foxx in ‘Tin Soldier’. Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films.
What is the plot of ‘Tin Soldiers’?
The Bokushi (Jamie Foxx), who preaches to hundreds of veterans who have been drawn to the promise of protection and purpose under him. After several failed infiltration attempts on his impenetrable fortress, military operative Emmanuel Ashburn (Robert De Niro) recruits Nash Cavanaugh (Scott Eastwood), an ex-special forces asset who was once a disciple of The Bokushi. Nash agrees to use his insider knowledge of the enigmatic leader as he seeks vengeance on the man who took everything from him, including the love of his life.
Releasing on Prime Video on June 25th with three initial episodes, ‘Countdown’ stars Jensen Ackles (‘Supernatural’) as Detective Mark Meachum, a headstrong LAPD office recruited for a multi-agency task force assigned to stop a serious threat to Los Angeles.
Have you ever pondered what would happen if a truck carrying a load of episodes of your average network procedural collided with another hauling 1980s and 1990s action thrillers? If so, your answer is appearing on Prime Video as Haas, a writer and producer behind the likes of ‘Wanted’, ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ and the various Chicago-set TV series that are numerous enough to fill a whole night of NBC’s primetime schedule has essentially built his dream series.
Whether or not it represents your dream or your idea of a nightmare might depend on your tolerance/love for dialogue that is growled rather than spoken, action scenes set to propulsive rock tracks and every trope imaginable spun in admittedly fun fashion.
Haas and his writing team certainly know what type of show they were aiming to make here –– it is unashamedly action packed and about as subtle as being beaten around the head with a DVD copy of a straight-to-home-entertainment thriller.
The Prime Video budget means that the show was able to actual shoot in and around Los Angeles rather than relocating to Atlanta or some other city, and that mean the show has the shiny/grimy backdrop that makes it feel that much more authentic (even if the writing and some of the performances are purely synthetic).
This is clashing egos and team bonding, dialogue snippets that include lines such as “the only way to make this right is to make sure the people responsible are found and put in the ground”, all anchored by a cast who understood the assignment (particularly the leading man –– more on him in a moment).
Directors including Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Brown, Lisa Robinson and Avi Youabian use the California backdrops to bring the series to life in exciting enough fashion, and the show certainly looks decent, even if not quite at the level of, say, a prestige Apple TV+ offering.
Jensen Ackles is practically a genre to himself at this point, having cornered the market in cocky, charismatic lead characters with an easy smile, a quick wit and (in this case) floppy hair.
His Mark Meachum is exactly the sort of role at which he excels –– iconoclastic, driven and hiding a secret pain (in this case, a serious medical condition we won’t spoil). He can handle the action moments with aplomb but really comes alive when he’s just smirking at his co-stars or getting his way.
Eric Dane is playing the boss of the task force, and while he’s dealing with ALS that limits how much he can do, he still brings real presence to the role of Nathan Blythe. He’s completely believable as the man driving the team to figure out the case.
Elsewhere, the cast struggle to make quite the same impact, though the likes of Jessica Camacho (as a dedicated, yet troubled DEA agent) Violett Beane (as FBI tech genius and hacker Evan Shepherd) and Uli Latukefu (as Detective Luke Finau) do manage to pop.
And beyond them, a lot of fairly stock villain and terrorist characters, plus the sort of smug officials who are often threatening to shut the task force down only to be thwarted when our heroes pull out a win (or, in the case of Blythe, use their own powerful connections to shut down opponents).
‘Countdown’ launches with the death of a high-profile TV star playing a Homeland Security agent (we won’t name them and ruin the surprise), but very quickly lays its hand clear –– and if you can’t guess the case the team will end up running down from just the title, then I can’t imagine you’ve watched much television in the past.
But if you’re in the mood for silly action fun and vague nods to more complicated characters here and there, then ‘Countdown’ should fill a spot.
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What’s the plot of ‘Countdown’?
When an officer with the Department of Homeland Security is murdered in broad daylight, LAPD detective Mark Meachum (Jensen Ackles) is recruited to a secret task force, alongside undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement, to investigate.
But the hunt for the killer soon uncovers a plot far more sinister than anyone could have imagined, kicking off a race against time to save a city of millions.
Scott Adkins as “Kris Chaney” in the action film ‘DIablo’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Scott Adkins about his work on ‘Diablo’, creating the story with Marko Zaror, his role as a producer on the project, the short shooting schedule, his character, working with actress Alana De La Rossa, executing the action sequences, what he learned from working on ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’, why he’s happy the Oscars will soon offer a stunt award, and what it was like working with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on next year’s ‘The RIP’.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video above to watch our interview.
Scott Adkins as “Kris Chaney” in the action film ‘DIablo’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how this project came together and your roles as an actor, co-writer and producer on the film?
Scott Adkins: I was working on ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ with Marko Zaror. We spent a lot of time together because we’re good friends anyway and we started talking about a potential movie that we could star in together. We came up with this idea and then we got Ernesto (Díaz Espinoza) involved, who’s the director, and he does a lot of films with Marko in Chile. So, the three of us came up with a story and then we brought in Matt Samson and developed the story some more and got him to write it. My manager, Craig Baumgarten, also produces movies. So, we took it to him. He took it to some people like Clay Epstein, and we found a place to shoot it in Colombia because we wanted it to be in South America. Originally, we were thinking Chile. So, we ended up in Colombia shooting it with a great production team. We got a lot of support and had a fantastic stunt team behind us that really wanted to work with me and Marko because they’re not used to doing as much fight-based stuff. But we got some great stunts in there like car hits and high falls and all the rest of it. They were fantastic. We ended up with an amazing actress, Alana (De La Rossa), who’s Colombian, and she’s the heart of the movie. It’s a great cast. We didn’t have a lot of time to shoot it, but we’re very happy with the result.
MF: Is being a producer on projects you appear in something you want to pursue moving forward?
SA: Honestly, it’s a massive headache that I could do without. I’m a creative producer. I like to create my projects. But when it comes to dealing with the banks, the finance and the day in day out of dealing with all of that … Ignorance is bliss. I’d rather not know what’s going on behind the scenes because sometimes it’s stressful. So really, I’m a creative producer. But it’s nice to be in a position where if there is a problem and something needs to be addressed, I can pull the producer card out and go, “Hang on a second.”
Scott Adkins as “Kris Chaney” in the action film ‘DIablo’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: How would you describe your character Kris Chaney, and did he change from development to production?
SA: Well, honestly, as simple as it sounds, me and Marko were just riffing on an idea of ‘No Country for Old Men’ and how we could do our version, where I’m like Josh Brolin and he’s Javier Bardem. You can see that now. You see the movie and you’d understand where I’m coming from. We just wanted a chase movie where I’m pursuing him, he’s pursuing me, and what is it? Is it a bag of money? We ended up coming up with the idea for it to be the girl, and everything came from there. As far as my character goes, he is a bit of a blank page, and you learn about my character through the eyes of Elisa. The audience learns about me the way that the story goes, as she does. So, the film’s very much from her perspective. That’s where we went with it. I think the film’s got a lot of heart and really, we were very lucky to get Alana to play the part. Without her being such an amazing actress, it would not be what it is.
MF: Did you have time to rehearse with actress Alana De La Rossa or did you have to dive right in due to a short production schedule?
SA: Well, this is it. She doesn’t know me, so we didn’t need a bond. But we did get some rehearsal time and she quickly proved that she was the best actor in the room. So, I was like, “Okay. Just do that.” But there’s not a lot of backstories because to do that, the way the story is, it would be too expositional. We just got to talk about it and it’s just a lot of talking. It’s more about who these characters are and how they relate to one another on the journey that they’re on. We discussed having some flashbacks to flesh out the backstory, but we just felt it didn’t need it. These characters, that’s who they are. This is the situation they’re in, and this is the journey they’re going on.
(L to R) Alanna De La Rossa as “Elisa” and Scott Adkins as “Kris Chaney” in the action film ‘Diablo’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Does having a compressed shooting schedule give you a feeling of urgency on the set, and does that translate onto the screen in the action sequences?
SA: You can’t second-guess yourself. If you decide something, you’ve got to go with it because there’s no time to do anything different. You’ve got to hopefully turn up with a tight script that’s ready to shoot if you start making a lot of changes. You always do, but you don’t want to make too many. As far as the action goes, it must be structured. There’s no room for rehearsal, there’s no room for improvisation. Marko designed the action, and it’s pre-vised in a gym. It’s pre-vised in a gym when we’ve got time and we’re not spending as much money to do it. Then we get to the location and then time is money. So, you’ve just got to shoot those pieces, and you want to stick to the structure of what that is, really.
MF: Can you talk about coordinating and shooting the action sequences with Marko Zaror?
SA: We wanted it to be gritty and realistic, to a degree. We want to put a bit of flash in there sometimes, but we didn’t want people flying around on wires or doing somersaults because it would take away from the tone of the movie. It’s important to know what the tone of the film is and stick to it with the action. So, the camera work fits in with that. It’s got a high shutter frame rate and gives it that gritty ‘Saving Private Ryan’ feel. It’s important to us to just let the camera show the action and not just turn into an edited mess. We’re quite good at that. We know what we’re doing. The one thing we don’t have and that we need is time, especially with the action sequences, because it just takes time to get the various angles. You can always do better, but it’s knowing on a budget like this, that, “Okay, that’s the best we’re going to get. Can we live with it? Okay, let’s move on.” Because we want quality action, but we also want a lot of it. When you’ve only got 22 days to shoot the movie, you can’t have everything the way you want it. But me and Marko are obviously very used to doing that sort of stuff.
(L to R) Scott Adkins as “Kris Chaney” and Marko Zaror as “El Corvo” in the action film ‘Diablo’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Can you talk about how action sequences and fight scenes have changed since the ‘John Wick’ series, and having worked on that franchise yourself, do you feel pressure to enhance the action and fight scenes that you are involved with?
SA: Yeah, it’s got better and better. Hollywood’s got better at making actors without martial arts experience look like they have martial arts experience. So, you can’t get away with just being a badass and not really being able to act anymore because that can make Brad Pitt look like a badass these days. Fight-wise, it’s hard not to copy people. When somebody comes along like Gareth Evans and creates a new style, you want to lean into that, ‘John Wick’ comes along with that style, and you want to lean in. It is hard to reinvent the wheel, but sometimes guys do it. Then when it does happen, it’s hard not to copy them because anything less looks dated. I’m really impressed when people find a new style, which I can’t say that I’ve come across yet. It’d be interesting to see what the new style is, whatever that will be.
MF: As someone who works closely with the stunt team, how do you feel about the recent news that the Academy Awards are introducing a stunt category in the future?
SA: It’s about damn time. These guys put their lives on the line. Obviously, they try to be as safe as possible. But nobody ever died sewing a costume as far as I’m aware. So, I think it’s high time that it happened. I’ll be interested to see how they structure it, because there’s so many different facets of stunt work. I think maybe that’s why it hasn’t happened for a bit. But yeah, I’m looking forward to it and these guys, they deserve it.
MF: Finally, you also have ‘The RIP’ coming out next year with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. What was it like working with them and making that movie?
SA: Wow, what a thrill. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, incredible actors. Extremely smart guys. I played Ben’s brother in the movie. Joe Carnahan‘s the director. He wrote an incredible script. I don’t want to say too much about it, but it’s just a thrill to be working with the caliber of talent that I was able to work with. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Editorial Note: Don Kaye conducted this interview and contributed to this article.
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What is the plot of ‘Diablo’?
After his release from prison, one man makes it his mission to right a terrible wrong by revealing a secret that could end his life. Scott Adkins stars as Kris Chaney, a warrior who seizes the daughter of a Colombian gangster to fulfill a noble promise to the young girl’s mother. When her father enlists both the criminal underworld and the terrifying psychotic killer El Corvo (Marko Zaror) to exact his revenge, Kris will need to draw upon everything he has ever learned — in and out of lockup — to stay alive and keep his word.
2016’s ‘The Accountant’ was an offbeat thriller about an autistic man named Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), whose brilliance with numbers has led him to become a forensic accountant for criminal organizations looking to find theft in their ranks, while he fronts as a legitimate public accountant and acts as an undercover mole for the U.S. Treasury. Featuring a strong central performance from Affleck, a terrific supporting cast, and a quirky blend of action, drama, and humor, ‘The Accountant’ scored well enough with audiences to put a sequel in motion.
Some nine years later, ‘The Accountant 2’ has arrived, with Affleck, co-stars Jon Bernthal and Cynthia Addai-Robinson, director Gavin O’Connor, and writer Bill Dubuque all returning. The results are a mixed bag, with the movie intermittently capturing some of the original’s charm by building on the chemistry between Affleck and, as his brother, Bernthal.
But a ridiculously convoluted plot, the addition of a new character almost reminiscent of a Marvel-type villain, and – speaking of Marvel – the expansion of Christian’s support system into something resembling Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, make it clear that the creatives here want to – perhaps unwisely — build this into a superhero franchise of their own.
Eight years after the events of ‘The Accountant,’ Ray King (J.K. Simmons), retired director of the U.S. Treasury financial crimes bureau, is shot dead outside a bar by assassins (don’t holler, it’s right there in the trailer) after a meeting with an unknown woman who only goes by the name Anais (Daniella Pineda). King’s death and the circumstances behind are naturally investigated by his one-time assistant, Deputy Director Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), whose last message from King was to call in Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) – accountant to criminal organizations and FBI mole – to help her figure what shady business their friend was wrapped up in.
The only lead is a photo of an undocumented family of immigrants, who disappeared some years back. Christian, who now lives an itinerant life out of his tricked-out Airstream RV, in turn calls his brother, security expert and professional killer Brax (Jon Bernthal), to help, despite the two not being in touch again for years. As Christian, Brax, and Marybeth delve deeper into what Ray was involved with, they discover he was on the trail of human traffickers – and the woman he was meeting the night he died has her own agenda and bizarre history as well.
What set ‘The Accountant’ apart from most other crime thrillers was the way Christian went about solving problems – as puzzles in math and logic – and the relationship between him and the corporate accountant played in the first film by Anna Kendrick, who’s sorely missed here. That’s replaced by essentially a bromance between the two siblings, and indeed the best parts of ‘The Accountant 2’ are the scenes of simple back-and-forth between the preternaturally calm Christian and the frequently hot-headed Brax.
The scene in which the two share beers atop Christian’s Airstream, talking about their dad, the effect he had on them, and their own fractured relationship – Brax looking for a sign of affection, Christian not able to give it due to his condition – is the best in the film. The second best comes right after that, when Christian and Brax head out to a country bar where Christian abruptly starts line dancing with a woman who’s interested in him, much to Brax’s delight. Although it stops the plot and the film literally in their tracks for 10 minutes, it at least features some of the idiosyncratic vibe of its predecessor.
The brotherly comedy in the movie – which is ramped up here – clashes awkwardly with the grim human trafficking plot at the center of the film, a confusing vortex of plot points that could snarl even a human computer like Christian. There are also increasingly outlandish and indirect nods to superhero cinema, with Christian’s helper at Harbor Neuroscience now a team of a dozen kids, all on the spectrum, who sit at their laptops and can do everything from hack into mobile phones to switch off blocks of traffic lights (where are their teachers?). With backup like that, the Wolff brothers are all but indestructible, even against a kind of super soldier who adds another layer of comic-book mayhem to the proceedings. By the time we get to the standard, improbable (and generic) climactic shootout with the two brothers against an army of thugs, it’s truly difficult to remember how they got there and what the endgame is.
It’s the clash of tones – family melodrama, buddy cop movie, brutal thriller, and Marvel-lite knockoff – that doesn’t add up in the end, making ‘The Accountant 2’ literally less than the sum of its parts. By piling on more, the filmmakers end up with less.
We’re not able to comment directly on the neurobiological accuracy of Ben Affleck’s work – which got a split response from the autism community in the first film – but he and the movie seem somewhat at odds: the literal-minded Christian is used more as the butt of jokes this time out (almost like Dave Bautista’s Drax, to wring another Marvel comparison out of this), while the humor was more organic the first time around. Affleck still acquits himself well enough, though, especially in the scenes between him and Bernthal. His best moments come when we see Christian attempting to push himself past his neurological barriers and not always getting there.
Bernthal is probably the film’s MVP, in the sense that we learn more about him this time out while Affleck’s Christian is already established. One of current cinema’s best tough guys, Bernthal gets the chance to peel away some of the top layers of Brax’s heavily armored personality and reveal the wounded younger sibling underneath. He plays Brax’s need for approval – denied by the boys’ father, he now turns to his older brother for it – beautifully, along with the hurt he feels when he doesn’t get what he yearns for, creating an intense, internal tug of war with his fierce sense of loyalty and brotherly love.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson is once again sort of the audience avatar, meant to smooth over the vagaries of the plot by asking helpful questions of the brothers, but while she does get one brutal fight scene, she’s largely out of the picture by the third act. As for Daniella Pineda, we’ll leave her role spoiler-free except to say that a choice made by the filmmakers late in the game doesn’t make much sense to us. The rest of the cast — villains and thugs – are unremarkable and unmemorable.
We went into ‘The Accountant 2’ with decent expectations, especially because the first movie grew on us and there was a lot of potential in the relationship between the two brothers. And while they do provide the best moments in the movie, the bigger scope pushes this into more generic action/crime territory and loses some of what made the first one distinct.
Sadly, making Christian, Brax, and their confederates into a crimefighting force in all but name means that the franchise will have to go even more blockbuster for ‘The Accountant 3,’ if that film comes to pass. But we kind of wish that the series would find its way back to logic puzzles, corporate shenanigans, and a modest murder mystery – the elements that boosted the good will for ‘The Accountant’ in the first place.
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What is the plot of ‘The Accountant 2’?
When someone close to her is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax (Jon Bernthal), Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draw the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive — all intent on putting a stop to their search.
‘A Working Man’ director and co-writer David Ayer.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director and co-writer David Ayer about his work on ‘A Working Man’, writing with Sylvester Stallone, adapting Chuck Dixon’s novel, why he likes working with Jason Statham, and his philosophy behind shooting action sequences.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, talk about the development of this screenplay and how did the writing process work between you and Sylvester Stallone?
David Ayer: It is funny how life has these circles. As a kid I saw ‘Rocky’ and it made me want to work out and learn to box. But as a young writer, once I heard the story of how he had written the script and been so protective of it and ultimately got the film made the way he wanted on his terms, that inspired me to do the same thing with ‘Training Day’, which came together like a dream for me. Then when the opportunity came up to work with him, when I got this script with his name on it, it just made a lot of sense. I mean, here’s this ’80s action icon, this legend who really understands action. So, the script had a great starting point for me. Then to bring Jason Statham into that, who is really the inheritor of that action tradition from the ’80s and ’90s. I mean, you just don’t have icons like that in the action space like Jason. So, it just felt like a great team up.
MF: Were you a fan of the ‘Levon’s Trade’ before joining this project, and did you read any of the other novels in the series to get a feel the character?
DA: I did. Chuck’s one of those old school, two-fisted writers. He writes action. He writes hard characters. So, it just makes a lot of sense to take his work and bring it into the action cinema space.
MF: Can you talk about the challenges of adapting the book and what were some of the elements you wanted to make sure you included, and what were some of the things that you wanted to avoid?
DA: Well, the idea of this veteran, this highly capable military guy who, like anybody, has now changed his life and he’s working in construction and works for this family and is forced by circumstances to go back and do the thing he’s left. This life he’s left behind, he must turn to it again. So those elements were solidly in the book. Then for me it was just really making sure that the family he was helping was really defined and we love them. When we see Jason smile it just lights up the screen. I wanted to give him a grounded family life that the audience could connect with and really root for when it comes time for him to go to war.
MF: Obviously you worked with Jason Statham on ‘The Beekeeper’, so what do you enjoy about directing him?
DA: Jason shows up to work and he’s really demanding, and he pushes me and I push him. Now that I know him and know what he’s capable of, I mean doing the fight choreography, we’re really connected on that. He does his own stunts, which means I don’t have to cut away to a stunt guy for things. You get to design and build the shots around him and what he’s actually doing. So that’s a treat. You don’t normally get that. I mean, that’s absolutely exceptional. Then, I learned on ‘Beekeeper’ that he has a really big heart and when he brings that heart to a scene, there’s nothing like it. I feel like he hasn’t had that opportunity as much as he should. So again, to just see him in this family environment and see him smile and laugh, and to see him be a dad and to see him struggle with the things we struggle in our daily lives, there’s something so grounding about that that then makes the action play even better.
MF: Finally, as a director, can you talk a little bit about your philosophy behind action, your style, and how you specifically wanted to execute the action sequences in this movie?
DA: I think my action style just simply comes down to telling a story with the action and telling a character-based story. So, I think of it as character-based action. How would this character fight? How does he react? How does he move? How does he use the objects around him? How does he use weapons and what’s he after? When he is on the back foot, how does he react? That’s where good action comes from, is making us care about the character inside of the action.
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What is the plot of ‘A Working Man’?
Levon Cade (Jason Statham), an ex-Royal Marines commando, leads a peaceful life as a construction worker in Chicago. However, Levon is forced to use his old set of skills to find his boss’s teenaged daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas), who had been kidnapped by human traffickers, and soon uncovers a conspiracy of corruption and government agents’ involvement in human trafficking.
