‘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.
James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are ceding some control of the character.
Amazon MGM Studios will have more of a say on future plans.
The producers will still have some input going forward, but not what they had before.
In his decades-long cinematic career (and before that, in the pages of author Ian Fleming’s books), James Bond has battled powerful villains, saved the world and gotten out of many a sticky situation using a combination of charm, wits, weaponry, gadgetry, or some combination of them all.
But now it would appear that the world’s greatest secret agent –– even if he can’t seem to stop introducing himself by name to all and sundry –– has come across something even he can’t defeat: the ever-IP-hungry behemoth that is Amazon and, to some degree, the modern world, which makes his brand increasingly difficult to figure out.
In a shocking turn of events, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the longtime stalwart step-sibling powerhouse producers behind the last couple of decades of Bond films, are relinquishing control of the franchise and handing more creative decision-making to Amazon MGM studios.
It’s perhaps not as surprising as it might sound, though: In 2022, Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion, acquiring a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows alongside the rights to distribute all of the James Bond films and to develop spin-offs (such as the frankly less-than thrilling reality competition show ‘007: Road to a Million,’ which saw Bond fans answering trivia questions –– posed by Brian Cox, no less –– in search of cash prizes).
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But a key part of that deal was that the producers kept creative control of the character, deciding on who would play the main role, hiring directors and other key choices, while stopping ideas they didn’t approve of.
Yet it has seemed as though the pair were in something of a creative downbeat following the departure of Daniel Craig as Bond, with the character killed off in 2021’s ‘No Time to Die’ and little sign of forward movement.
“I go back to ‘GoldenEye’ when everyone was saying ‘the cold war is over, the wall is over, Bond is dead, no need for Bond, the whole world’s at peace and now there’s no villains’ –– and boy was that wrong! Daniel gave us the ability to mine the emotional life of the character… and also the world was ready for it.”
And her comments on where they are with the next phase of the franchise from 2023:
“I think these movies reflect the time they are in, and there’s a big, big road ahead reinventing it for the next chapter, and we haven’t even begun with that. Our focus is making the feature films. When we get going on a Bond movie it takes our full attention for three or four years so that’s our focus. We make the Bond movies for the big theatrical screen and everything about the Bond movies is for audiences to see around the world on that format, so we’ve not wanted to do television.”
That seems likely to change going forward, as Amazon would clearly like to exploit new avenues.
As per details of the historic new agreement, Amazon MGM Studios, Wilson and Broccoli have formed a new joint venture to house the James Bond intellectual property rights. The three parties will remain co-owners of the iconic franchise but Amazon MGM will have creative control.
Here’s Amazon MGM’s statement on the new deal from Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios:
“Since his theatrical introduction over 60 years ago, James Bond has been one of the most iconic characters in filmed entertainment. We are grateful to the late Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman for bringing James Bond to movie theatres around the world, and to Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for their unyielding dedication and their role in continuing the legacy of the franchise that is cherished by legions of fans worldwide. We are honored to continue this treasured heritage and look forward to ushering in the next phase of the legendary 007 for audiences around the world.”
This was Wilson’s comment:
“With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects. Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future.”
And finally, most crucially, Barbara Broccoli:
“My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli. I have had the honour of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry. With the conclusion of ‘No Time to Die’ and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.”
Broccoli and Wilson stepping back is perhaps less of a surprise these days since she in particular has expressed frustration with the Amazon deal. And this way, the duo will have some small say in the future, but also enjoy what is surely a healthy payday.
Bond: The Future?
James Bond (Daniel Craig) prepares to shoot in ‘No Time To Die,’ a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film.
While Amazon might say as much as possible about respecting the franchise (and certainly has a powerhouse team in place to spur development), fans will naturally worry that there will be a multitude of spin-offs to dilute the idea of Bond.
Bond, as a character, though, will always be compelling, especially as the Craig era proved you can evolve it to fit the changing times.
Still, can ‘M:I6 Babies’ be too far off?
(L to R) James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) drive through Matera, Italy in ‘No Time To Die,’
(Left) Morena Baccarin as Lorena Nascimento in ‘Last Looks’. Photo: RLJE Films. (Right) The Sorceress in ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ 1980’s Cartoon. Photo: Filmation Associates.
Preview:
Morena Baccarin, James Purefoy are joining the ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie.
It’ll adapt the ‘He-Man’ toy line.
‘Bumblebee’s Travis Knight is the directing the film.
With the cameras rolling at last on the long-developing (more on that chaos below) ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie, there is more news on the cast, which has been growing in the last few days.
Travis Knight, who might be more known as the boss (and one of the main directors) for stop-motion studio Laika, but who has been forging ahead with a live-action helming on movies such as ‘Transformers’ spin-off ‘Bumblebee,’ will call the shots on the new movie.
As for the cast, it already includes Nicholas Galitzine (as the heroic central figure He-Man), Camila Mendes (as warrior woman Teela), Jared Leto (as the big villain, Skeletor), Idris Elba (playing Duncan/Man-at-Arms, who is Teela’s adoptive father).
What has happened with the movie’s development so far?
‘Masters of the Universe’ toys. Photo: Mattel.
‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ follows Prince Adam, who has a magic sword that turns him into the powerful He-Man. He and his comrades (including Teela, the Captain of the Royal Guard) must protect the planet of Eternia from the evil machinations of villain Skeletor (whose acolytes include Evil-Lyn).
A live-action big screen version in 1987 starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor flopped at the box office, which scuttled a planned sequel.
Netflix was the most recent company to try, hiring directing siblings Adam and Aaron Nee, the duo behind 2015’s indie movie ‘Band of Robbers’ and 2022’s ‘The Lost City’, who were also attached to a Sony attempt, working on the script with ‘Man Of Steel’s David S. Goyer.
Amazon MGM Studios has the rights now, with Knight in charge, and that version has actually gone into production. Fingers crossed it makes it to screens!
What’s the story for the new ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie?
‘Masters of the Universe’ toys. Photo: Mattel.
Knight is working from a new draft of the script by Chris Butler –– to whom he’s already connected, as Butler has written or directed several animated movies produced by Knight’s Laika studio.
And the story itself remains the biggest mystery here. While it’s expected to stick to some sort of conflict between He-Man and Skeletor, there has been a rumored plotline floating around, albeit one that has seen zero confirmation from either the studio or filmmakers.
Still, if you’re interested, it reportedly revolves around 9–year-old Prince Adam crashing to Earth in a spaceship and being separated from his Magical Sword –– the only link to his home on Eternia.
After tracking it down almost two decades later, Adam is whisked back across space to defend his home planet against the evil forces of Skeletor. But to defeat such a powerful villain, Prince Adam first will need to uncover the mysteries of his past and become He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.
Who else has been cast in ‘Masters of the Universe’?
(Left) Alison Brie as Amber in ‘Spin Me Round.’ (Right) Evil-Lyn from ‘Masters of the Universe: Revolution’. Photo: Netflix.
Alongside the aforementioned main cast, there is a sprawling ensemble around them.
‘Community’s Alison Brie is playing Skeletor’s sorceress lieutenant Evil-Lyn, we now know that Sam C. Wilson will fill the part of Trap Jaw, Hafthor Bjornsson will play Goat Man and Kojo Attah has landed the role of Tri-Klops.
Who are the new characters?
The Sorceress in ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ 1980’s Cartoon. Photo: Filmation Associates.
Baccarin’s Sorceress watches over Castle Grayskull, guarding the secrets and wisdom contained therein. She’s quite the powerful force and can only use her abilities when confined in the castle. Outside Grayskull, she becomes Zoar, a falcon, who communicates telepathically with trusted friends.
Fisto’s story began as a villain before he became a hero. He gets his name from his huge, mailed fist. and has talent for trapping and training wild animals; he has a pet Arachna.
Ram-Man is a warrior known for using his head as a battering ram (the name, like so many ‘He-Man’ characters, rather gives it away).
Zamata’s character, meanwhile, is named Susie, who doesn’t appear in ‘He-Man’ canon, so we’re going to assume she’s a regular human who meets the characters. Likewise Vunipola’s character which is called Hussein.
When will ‘Masters of the Universe’ be on screens?
Amazon/MGM studios is aiming to have the movie in theaters on June 5th, 2026.
‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ 1980’s Cartoon. Photo: Filmation Associates.
Movies and TV Shows in the ‘Masters of the Universe’ Franchise:
The first images of ‘The Accountant 2’ are online.
Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and J.K. Simmons are among the stars.
Gavin O’Connor returned to direct this one.
Back in 2016, Ben Affleck starred in action crime drama ‘The Accountant,’ which saw him as Christian Wolff, a math savant with more affinity for numbers than people.
Behind the cover of a small-town CPA office, he worked as a freelance accountant for some of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations.
But when the Treasury Department’s Crime Enforcement Division, run by Ray King (J.K. Simmons), starts to close in, Christian takes on a legitimate client: a state-of-the-art robotics company where an accounting clerk (Anna Kendrick) has discovered a discrepancy involving millions of dollars. But as Christian uncooks the books and gets closer to the truth, it is the body count that starts to rise…
Directed by Gavin O’Connor from a script by Bill Dubuque, it was a hit, generating more than $155 million from a $44 million budget.
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It’s perhaps a little surprising then, that it has taken this long for ‘The Accountant 2‘ to arrive, though there are numerous factors at play, including the decline in such mid-budget (at least for Hollywood) movies over the years, the star and director’s busy schedules and the fact that Warner Bros. isn’t as involved this time (though the studio is still listed as a production company and is distributing the film outside the States).
Here’s what O’Connor had to say to Vanity Fair about his eight years trying to get the sequel made:
“It was brutal. It just felt like this flower that was ready to bloom, and then it would stop again and start again. It was so frustrating. It was very important to me to make an exuberant, entertaining movie. I wanted to make an emotional film and also not just an action movie, which I would find wildly boring and uninteresting. An action movie that dealt with human connection and love was something that I really wanted to explore.”
Yet arrive it has –– or will in a couple of months following a world premiere debut at this year’s SXSW Film Festival –– and to prove it, the first images of Affleck and the rest of the cast are now online.
When an old acquaintance is murdered, leaving behind a cryptic message to “find the accountant,” Wolff is compelled to solve the case.
Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax (Jon Bernthal), to help. In partnership with U.S. Treasury Deputy Director Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried…
Here’s Affleck on the enduring appeal of the original film:
“It was a movie that I found that I would hear about from people. It was a movie that stuck around, that people would talk about and say, ‘Oh, hey, I like ‘The Accountant.’ And there seemed to be a lot of goodwill towards it.”
In regard to his character, Christian Wolff, Affleck had this to say:
“This is a guy who wants to have a relationship. He wants to have friends. He’s good at some things and good at others. And I thought that the kind of vulnerability and honesty of that was kind of an interesting risk to take.”
And this is what Bernthal thinks of his character, Brax:
“Underneath it all, I think especially with Braxton, is just this unbelievable yearning to have his brother in his life and this unbelievable loneliness that he’s been trying to fill with all these very empty ways.”
Finally, here’s Addai-Robinson on her return as Marybeth:
“I was always hopeful that I would get to revisit this story and see how Marybeth was doing these days. I was very excited to finally get the call that we were getting the band back together.”
While all involved certainly want to reunite, we’ll likely have to wait and see how this one performs first.
Here’s O’Connor:
“I have a lot of thoughts about what to do with the third. I’ve been thinking about it for a lot of years.”
While Affleck strikes a more cautionary note:
“I’m keenly aware of the fact that you kind of have to earn another movie. The worst pitfall is to store a bunch of your good ideas for the next installment. If you don’t create an interest demand the first time out there, you’re just going to be playing that to an empty house.”
When will ‘The Accountant 2’ be in theaters?
The ‘Accountant’ sequel is currently targeting an April 25th release in cinemas, something of a rarity for Amazon MGM studios projects.
Jared Leto will be Skeletor in the new ‘Masters of the Universe.’
Nicholas Galitzine and Camila Mendes are leading the cast.
‘Bumblebee’ director Travis Knight is overseeing the movie.
After years of torturous development –– documented lower down the page –– it would seem that the new ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie really is falling properly into place at last.
Yet one big, central casting piece remained unannounced… that of He-Man’s bony, scheming nemesis, Skeletor. Reporter Jeff Sneider first brought word that Jared Leto had been offered the role of the cackling baddie back in September and the actor’s deal has now closed, since Leto has been officially announced.
What has happened with the movie’s development so far?
‘Masters of the Universe’ toys. Photo: Mattel.
‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ follows Prince Adam, who has a magic sword that turns him into the powerful He-Man. He and his comrades (including Teela, the Captain of the Royal Guard) must protect the planet of Eternia from the evil machinations of villain Skeletor (whose acolytes include Evil-Lyn).
The new live-action version has torn a path through filmmakers and studios. Directors such as ‘Face/Off’s John Woo, ‘Wicked’s Jon M. Chu and ‘Truth Or Dare’s Jeff Wadlow have been attached at one time or another, but the movie has always fallen apart.
Amazon MGM Studios has the rights now, with ‘Bumblebee’ director Travis Knight in charge, and that version is now in actual pre-production with a shoot planned for next year.
What’s the story for the new ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie?
‘Masters of the Universe’ toys. Photo: Mattel.
Knight is working from a new draft of the script by Chris Butler –– to whom he’s already connected, as Butler has written or directed several animated movies produced by Knight’s Laika studio.
And the story itself remains the biggest mystery here. While it’s expected to stick to some sort of conflict between He-Man and Skeletor, there has been a rumored plotline floating around, albeit one that has seen zero confirmation from either the studio or filmmakers.
Still, if you’re interested, it reportedly revolves around 9–year-old Prince Adam crashing to Earth in a spaceship and being separated from his Magical Sword –– the only link to his home on Eternia.
After tracking it down almost two decades later, Adam is whisked back across space to defend his home planet against the evil forces of Skeletor. But to defeat such a powerful villain, Prince Adam first will need to uncover the mysteries of his past and become He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.
Who else has been cast in ‘Masters of the Universe’?
(Left) Alison Brie as Amber in ‘Spin Me Round.’ (Right) Evil-Lyn from ‘Masters of the Universe: Revolution’. Photo: Netflix.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a trio of actors is joining Leto on his evil crusade.
With Brie already in place as his sorceress lieutenant, we now know that Sam C. Wilson will fill the part of Trap Jaw, Hafthor Bjornsson will play Goat Man and Kojo Attah has landed the role of Tri-Klops.
Attah, meanwhile, counts the likes of ‘The Beekeeper,’ ‘Wrath of Man’ and in a slightly less action-heavy category, UK crime series ‘Midsomer Murders’ among his credits.
In genre terms, he’s been seen as the Joker in ‘Suicide Squad’ (though his performance was vastly overshadowed by the likes of Heath Ledger) and ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ while more recent efforts such as ‘Morbius’ and Disney’s latest attempt to redo ‘The Haunted Mansion’ have frankly been met with even less success.
He’ll be hoping for better results with Skeletor and also his appearance as the title character in the next ‘Tron’ movie, ‘Tron: Ares,’ which will arrive in theaters in October 2025.
When will ‘Masters of the Universe’ be on screens?
Amazon/MGM studios is aiming to have the movie in theaters on June 5th, 2026.
2011’s ‘Masters of the Universe: Revelation’. Photo: Netflix.
Other Movies and TV Shows in the ‘Masters of the Universe’ Franchise:
1968’s ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. Photo: United Artists.
Preview:
A new version of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ is in the works.
Amazon/MGM and Eon Productions are developing the movie.
No writer or director is attached yet.
When you hear the name Ian Fleming, chances are the first thing your mind pictures is the superspy James Bond, in whatever incarnation is your favorite. Are you a Sean Connery fan? A Daniel Craig enthusiast? Or do you fly the Timothy Dalton flag in face of surprise and resistance?
But there is another creation for which Fleming gets credit, one a little more family friendly than the gun-toting, sex-happy espionage expert: ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.’
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It was adapted into a successful kids’ film (more on that shortly) and now Amazon MGM Studios –– which has an existing relationship with Barbara Broccoli’s Eon Productions, which shepherds the Bond movies –– is looking to make a new version.
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What’s the story of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’?
(L to R) Sally Ann Howes and Dick Van Dyke in 1968’s ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. Photo: United Artists.
“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car” was written by Fleming in the mid-1960s, and adapted into a screenplay by Roald Dahl, Ken Hughes with Richard Maibaum.
The story follows Eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts, his two children, and his lady friend, Truly Scrumptious, who go on a picnic at the beach where they are soon whisked into a magical world of pirates, castles, and a flying car called Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
In the adventure that ensues, they journey to Vulgaria and encounter the evil tyrant Baron Bomburst and his child-hating wife, who kidnap Potts’ children and steal Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. With the assistance of the kindly village toymaker, Potts plans an elaborate scheme to rescue the kidnapped children and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from the Baron’s castle on his birthday.
It memorably features one of the creepiest villains in cinematic history via the Child Catcher (played by Helpmann).
Who would work on the new ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ movie?
1968’s ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. Photo: United Artists.
That’s a big question mark right now; Amazon MGM is meeting with writers and directors to discuss the best angle for the new adaptation (which we’re thinking will need to be considerably updated for the current era), so we’ll have to wait and see who steps up.
Broccoli and Eon will produce the new movie.
When would the new ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ movie be in theaters?
With the project still at the development stage, it’s still far too early to speculate on when it might arrive in theaters, or whether Amazon chooses to send it to streaming.
Dick Van Dyke in 1968’s ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’. Photo: United Artists.
Jude Law in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Opening in theaters on December 6th, ‘The Order’ finds Jude Law starring in the based-on-truth story of a committed, troubled FBI agent who digs into reports of a white supremacist group changing their tactics and led by charismatic individual.
We’re not short of stories that have their roots in real life, this one shapes up to be particularly intriguing, partly because, despite its 1980s setting, it has resonance in today’s particularly divided political world.
Nicholas Hoult in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Australian director Justin Kerzel has made it something of a specialty bringing based-on-truth movies to screens, though often with a twist. Here, he lets the persuasive, tough real-life story do most of the heavy lifting, casting well and letting all the main players be layered rather than stereotypical examples of, say, white supremacists or FBI agents.
Yes, there are some expected moments, but for the most part, Kurzel and his creative team keep you engaged with a screenplay that crackles with energy and tension, driven by some stellar acting.
Script and Direction
(L to R) Director Justin Kurzel and Jude Law on the set of ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
The script for ‘The Order’ comes from Zach Baylin (who has had mixed fortunes of late –– solid success with ‘King Richard,’ but he also contributed to recent huge flop ‘The Crow’), here adapting Kevin Flynn’s book ‘The Silent Brotherhood.’
He finds the right notes to hit following a dogged investigator drawn into something truly malicious in a small town, crafting characters based on the real people who feel like lived-in humans with their foibles intact.
Jude Law in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Kurzel brings that script to life with style and panache, but no little sense of the gritty life some of these people lead, but also relishing the beautiful Pacific Northwest backdrops against which some terrible acts take place. As the plot begins to deepen and twist, he keeps it all on track, getting fine work out of his cast and making sure to stay grounded.
If there’s a criticism to be found it is that, like some other recent movies, it occasionally feels flabby, but once the characters are back to figuring each other out, the interest level soon picks back up.
Performances
Jude Law as Terry Husk
Jude Law in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Husk is well-named, since when we meet him, he’s on the verge of being a husk of a man; burned out by the job and with his family hanging on by a thread. Yet he’s also devoted and passionate about tracking down the violent criminals at the heart of the film and Law finds the right take-no-BS attitude to bring him to life.
This is far from a noble knight in shining armor, more a dedicated public servant frustrated by those around him and not afraid to let that show in encounters with cops and fellow agents.
Nicholas Hoult in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Hoult’s fresh-faced charisma works well for Matthews, the devious yet charming white supremacist who inspires others to terrible deeds while also carrying out some of his own.
You won’t sympathize with the man’s ideals, but you will understand while people would be willing to follow him, and Hoult is great at both his violent extremes and the quieter moments he shares with family (and, er lover, who is expecting his child.)
Tye Sheridan in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
The local deputy who has his own reasons for A) loathing the white supremacists who have invaded his town and B) frustrations at the lack of progress in dealing with them before Husk shows up is a great counterpoint to both the FBI agent and Matthews.
Sheridan pitches him well as both eager but also wary.
Supporting Cast
Jurnee Smollett in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Jurnee Smollett certainly gets her share of standout moments as Joanne Carney, the FBI agent who takes over leading the case and clashes with Husk’s more forceful approach as hers tends to favor a by-the-book approach.
Likewise Alison Oliver and Odessa Young, who play Matthews’ wife and lover respectively; both have believable chemistry with Hoult and are convincing in their roles. Veteran character Victor Slezak, meanwhile, makes the most of a smaller role as hate-spewing (but less violent-leaning than Matthews church leader Richard Butler, who becomes key to the case on both sides.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Jude Law and Jurnee Smollett in ‘The Order’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
It might not be quite up there with Kurzel’s best true-crime offerings, but ‘The Order’ certainly has a lot to recommend it if you’re a fan of tenacious law enforcement officers trying to take down a threat that impacts locally but promises to affect the country as a whole.
And given the state of the nation, culture and politics in particular, it has a lot to say about how hatred curdles into violence and what we all need to be more careful of spotting in our own communities.
‘The Order’ receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the plot of ‘The Order’?
In 1983, a series of increasingly violent bank robberies, counterfeiting operations and armored car heists frightened communities throughout the Pacific Northwest.
As baffled law enforcement agents scrambled for answers, a lone FBI agent (Jude Law), stationed in the sleepy, picturesque town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, came to believe the crimes were not the work of traditional, financially motivated criminals but a group of dangerous domestic terrorists, inspired by a radical, charismatic leader (Nicholas Hoult), plotting a devastating war against the federal government of the United States.
All being well, Thurber should have the cameras rolling this month in Australia.
What’s the story of ‘Voltron’?
‘Voltron: Legendary Defender.’ Photo: Netflix.
‘Voltron’ has its roots in the Japanese sci-fi series ‘Beast King GoLion’ and ‘Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV’.
American production World Events bought the rights for the States, then edited and dubbed the series as a syndicated show, titling it ‘Voltron: Defender of the Universe’, which ran in the mid-1980s.
The premise focused on five young pilots in a battalion named the Robot Lions, which are vehicles that merge to form a mega robot known as Voltron and take on a variety of enemies.
The show in animated form has already been rebooted twice, once for the NickToon channel in 2011, while the current version is on Netflix.
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It’s a compelling concept (one that has been referenced and parodied endlessly since its heyday) and a-live action version has been in development at different terms since the early 2000s.
The plot for the new movie, which Thurber wrote with Ellen Shanman, is a mystery for now, but we can expect a fair amount of giant robot combat.
This is what Thurber told fans at a ‘Voltron’ convention this past October:
“I want to make sure that we stay true to the heart and the spirit of ‘Voltron.’ In this film, we’re going to be introducing an entirely new generation of pilots. We’ve reimagined ‘Voltron’ for the live-action world, but we’re going to stay true to those iconic elements that you love, that I love.”
Who else will appear in ‘Voltron’?
Henry Cavill in ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’. Photo: Daniel Smith.
The new recruits join Henry Cavill, who was cast in October, and Daniel Quinn-Toye, a relative newcomer whose previous screen credit was a tiny role in a BBC sitcom called ‘Badults’ that ran in 2013 and 2014.
But Quinn-Toye has one other job that caught the eye of Thurber and Amazon MGM studios: the 21-year old actor, who attended London’s Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts as well as the Dance School of Scotland, was the understudy to Tom Holland in the ‘Spider-Man’ actor’s big return to the theater world this past spring in the West End production of ‘Romeo & Juliet.’ He also had small roles in the play itself.
Brown, who was most recently seen in ‘American Fiction’ (for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination) and Netflix sci-fi thriller ‘Atlas’, is starring in and executive producing Hulu drama series ‘Paradise,’ created by Dan Fogelman, who helped Brown break out in ‘This is Us.’
The actor is due to begin production on Elegance Bratton’s ‘By Any Means’ opposite Mark Wahlberg, and recently wrapped production on Hulu’s limited series ‘Washington Black.’
While Ora is best known for her successful music career, she is increasingly taking acting and hosting jobs, and was last seen in Disney’s ‘Descendants: The Rise of Red’ (and is in the cast for the fifth outing of the popular franchise).
Amazon MGM Studios has yet to confirm a release date for the movie. Given the likely post-production/effects workload, 2026 would be a more sensible target given that production is only now about to kick off.
‘Voltron: Legendary Defender.’ Photo: Netflix.
Other Movies and TV Shows in the ‘Voltron’ Franchise:
Not to be confused with Netflix’s ‘Red Notice,’ another algorithm-induced action movie starring Dwayne Johnson and a Marvel superhero, ‘Red One’ aims to be something for everyone: it’s not just an action movie, but it’s also trying to be a fantastical Christmas story and a heartwarming family yarn. As often happens, however, the effort to please all audience quadrants results in something bland, boring, and derivative.
Directed by Jake Kasdan, who also collaborated with The Rock on the recent, overrated ‘Jumanji’ movies, ‘Red One’ does feature a cute idea at its core and a winning performance from J.K. Simmons as a very different kind of Santa Claus. But a lethargic pace, an often-murky visual palette and a ton of half-baked CG, along with less than stellar efforts from some of the cast, makes ‘Red One’ the kind of holiday present you hope they included the gift receipt for.
‘Red One’ opens with a prologue in which a young boy named Jack O’Malley (Wyatt Hunt) shows his disappointed cousins where the Christmas gifts are hidden, simultaneously smashing their dreams and foreshadowing his adult career as a cynical, clandestine tracker and bounty hunter (now played by Chris Evans) who claims he can find anything. He’s also – as par for the course for this kind of thing – divorced and a largely absentee dad to his son. But Jack’s life takes an unexpected turn when he helps an anonymous client pinpoint a security breach at some kind of mysterious location near the North Pole.
That location happens to be the complex where Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons), his wife (Bonnie Hunt), and their many human and non-human employees live and work behind a security shield that might give Wakanda a run for its money. But that security is compromised thanks to Jack, and despite the best efforts of Santa’s head of security, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), a quasi-military squad parachutes in and kidnaps “Nick” – as Callum calls him – whisking him into the clutches of Gryla (Kiernan Shipka), a legendary winter witch who wants to channel Santa’s magical powers to disrupt Christmas with her own nefarious plans.
That leaves it up to Drift and Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu), head of the Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority (M.O.R.A.), which oversees the existence of mythological creatures around the world, to forcibly recruit Jack in their efforts to reacquire Santa and keep Christmas on schedule. Along the way they’ll interact with more creatures out of legend, including Santa’s estranged brother Krampus (Kristofer Hivju), while Jack learns the value of family and Drift slowly regains the positive outlook he’s lost over the centuries as more and more humans migrate to – you guessed it – the Naughty List.
On paper, this sounds like a fun, even fresh premise for a Christmas movie – all the creatures of myth and folklore are real and live in a cautious détente with humanity, while Santa himself trains for Christmas like an Olympian and covertly visits department stores in presidential-style motorcades just to reconnect with the public. Some of this material elicits a smile for sure, even as the world-building threatens to overwhelm the narrative at times.
The bigger issue is the film moves at the pace of an elf who’s had far too much spiked egg nog. It’s also tonally all over the place; one minute it’s a self-referential action movie, the next it’s a family comedy desperate to tug at the heart. Either way, none of the jokes or emotional beats land very well, and when a comic performer like Nick Kroll gets wasted in a painful cameo you know this is the cinematic equivalent to the Christmas that you really wanted that Xbox and got a sweater instead.
And it looks like hell too. Large swaths of the movie take place at night in the snow, but Kasdan makes it inexplicably murky, particularly the climactic sequences, and there’s enough bad CG to make ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ look like ‘Dune: Part Two.’ One scene set at a beach resort can’t escape painfully looking like it was shot on a Volume stage, with the digital snowmen that launch a surprise attack in the sequence looking pasted into the action. For a movie that reportedly cost $250 million to make, ‘Red One’ doesn’t deliver on the kind of big-screen wonder necessary to make this work.
The Cast
(L to R) Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans in ‘Red One.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
If there is one thing that stands out in ‘Red One,’ it’s J.K. Simmons’ performance as Santa. Playing against the archetype – this wiry St. Nicholas lays off the holiday cookies and trains relentlessly for his ‘Mission: Impossible’-like Christmas Eve run – Simmons nevertheless generates real warmth, good will, and wisdom as the jolly old fellow. It’s a shame that he’s only active for the beginning and end of the film, as a movie built around him might have been more interesting.
As for the leads, both Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans seem to be in something of a rut lately. The Rock has lost some of the self-deprecating sense of fun that has powered some of his best performances, and takes Callum Drift – a centuries-old head of security – so seriously that he comes across as monotonous. Evans as well, seemingly intent on getting past his earnest Captain America image, plays a variation here on the kind of cynical wisenheimer he’s essayed in recent duds like ‘The Gray Man,’ although he’s also trapped by the script’s rote characterization. Other members of the cast, like Lucy Liu and an underused Bonnie Hunt, more or less understand the assignment, although Kiernan Shipka is miscast as the villain, delivering no real menace at all. Kristofer Hivju stands out under a mountain of prosthetics as Krampus, although the scene at his castle goes on way too long.
You can’t just manufacture a holiday classic, but that certainly isn’t stopping Jake Kasdan, Dwayne Johnson, and company from trying. But Kasdan, who brought a certain amount of surreal humor to the ‘Jumanji’ movies, can’t work any magic here. ‘Red One’ huffs and puffs so hard to be all things to all people that it just ends up playing in similar fashion to one of those Netflix pics that’s good for Sunday-afternoon-chores background noise.
Perhaps a different, less ponderous, and less digitized story starring J.K. Simmons’ Nick could have concentrated on generating some real holiday spirit, but ‘Red One’ is likely to be packed away with the rest of the Christmas trinkets in the attic once the season is over, never to be seen or heard from again.
‘Red One’ receives 4 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘Red One’?
A hacker (Chris Evans) is recruited by the head of Santa Claus’s security team (Dwayne Johnson) to help rescue St. Nick (J.K. Simmons) after he’s kidnapped by a witch intent on ruining Christmas for everyone.
With ‘Red One,’ stars Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, along with director Jake Kasdan (‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’), hope to create a modern Christmas classic infused with the sensibility of a large-scale action film and the heart of a family comedy. Johnson plays Callum Drift, the head of security for Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons), whose annual mission to deliver gifts around the world is run with the precision of a military operation out of his massive, well-hidden complex at the North Pole.
But a security breach allows Santa to be kidnapped right out from under Drift’s nose, with the breach traced to Jack O’Malley (Evans), a dark web tracker and bounty hunter who is forcibly recruited to help Drift locate Santa and his kidnappers. The trail leads them to Gryla (Kiernan Shipka), a winter witch out of Icelandic folklore who plans to use Santa’s own magical powers to rid the world of naughty children forever – unless Drift and O’Malley can stop her and rescue the man who Drift simply knows as “Nick.”
With ‘Red One’ scheduled to open in theaters on November 15 as an early holiday present for moviegoers, members of the cast and crew – including Evans, Johnson, Shipka, Simmons, Lucy Liu (Zoe Harlow), Kristofer Hivju (Krampus), Bonnie Hunt (Mrs. Claus), Kasdan, producer Hiram Garcia, and others — participated in a virtual global press conference that Moviefone had the opportunity to attend (minus the egg nog and cookies).
Director Jake Kasdan revealed that the initial impetus for ‘Red One’ was to bring audiences a whole new vision of Santa Claus – as an action hero who trains hard to get in shape for Christmas, and who leads a vast, well-organized, and tightly-secured operation.
Jake Kasdan: That was absolutely one of the most exciting aspects of this movie, was sort of looking at a way that we could tell Santa’s story that we’ve never quite seen before. You’ve seen him a certain way your whole life, and we always thought that the great exciting idea for this was, what if you could sort of pull back the curtain and see what he’s really like? So all of those aspects of this came from that sort of seed idea.
Producer Hiram Garcia, who also came up with the original story for the movie, said he wanted to create the “definitive” Santa onscreen and make him cool again.
Hiram Garcia: I think when we did start working on this, one of the goals was, and actually when we were going around pitching it, we always ended the pitch with saying our hope was to tell a story that really inspired people, turn Christmas on its head in the mythology, but also to create the definitive Santa Claus. There’s been so many good Santa Clauses, but to find one that really took a connection with the audience to the next level and brought a coolness out in Santa that as a big Christmas fan, I always knew Santa’s got. I feel like we did that with J.K. and especially the way Jake envisioned him on screen. J.K.’s performance as Santa is everything we dreamed and more.
Chris Evans said that making an action movie based around Christmas was easier than it might seem because the folklore around the world is full of such fantastical legends and creations.
Chris Evans: We had a whole team of people who [were] trying to crack that code. I mean, I think it actually provides a lot of fun. There’s such great Christmas lore, folklore, not just the stories we all grew up with, but internationally…When you hear about some of these creatures and stories and mythology, it almost begs for some sort of action-adventure movie. So it’s not quite as hard as you think.
4) The Secret Ingredient To This Christmas Confection
(L to R) Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans in ‘Red One.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Dwayne Johnson said that director Jake Kasdan brought something to ‘Red One’ that makes the movie special.
Dwayne Johnson: Something that Jake inherently does in his films — and I’ve had the privilege of working with him now three times, on the first two ‘Jumanji’ movies and now ‘Red One’ — is heart. There’s so much heart in this movie. That’s often an overstatement, I think, in storytelling in Hollywood, but it’s true. One of my favorite parts of the movie is where J.K. as Santa Claus reminds me that it’s our job to see the best in people and look beyond if they’re on the naughty list, and look at the kid in everybody.
5) Lucy Liu Didn’t Know At First She Had A Big Action Scene
Lucy Liu plays Zoe Harlow, the director of MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority), an agency charged with keeping track of the world’s mythological beings. Although initially it didn’t seem like she’d participate in any of the action, things took a different turn during filming.
Lucy Liu: Well, it was impromptu. I had spoken to Jake and I said, “Is there any training or do you need me to prep anything?” He said, “No, I think maybe she’s going to throw a kick and maybe a punch. Maybe that’s it. You’re just the boss lady and then that’s all it’s going to be.” I said, “Okay, great. No problem.” I show up to the set, we’re doing the costume fittings and everything, and then the stunt coordinator comes in and he says, “I just want to give you a little bit of a previs of what we’re going to do.” He shows me this entire action scene. And my face just turned white. But then I was like, “Okay, let’s do this.” As soon as I got the sticks in my hands, it was like muscle memory kicked in. It was like I was alive again…I hadn’t done it in a long time, but it just came back to me. I love watching action movies. I grew up watching them, and actually being on the screen doing action is so exciting. I think that it gets kids excited, it gets girls excited, it gets women excited. So it’s nice that you still got it.
6) Kiernan Shipka Got Her Villain On For The First Time
Kiernan Shipka (‘Longlegs’) appears as Gryla, the legendary winter witch who masterminds Santa’s kidnapping, and said she relished her first opportunity to play the main villain in a movie.
Kiernan Shipka: It was really fun. I loved it. I’ve never really played a proper villain before. I’ve definitely played people who were dark and twisted, but the film kind of hinges on this kidnapping. It was really cool to feel like I had a part in the movie that was sort of moving things in any sort of direction. That was really fun. I liked those stakes. I love that this movie’s so fun. I mean, there’s a lot of heart in it, there’s a lot of action in it, but at the end of the day, I think you sit down and it’s a really fun watch. So playing someone who is a villain, but also maintaining a sense of levity and fun with the whole thing was also really lovely. So it was great. I’ll play a villain anytime. It was fun.
7) Kristofer Hivju Went A Different Way Playing Krampus
The figure of Krampus, in European Alpine folklore, is said to accompany Santa/St. Nicholas on his rounds and punish the children who have been naughty. Although wearing a full, practical costume complete with horns, actor Kristofer Hivju (‘Game of Thrones’) decided to play him not as a horrific monster but as Santa’s estranged, self-absorbed brother, who indulges in wild parties and slapping contests with his obedient guests.
Kristofer Hivju: For me it was like the character is more or less the suit, right? So I tried to play against the suit, and actually play him as feminine, as narcissistic, and self-indulging as possible. Suddenly that mixture became a bit disturbing. But the funny thing about Krampus is that he has the same objective as Nick. They want the same thing. It’s just the method [that’s different] — punishing or rewarding. Sometimes you need a bit of slapping.
Dwayne Johnson said that having Krampus played by an actor in a suit on the set was a huge advantage over the character being created via CG.
Dwayne Johnson: For Chris and I, when we step on set and we had the privilege of obviously being on set for many, many days with Kristofer as Krampus, it is one of the most impressive things we had ever seen. He’s massive and he really does such a spectacular job as Krampus. In our story the mythology is that he’s the brother of Santa, and the prosthetics that he was wearing are from Joel Harlow, who’s an Academy Award winner, and you really see it. But the challenge is that there has to be so much life going on in his eyes because everything else is just these incredible prosthetics. Because he’s such a superior actor, you feel that in the movie.
Chris Evans added that working with practical effects and creatures like Krampus on set brought back memories of the movies he loved growing up.
Chris Evans: I grew up on movies like ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘NeverEnding Story’ where it was all practical and it was real. Those things stuck with you as a kid because it was things that you never saw in your normal life. I know now that every other movie is just loaded with CG. In a way there’s so much of it that when you do get a film that goes practical, it still sticks with you in that same way because it’s still rare like it was when I was a kid. That’s what makes it feel like a real character, a real performance. It’s not common anymore, which is nice.
Dwayne Johnson shared what was most important for him about the Christmas holidays.
Dwayne Johnson: Just getting family together would be our #1 greatest family tradition. I know it’s simplistic, but a lot of times when I was growing up, my dad was always on the road and he wasn’t always home for Christmas. In the business that we’re in, sometimes it requires us to work over the holidays. So for me, just to have the entire family together, that’s the most important thing.
Santa himself, J.K. Simmons, shared a story about his family during the holidays and how Christmas taught him and his sister a valuable lesson.
J.K. Simmons: I have an older sister, two years older. She was probably six and I was four, and my little brother was a baby. Of course on Christmas morning we’re up before the crack of dawn, bothering our parents and getting them out of bed and they’re dragging their butts out of bed. But I think that was the Christmas that my mom just said, “Go make some oatmeal.” My sister, she’s the oldest, so she’s the assistant mom. So from every Christmas from then on, my sister and I would get up, we would make the oatmeal, and after we ate the oatmeal, then we were allowed to open the stockings from Santa. Then we waited for mom and dad to wake up to open all the rest of the presents. So it taught us a real kind of self-sufficiency, and it gave my sister, especially, a sense of responsibility.
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What is the plot of ‘Red One’?
After a villain kidnaps Santa from the North Pole, an E.L.F (Extremely Large and Formidable) operative (Dwayne Johnson) must partner with the world’s most accomplished tracker (Chris Evans) to find Santa and save Christmas.
