Moviefone Editorial

Tag: action

‘Shotgun Wedding’ Interviews: Jennifer Coolidge and Cheech Marin

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The new romantic action comedy ‘Shotgun Wedding,’ starring Jennifer Lopez (‘Out of Sight’) and Josh Duhamel (‘Transformers’) is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video beginning January 27th.

Lopez and Duhamel star as Darcy and Tom, a couple that are having their wedding on a remote tropical island. Trouble begins when Darcy’s ex-boyfriend (Lenny Kravitz) arrives uninvited, and the wedding guests, including their parents, are taken hostage by Pirates. Now, Tom and Darcy must work together to save their guests as well as their wedding day.

Recent Golden Globe winner Jennifer Coolidge plays Tom’s overprotective mother Carol, while Cheech Marin plays Darcy’s father Robert. The rest of the cast includes Sonia Braga as Darcy’s mother Renata, Steve Coulter as Tom’s dad Larry, D’Arcy Carden as Robert’s girlfriend Harriet, Callie Hernandez as Darcy’s sister Jamie, and Selena Tan as Marge, the owner of the resort.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jennifer Coolidge and Cheech Marin about their work on ‘Shotgun Wedding,’ their outragous characters, Coolidge’s gun training, and working with Jennifer Lopez.

Jennifer Coolidge as Carol Fowler in ‘Shotgun Wedding.’ Photo Credit: Ana Carballosa.

You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Coolidge, Marin, D’Arcy Carden, Steve Coulter, Selena Tan, and Callie Hernandez.

Moviefone: To begin with, Jennifer, can you talk about Carol’s overprotective relationship with her son, Tom, and how she feels about his marriage to Darcy?

Jennifer Coolidge: Because Carol has only had sex twice in her life, I think she’s very worried about her son being seduced by a very sexy Darcy. She’s especially blowing it before the wedding. Someone like Carol can’t relate to her sexy in-law, for sure. She can’t relate, so she’s got to shut it down. Pull out the garden hose and get off my lawn!

MF: You really get involved in the action sequences and have a scene where you are firing a machine gun. Was that fun for you to do and what kind of training did you have for that scene?

JC: They were very worried about me with the gun, the production, I think, so I had more gun classes than I could handle. I had many gun classes, so I was ready. I got a gun diploma and everything. I love that they took that much time to make sure that I wouldn’t be dangerous to anybody. How cool is it to be a little James Bond, or some Michelle Yeoh moment, or whatever.

Cheech Marin stars in Prime Video’s ‘Shotgun Wedding.’

MF: Cheech, can you talk about Robert’s relationship with his girlfriend Harriet, and the drama that it causes when he brings her to his daughter’s wedding?

Cheech Marin: Well, there’s a lot of drama because I play Darcy’s father and I invite her ex-boyfriend, played by Lenny Kravitz, to the ceremony. So, you know stuff’s going to happen right away like, “What the hell did you do that for?” So, it was interesting, but this was a great cast of characters. We all got along really well, and each of us was very different than the other. But to bring your girlfriend to your daughter’s wedding, you know hijinks ensue and you’re going to be surprised.

MF: Finally, what was it like for you working with Jennifer Lopez and playing her dad?

CM: It was wonderful. I mean, she’s a really good actress to work with, and a good producer to work with, who’s acting at the same time. I’ve done both, and it’s a handful, but she was always on her marks and ready to go. She set the mark, and she sang at the Presidential inauguration right before we started. She had legit chops. Because I’m a musician myself, I asked her about that, “What was the makeup of the orchestra?” She said it was very minimal so you could really hear her voice, and she belted it out.

Jennifer Coolidge stars in Prime Video’s ‘Shotgun Wedding.’
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January 23, 2023
Apple TV+’s ‘Echo 3’ Cast Interviews

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Premiering on Apple TV+ on November 23rd is the new action series ‘Echo 3,’ which was created, directed and executive produced by Academy Award-winner Mark Boal (‘The Hurt Locker’).

The series stars Jessica Ann Collins as Amber, a scientist who goes missing along the Colombia-Venezuela. Her brother, Bambi (Luke Evans), and her husband, Prince (Michiel Huisman), both have extensive military experience and set out on their own to find her against the backdrop of a secret war.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Luke Evans, Michiel Huisman and Jessica Ann Collins about their work on ‘Echo 3,’ their characters, preparing for their roles, and working with Mark Boal.

(L to R) Michiel Huisman, Jessica Ann Collins and Luke Evans star in Apple TV+’s ‘Echo 3.’

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Evans, Michiel Huisman, Collins, and Mark Boal.

Moviefone: To begin with, Luke, can you talk about your approach to playing Bambi, and what were some of the aspects of the character you were excited to explore on screen?

Luke Evans: When you take on a role like Bambi, there’s a lot of preparation. There’s a lot of conversations, a lot of physical training, and I was ready for it. I was forewarned by Mark Boal that it wasn’t going to be an easy job from the outset, and he was absolutely right. It was challenging physically, and mentally. It’s a long job.

It was nine months almost in Columbia, which is an extraordinary country, but to shoot what we shot, and every single location was a real place, comes with its own demands and challenges. So, we all embraced the challenges that we were facing and made the most of it. I’m in this business, I don’t want to have an easy ride. I want to challenge myself and choose roles that are going to push me to the limits, and this one was one of those.

MF: Michiel, can you talk about the Special Forces work that Prince and Bambi do for a living, and what training did you have to make that look as authentic as possible on screen?

Michiel Huisman: We did a ton of training to do justice to their background as Special Forces operators. When we first met up a couple weeks before we started shooting, we were immediately introduced to Mitch Hall, who’s a former Navy Seal himself, and he really took us through the ringer and trained us in how these guys move, behave, and how they handle weapons. That was a very important part of it too.

What was exciting to us was that it was very important to Mark Boal that we would portray this in the most realistic way possible. You don’t see that very often, and I was very happy about that. I’m very proud about that.

(L to R) Jessica Ann Collins and Michiel Huisman in ‘Echo 3,’ premiering November 23, 2022 on Apple TV+.

MF: Jessica, can you talk about Amber, her relationship to Bambi and Prince, and what it was like for you working on those relationships with Luke and Michiel?

Jessica Ann Collins: I think the relationships between Amber and her brother Bambi, and her husband Prince, are the actual crux of the show. I think that those are the relationships that carry the show. So, we all spend a lot of time focusing on those bonds, and talking about them, and really envisioning them. Inside of that, what is great is that there was room for being as complex as possible.

So, all of these characters have such complexity. You hear all the time about strong female leads, which I’m all for, but you rarely hear about complex female leads. So, I loved bringing complexity to the relationships with each of these men, and what those meant, and what they did for her.

MF: Finally, for all of you, what was it like working with Mark Boal on this project?

LE: It was incredible. From the outset, I had access to Mark, and he had access to us so that we could process every step of the way. It’s a long job, so there’s a lot of script, and there’s a lot of rewrites and adaptations as we were moving through the story of the characters’ journeys. But Mark, his passion for what he does is immense, and his commitment to the job was immense.

To have him on set almost every day throughout the whole process was really something I’d never experienced before from a showrunner, and it only benefited everybody by having him there. Also, it allowed us to have a dialogue all the time. He gets his feet wet. He gets his hands dirty. He wants to be there to experience what we are experiencing. So, it felt like we were a team from the outset, and we were all contributing together for the end product, and that was a really nice experience.

MH: I completely agree with everything that Luke was saying about that. I think that the process with Mark is very intense. He’s very hands on, and I think that he’s a filmmaker that really knows what he wants. I’m very grateful that I was given the opportunity to be part of his next project.

JAC: I think that it was very freeing for me to know that I could trust the person helping craft this performance, and that he was bringing a level of integrity, and he brought it to this, and that was a very safe place for me.

(L to R) Michiel Huisman and Luke Evans in ‘Echo 3,’ premiering November 23, 2022 on Apple TV+.

November 27, 2022
‘Entourage’s Kevin Dillon Talks Action Movie ‘Wire Room’

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Opening in select theaters, on digital, and on demand beginning September 2nd is the new action movie ‘Wire Room’ from director Matt Eskandari (‘Hard Kill’).

The new movie stars legendary actor Bruce Willis (‘Die Hard’) as Shane Mueller, a Homeland Security agent who runs a wire room, which is a high-tech command center surveilling the most dangerous criminals. New recruit Justin Rosa (Kevin Dillon) is assigned to monitor a cartel member named Eddie Flynn (Oliver Trevena), and keep him alive no matter what.

When a team of assassins attack Flynn in his home, Rosa goes against protocol and speaks with the gangster directly to save his life. As the armed soldiers ascend on the wire room, Mueller and Rosa make one last stand against the corrupt officers who want to destroy the evidence and murder them both.

Actor Kevin Dillon has been working steadily in movies and on television for almost 40 years! He’s appeared in such acclaimed films as ‘Platoon,’ and ‘The Doors,’ both directed by Oscar-winner Oliver Stone, and on classic TV programs like ‘NYPD Blue,’ ’24,’ and ‘The Simpsons.’

But the actor is probably best known for his role as Johnny “Drama” Chase on HBO’s hit series ‘Entourage’ and the movie adaption of the same name.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kevin Dillon about his work on ‘Wire Room,’ working with Bruce Willis, his approach to his character, the challenges of acting by himself at times, shooting the entire movie in one week, and exactly what a wire room really is!

Kevin Dillon as Justin Rosa in the action film, ‘Wire Room,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.

Moviefone: To begin with, how did you get involved with this project?

Kevin Dillon: You know what? It was a straight up offer. The way I like them. Sometimes I have to audition for things. This was an offer. I read the script. I thought it had some cool plot twist and turns. I wanted to add as much humor wherever I could.

They said, “Bruce Willis is going to do it,” the legend! So, I said, yes. I did a movie with Bruce before, but I didn’t get to act with him. This time I did. He’s great. I’m a big Bruce Willis fan, love the guy.

MF: Can you talk about your research for this movie? Did you learn a lot about real wire rooms and how they work?

KD: I knew nothing about wire rooms beforehand. I didn’t even know they existed. I didn’t have a lot of time to prep on it. Just for anyone out there, a wire room is when the CIA or the FBI has to have wires in certain rooms when they spy on people, they record it all in one room. That’s where my character finds himself, doing wire room duty. It’s his first day and things get crazy.

MF: How would you describe your character and your approach to playing him?

KD: I look at my character, Justin, as he’s a screw up. He used to work with the secret service. It’s backstory, it’s not in the script, but I like to think that he screwed up because he doesn’t listen. He won’t listen to what they tell him to do. I believe he got let go, and that’s why he is stuck working in a wire room, which is kind of like a demotion in a way. He, once again, doesn’t listen to Bruce and he gets in trouble again.

Bruce Willis as Shane Mueller in the action film, ‘Wire Room,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

MF: You have a lot of scenes in the movie where you are acting in a room alone or on the phone. Can you talk about the challenges of acting without another performer to play off of?

KD: Yeah, it’s tough. It really is. Because you’re looking at screens and you’re seeing all this action that’s not there. It’s a blank screen, so you got to use your imagination a little bit. I was lucky to have Oliver Trevena come in and run lines with me, so we were able to kind of build up a little chemistry, even though we weren’t on film together.

I thought he did a great job. I thought we had some chemistry. It was definitely challenging to do a movie like this. We did it in seven days. We did my stuff in five days, so, it’s unbelievable what we got done in that time period.

MF: That’s shocking! Is that the fastest movie production you have ever worked on?

KD: Well, I did a seven-day movie with the same production company, called ‘Hot Seat.’ That was amazing that we did that. These guys know how to get it done and they knew I could get it done, so they brought me in on this one. It’s a real challenge and I actually like stepping up to it. You got to really be on your game.

Kevin Dillon as Justin Rosa in the action film, ‘Wire Room,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

MF: What was it like working with director Matt Eskandari on such a fast shoot?

KD: Oh man, he’s the best. Very few guys could have done this. He’s open to ideas. He’s open to improv, and we had lots of that on the set. He just has a real vision. I saw it last night for the first time, I didn’t know all the things he had going on. He had a lot of cool directorial tricks. When the bombs go off, you actually feel dizzy from the bomb going off. I mean, he just did some really cool things as director.

MF: Finally, the movie concludes in a way that is open ended, is this a character you would be interested in revisiting in the future?

KD: Oh, hell yeah. Justin, he’s going to hunt him down. He said, “I will track you down.” And he’s a man of his words.

(L to R) Bruce Willis as Shane Mueller and Kevin Dillon as Justin Rosa in the action film, ‘Wire Room,’ a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
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September 1, 2022
‘Section 8′ Exclusive Trailer and Poster Debut

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By and large, going to work for a shadowy government agency is normally not a good idea. Ryan Kwanten’s Jake Atherton, though, doesn’t really have much of a choice, and you can see why in the new trailer for ‘Section 8,’ which we have exclusively for you to watch.

Jake, you see, is a former special forces soldier who was honorably discharged and enjoying spending time with his wife and young son. But then he discovers that his family has been murdered. Understandably aggrieved, he sets out to take vengeance on those responsible with lethal force and zero remorse.

Sent to prison, he’s visited by his former commanding officer Tom Mason (played by action legend Dolph Lundgren), who offers words of regret. But then he’s given something even more valuable – at least to him at the time – the chance to get out and join an elite group of former agents and troopers who carry out off-the-books missions for the organization known as Section 8.

Recruited by Dermot Mulroney’s Sam Ramsey, he’s soon thrust back into action, carrying out assassinations and whatever other missions Section 8 assigns him to.

Alongside the likes of Leonard Locke (Scott Adkins) and the rest of the team, he tries to be a good soldier and follow orders, but soon realizes that many of their targets are innocent people. And that Section 8 just might be a little less noble than he originally thought.

Ryan Kwanten in ‘Section 8,’ which will be in theaters and streaming on AMC+ beginning September 23, 2022.

Soon, Jake is going deeper than he ever thought, turning against those he’s been working with and learning that once you’re out on your own, there is a huge target on your back… And the Section 8 team is definitely not one you want as an enemy.

Christian Sesma, who previously directed ‘Vigilante Diaries’ and ‘Take Back’, is behind the camera for this one, with Chad Law and Josh Ridgway on script duty.

Also in the cast for this one are Robert LaSardo, Maurice Compte, Geoffrey Blake, Paul Sloan, Mary Christina Brown, and Blue October singer Justin Furstenfeld, who makes his acting debut in the film. Mickey Rourke is playing Jake’s father, Earl Atherton, who has some experience as a tough guy himself.

And those who like their action trivia will enjoy learning that this is Adkins and Lungren’s fifth time working on the same movie together; following ‘The Expendables 2,’ ‘Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning’, monster thriller ‘Legendary’ and last year’s ‘Castle Falls’.

Kwanten, meanwhile, might still be best known for HBO’s vampire series ‘True Blood’. He’s also appeared in movies such as ‘Kill Chain’, ‘Flight 7500’, and ‘Dead Silence’.

‘Section 8’ will be in theaters and streaming via AMC+ from September 23rd.

(L to R) Dolph Lundgren and Ryan Kwanten in ‘Section 8,’ which will be in theaters and streaming on AMC+ beginning September 23, 2022.
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August 25, 2022
Idris Elba Discusses His New Thriller ‘Beast’

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Opening in theaters on August 19th is the new thriller called ‘Beast,’ which was directed by Baltasar Kormákur (‘2 Guns’).

The movie revolves around a recently widowed man named Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba), who returns to South Africa with his two young daughters (Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries) to a visit a game reserve managed by fellow wildlife biologist (Sharlto Copley). Soon, a ferocious, man-hunting lion begins attacking them and killing anyone in its path.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Idris Elba about his work on ‘Beast,’ his first reaction to the script, reuniting with producer Will Packer, the visual effects, and why his character takes his daughters to South Africa after his wife’s death.

Idris Elba as Dr. Nate Samuels in ‘Beast,’ directed by Baltasar Kormákur.

You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, Leah Jeffries, producer Will Packer, and director Baltasar Kormakur.

Moviefone: To begin with, you’ve worked with producer Will Packer previously, is he who got you involved in this project?

Idris Elba: Yeah, Will and I have made a few films. He was like, “Hey, I want to try something different. I got this film.” I was like, “What is it?” “It’s about a man and a lion,” he said. I was like, “Okay. Sounds good.” And it was actually good.

MF: What was your first reaction when you read the screenplay?

IE: My reaction was to make this real compelling for the audience, we need to really pay attention to what’s going to make this a thrill ride. I was also really worried that we villainized the animal. I love lions. I have Lionheart tattooed on my chest here. I didn’t want to make the lion, the beast. I didn’t want to villainize this animal, but I think we spent a lot of time trying to figure out what’s the realities. What are complexities about rogue lions and poaching, and we tried to feed that into the film as well.

(L to R) Leah Jeffries, Idris Elba and Meredith Samuels in ‘Beast,’ directed by Baltasar Kormákur.

MF: Can you talk about the family tragedy that happens at the beginning of the movie and why Nate decides to take his young daughters to South Africa?

IE: He’s widowed. They lost their mom, and this is where their mom was from, this very small village in South Africa. The dynamics between him and his daughters has not been the same since they lost her. So, he wanted to go back home and try and figure out a way to just bring them back together. Then obviously something extraordinary happens like this, and that’s what brings them together. It’s a fight for survival. It’s a place where he and his friend played by Sharlto, spent some of their youthful years before he became a doctor.

MF: Finally, there were no real lions used in the making of this movie, but the lion we see on screen is really enormous. Can you talk about the visual effects and what you were actually seeing when performing on set?

IE: No, no real lions. That wouldn’t be fair, and it was the marvel of special effects. Actually, it was based on a lion that is now extinct called a Barbary lion. It was around, I think, the Egyptian times, and it is a big lion, like really huge. We based it off that lion, but it’s an extinct animal now. But even the lions that exist now are pretty big. So, of course for the movie, we amplified that and based it on the Barbary lion. But in reality, they’re not as big as that.

Idris Elba in ‘Beast,’ directed by Baltasar Kormákur.
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August 15, 2022
Movie Review: ‘Fall’

(L to R) Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner in ‘Fall.’

‘Fall’ is now in theaters and it might just have you re-thinking plans to climb abandoned, rusty, remote towers that stretch 2,000 feet high above the desert sky.

Actually, if you were already considering planning to climb abandoned, rusty, remote towers that stretch 2,000 feet high above the desert sky, you might already want to re-think your life choices as a whole.

Still, stranding a pair of thrill-seekers thousands of feet in the sky certainly makes for a pulse-pounding drama, which gets a lot out of a little. And that’s not a criticism – ‘Fall’ offers stripped-down thrills and eschews excess for an effective story, at least until close to the end.

The movie kicks off with a throwback to Sylvester Stallone classic ‘Cliffhanger’, in which Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), husband Dan (Mason Gooding) and daredevil Hunter (Virginia Gardner) are climbing an impressive cliff face when Dan falls and is killed (this is hardly a spoiler, as it literally kicks off the movie).

(L to R) Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner in ‘Fall.’

Becky is shattered by the event – though probably not as much as Dan – and, mired in grief for nearly a year, shies away from any dangerous activities beyond getting drunk in bars. Her father James (Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a small, but emotional role) tries to pull her out of it to little effect.

Yet it’s Hunter who finally convinces Becky to get back out there, proposing a new challenge – the women will climb the 2,000-foot-high B67 TV Tower that sits abandoned in the sweltering, dusty California desert. Becky is naturally nervous to attempt it, but Hunter’s energy and cajoling helps her come back out of her shell and clambering on to the ladder.

Climbing up the tower is scary yet exciting for the pair, but when a rusted external ladder breaks and falls away, they’re left stranded high above the ground. And that’s where the drama really begins.

Director/co-writer Scott Mann and co-writer Jonathan Frank originally conceived the idea as a short for a program that didn’t go ahead and have since re-tooled it into this feature. Its roots as a short piece are still evident – a lot of the kinks have been worked out, and the movie uses its sparse premise to figure out some fresh dramatic opportunities.

Grace Caroline Currey in ‘Fall.’

Currey, who you might know from ‘Annabelle: Creation,’ ‘Shazam!’ and TV’s ‘Revenge’ shares the lion’s share of the screen time with Gardner (2018’s ‘Halloween’, ‘Project Almanac’). Both actors make their characters work as the story unfolds and the pair tries to let someone that they’re stuck.

You buy into the idea that these women have known each other for years and, as the mood shifts slightly on the windswept top of the platform, they both ensure that characters (particularly Hunter) who could be annoying, never go fully that way.

With the main throughline, it’s Currey who makes the biggest impression, carrying the weight of a character searching for a way out of her crushing grief and sadness. She finds it in the thrill of accomplishment, though that soon turns back into nerve-shredding fear. Gardner does good work as Hunter, too, though.

You’ll want both of them to survive, even if you do wonder what the hell they were thinking in the first place. Being brave is one thing, but stupidly failing to bring tools that could help in the event of different scenarios is quite another.

Virginia Gardner in ‘Fall.’

Outside of our dynamic duo, the cast is mostly limited to Morgan’s brief moment and the few people on the ground who come anywhere near the tower – suffice to say, it doesn’t usually go well.

A smart move here was deciding against the original plan to shoot on an LED “volume” (as seen on ‘Star Wars’ series ‘The Mandalorian’), the budget instead necessitating using platforms of different heights, including one 60 feet up. The reality plays into the tension, and you actually feel the danger that the characters are in.

If you’ve ever had issues with vertigo or a huge fear of heights, we’d caution that you’ll be in for a visceral, scary experience that could test the limits of watching something like this in the theater. And that’s to Mann’s credit – he, cinematographer MacGregor and editor Robert Hall craft something that works on different levels, many of which are likely to raise your blood pressure.

Shots of screws slowly wriggling free from their warped holes, jiggling cables and impressive sound work with groaning structures and whistling wind and it whips our protagonists’ hair around their faces.

There is some overreliance on fake-outs in the early going – handles suddenly breaking free from ladders, for example. There’s foreshadowing and then there’s fore-slapping you in the face with the idea of what could happen.

And, as the story moves along and the drama deepens, one or two of the turns stretch credibility. Though it’s an ambitious way to go, there’s something about it that doesn’t quite ring true.

That said, it doesn’t detract too much from the vicarious thrills that ‘Fall’ has to offer. It will keep you guessing as to how the situation will resolve, and there are some smart visuals on display, not the least of which is the use of a drone that the two women initially use to document their achievement and then attempt to fly to a nearby town to alert the authorities to their predicament.

Provided you don’t mind a cold chill pooling in your stomach if you have any issues with height while watching, ‘Fall’ offers an entertaining ride at the movies and offers proof that it’s not just Tom Cruise that can entertain while clinging to very high things.

You may just end up at the edge of your seat… but do try to hold on, even if it’s only a two-foot fall to the floor.

‘Fall’ receives 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Grace Caroline Currey in ‘Fall.’
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August 13, 2022
‘Prey’s Amber Midthunder Talks ‘Predator’ Prequel

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Premiering on Hulu beginning August 5th is the new prequel to the ‘Predator’ franchise entitled ‘Prey.’

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane), the new movie takes place in the Comanche Nation in 1719 and follows a fierce and highly skilled warrior named Naru (Amber Midthunder) as she learns that the prey she is stalking is actually a highly evolved alien with a technologically advanced arsenal.

In addition to Midthunder, the movie also stars Dakota Beavers as Taabe, and Dane DiLiegro as the Predator.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Amber Midthunder about her work on ‘Prey,’ making a ‘Predator’ movie, her character, training for the role, and working with Coco the dog.

(L-R): Dane DiLiegro as the Predator and Amber Midthunder as Naru in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Prey,’ exclusively on Hulu. Photo by David Bukach. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, director Dan Trachtenberg, and producer Jhane Myers.

Moviefone: To begin with, ‘Prey’ is different than any of the previously released films in the franchise. Did it feel like you were making a ‘Predator’ movie when you were shooting ‘Prey?’

Amber Midthunder: I feel like I shot at least three different movies through the course of shooting this one movie. It would every so often occur to me that this was a ‘Predator’ movie, but honestly it was really hard to wrap my brain around. I kept trying to be like, “This is a ‘Predator’ movie?”

Sometimes I would even be looking at the Predator and I’d be like, “Oh, this is crazy.” But crazy in a good way because I feel like there’s just so much that we packed in there, there was always something to be stimulated by.

MF: Can you talk about Naru’s relationship with her brother Taabe, and how their rivalry really sets her off on her journey?

AM: I think Naru is surrounded by people who tell her that she can’t be what she wants to be, which is a hunter. Taabe is somebody who kind of walks on both sides, he’ll both encourage her, but then also kind of put her back into the same place that everybody else puts her in.

So, I feel like that’s kind of her one person who believes in her sometimes, but then also to have that be such shaky ground, I think is more a fuel to her fire. I think whoever tells her no, she’s going to want to say yes, whether that’s Taabe, her mom or some random person. I think she’s definitely dead set to go for what she wants.

(L to R) Amber Midthunder as Naru and Dane DiLiegro as the Predator in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Prey,’ exclusively on Hulu. Photo by David Bukach. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Can you talk about how you prepared for the action sequences in the movie, and what is it like fighting a Predator on screen?

AM: We did a four-week training camp before we started shooting in Canada, so we got there early. I mean, personal training, weapons, specifically as accurate to Comanche fighting style as we possibly could. We developed a sign language, but when you get there, there’s this element of life that happens when you start shooting that you just can’t predict. So, I’m glad that we were able to set that, but there’s also just stuff that I think ends up happening when you’re there and it all just kind of culminates together.

MF: Finally, Naru’s dog has a big role in the film. Was the dog a good actor?

AM: That dog was chaos. But I love her with all my heart and soul. Her name is Coco in real life. Her name is Sarii in the movie. I will say, Sarii and Coco have very different personalities. Because Coco was adopted two months before we started shooting. She is not a movie dog that got trained for years like normal.

She was the breed that they found to be most accurate for this time period and this location, so they ended up getting her and training her for the movie. But she also happened to be the highest energy dog you will ever meet in your life. So, most Coco days were spent with somebody yelling, “Coco!” It was a lot of me being like, “I’m ready.” She would be there and be like, “All right, let’s go. Let’s shoot.” Then she would run off and you’d be like, “All right, I guess we’re done.”

Amber Midthunder as Naru in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Prey,’ exclusively on Hulu. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
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August 3, 2022
Brad Pitt and Cast Discuss ‘Bullet Train’

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Opening in theaters on August 5th is the new action movie ‘Bullet Train’ from director David Leitch (‘Atomic Blonde,’ ‘Deadpool 2‘ ).

The movie stars Oscar winner Brad Pitt as Ladybug, an assassin tasked by his handler (Sandra Bullock) with retrieving a valuable briefcase from a bullet train leaving from Tokyo to Kyoto.

However, once on board, he must battle other assassins like Lemon and Tangerine (Brian Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Prince (Joey King), Hornet (Zazie Beetz), The Wolf (Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio), The Elder (Hiroyuki Sanada), and White Death (Michael Shannon) if he wants to survive and complete his mission.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Tyree Henry about their work on ‘Bullet Train,’ their wild characters, and working together on the movie.

(L to R) Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Sony’s ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield.

You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Tyree Henry, Hiroyuki Sanada, and director David Leitch.

Moviefone: To begin with, Brad your character in the film, Ladybug, believes he’s unlucky. But some would say that he’s actually very lucky and it’s really just all about perspective. What was your perspective on Ladybug?

Brad Pitt: I think you just nailed it. Thank you very much, that was so easy. Yeah, that’s it. I can’t say it any better. He’s just a bit of a whiner.

MF: Your character has a very peaceful approach to his mission. In real life, how does Brad Pitt maintain peace in his life?

BP: I don’t know. Peace. That is the old struggle, isn’t it? I don’t know. I just got some lovely friends. I try to stay in nature. I try to stay creative. I try to stay centered and just relax.

Brian Tyree Henry: It takes a village to raise a Brad Pitt. It’s all hands-on deck. See, you got to make sure that he’s centered. You want to make sure he is taking his vitamins.

MF: Is that what it’s like working on a Brad Pitt movie?

BP: Yeah. They’d give me pep talks when I get down. They’d come up and go, it’s all right, buddy. You got this. I’d go, “Thanks, man.” They were really supportive.

BTH: We really were there for him, man. He’s incredibly needy.

BP: That’s true. I’m a delicate flower, and it’s in my contract too.

(L to R) Bryan Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson star in Sony’s ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield. Copyright: (C) 2022 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Brian, your character and Aaron’s character are partners in the film and referred to as “the twins.’ Can you talk about their working relationship together?

BTH: You know what, man? I lucked out in the hugest way to have a co-star like Aaron Taylor-Johnson. He was the most amazing scene partner to have and the chemistry between he and I was immediate once we met. David Leitch let us play around with the relationship between Lemon and Tangerine, because we found that between Aaron and me. We just really got along and really cared about each other, so we wanted the audience to go along with that.

We wanted the audience to feel that. We just played. Honestly, I think that characters that you see really caring about each other and having such a good time, it’s undeniable that you have to go along with them. So, that’s what we wanted to bring to both of them because that’s who we were. We were very carefree and wanted to have fun.

MF: Finally, Aaron what was it like for you working with Brad Pitt?

Aaron Taylor-Johnson: I love this man, honestly. It was important for us. But it was also really rare. That doesn’t happen often, but we clicked instantaneously, and it was just magic. This guy’s beautiful.

BP: These guys are so funny in this movie.

(L to R) Bryan Tyree Henry and Brad Pitt star Sony’s in ‘Bullet Train.’ Photo: Scott Garfield.
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August 3, 2022
Comic-Con 2022: ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ First Photo and Trailer

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UPDATE: Watch the first trailer from ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ in the video player above.

Is John Wick asking for thoughts and prayers? It’s not really what you expect from a man who has been known to kill people with whatever is convenient, but in this first image from ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’, he certainly appears to be having a moment of quiet reflection.

Until, that is, he starts stabbing people with candles. We don’t know if that’ll happen for sure, but we won’t rule it out.

What will happen in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ still largely remains a mystery, and studio Lionsgate is in no hurry to fill us in.

The end of the third movie, ‘Parabellum’, saw the rogue assassin become “incommunicado”; and landed with a huge price on his head. But by the end of the movie, allegiances have been tested… with The Continental and Winston (Ian McShane) assuming their neutral status once more, after the possible betrayal of Wick. Thankfully, Wick finds himself rescued by none other than the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne).

Alongside Reeves, Fishburne and McShane, the cast includes a mixture of returning veterans and new faces such as Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Clancy Brown, Marko Zaror, Bill Skarsgård, and Scott Adkins.

Chad Stahelski, who has been the franchise’s guiding director since making the first installment with David Leitch back in 2014, admits he worried about following the third installment, ‘Parabellum’.

Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’

“There’s been a couple days where I’ve decided to do number four and I’ve woken up in a cold sweat going, ‘Horses! How do I beat horses?’ I have no f*****g idea, to tell you the truth,” Stahelski tells Collider. “I have a lot of really cool ideas for the next one that I think are different and shocking and fun and unique. How to do them, I have no f*****n’ idea right now. I’m still figuring it out.”

Stahelski also says that it was never the plan to make more than one movie way back when. And he’s been treating each Wick movie – despite an expanding narrative universe – as a standalone film. But there are always new ideas lurking, even on press tours…

“I think we were in Japan, and Keanu goes, ‘I think I got one more left in me,’ and we had one idea we didn’t use which we really loved, and we have to cut it out of ‘Parabellum’, just didn’t have the space for it,” he says in the same Collider interview. “So we’re like, ‘Okay, we’ll do a fourth. That’s gonna be awesome. We’ll make a plan.’ The studios went, ‘We totally get what you’re trying to do.’ We submitted an idea or thematic plan, and it was really big. So, we’re talking about doing a little bit more. We’ll see how that goes.”

So far, the only real clue we’ve had might not be a clue at all – as actors don’t always know these things for sure – but Anderson has teased the full title is ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ – Hagakure (a Japanese guide for warriors in case you didn’t already know).

Whatever it is subtitled, ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ will punch its way into theaters on March 24th, 2023.

Keanu Reeves onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.

(L to R) Andrew Stanton, Chad Stahelski, and Keanu Reeves speak onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.

(L to R) Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves speak onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.

Keanu Reeves speaks onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
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July 22, 2022
Joey King Talks ‘The Princess’

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Premiering on Hulu July 1st is the new action/fantasy movie ‘The Princess,’ which was directed by Le-Van Kiet (‘The Requin’).

The movie stars Joey King as The Princess, who after refusing to wed Julius (Dominic Cooper), the sociopath to whom she is betrothed, she is kidnapped and locked in a remote tower of her father’s castle. Now, with Julius planning to take her father’s throne, the princess must protect her family and save her kingdom. In addition to King and Cooper, the cast also includes Olga Kurylenko, and Veronica Ngo.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Joey King about her work on ‘The Princess.’

Joey King in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Princess,’ exclusively on Disney+/Hulu.

You can read our full interview with Joey King below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with King and director Le-Van Kiet.

Moviefone: To begin with, how far along in the script did you get before you decide that this was a role you had to play?

Joey King: The minute the fights just started to take off at the beginning of the script. Then I just kept reading and I was like, wow, there is so much action. When you read action, it’s very different. It’s like you have to picture it in your head while you’re reading it and it’s a little complicated. So, getting the essence of it while you’re reading a script is something that’s a little bit difficult, but you can see it playing out.

So, taking on this character was something that when I read the script, I was like, this is going to be, just from reading the script, 92 pages of full action. I am going to have to do a lot of work and a lot of training on this, and that’s exactly what I did. I enjoyed every minute of how exhausting that was.

Joey King in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Princess,’ exclusively on Disney+/Hulu. Photo by Simon Varsano. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

MF: As an actress, what was it like taking on the physical demands of this role?

JK: So actually, it was intended that I would do some of it, but definitely have someone else do most of it. Then when I came in and started training for this, I made it pretty clear that even though I still had no idea what I was doing yet, I had no prior training, that I wanted to get to a place where I was confident enough to do most of the things that I could do. I have to say, I put in so much work and it was so hard, but I had some amazing trainers. Then on top of that, the two girls who were hired as my stunt doubles, were so supportive. They helped train me every day and also, they wanted me to do everything that I could.

They were so supportive, and they were really huge cheerleaders for me in being able to accomplish what I did. I would look to them for advice and help every day, and I’m so grateful for them. I was able to do 90% of what you see in the movie, which was not how it was supposed to be. But I was really stubborn about that and everyone made me feel so uplifted.

Joey King in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Princess,’ exclusively on Hulu. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

MF: Finally, can you talk about the amazing costume you wear in the movie and was it difficult performing the action sequences in that outfit?

JK: What a gorgeous costume. Our costume designer did an amazing job with her team building this dress. It was something that was talked about well before we even started filming. Because when I was training, we had to understand what it was going to be like for me, so that when I walked on set day one, it wasn’t a huge rude awakening. So, I was training and fighting in a corset and a long dress. We had to build replicas of it so that I could start training with it in the gym.

So, it was just such an unreal thing to go from training with leggings and T-shirts to then all of a sudden wearing a ball gown. I really loved that challenge of it. I think our costume department did such an amazing job breaking down this dress, making it this cool battle armor, and also making it accessible for me to be able to do my thing in it and still be able to hide back pads, knee pads and different stuff in it. They did an amazing job of making it something that had more uses than just one.

(L to R) Joey King and Veronica Ngo in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Princess,’ exclusively on Hulu. Photo by Simon Varsano. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
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June 29, 2022