Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in ‘Michael’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Preview:
‘Michael’ has set records for biopic movies on its first weekend.
It topped the domestic box office with $97 million.
Elsewhere, new releases struggled.
It may have arrived laden with controversies about re-shoots and didn’t exactly strike a chord with critics, but audiences have certainly embraced ‘Michael’, the biopic of troubled music superstar Michael Jackson.The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, has kicked off its run at the box office as an instant success, earning $97 million for first place.
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The movie’s ticket sales rank as the best start of all time for a biopic, smashing the record set by 2015’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’ ($60 million). And they tower above 2018’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, which opened to $51 million. Can it match the latter’s huge run, though? That’s a bigger question. Still, with $217 million globally in one weekend, it’s a solid start.
What else happened at the box office this weekend?
(L to R) Luigi (Charlie Day), Mario (Chris Pratt), Yoshi (Donald Glover) and Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) in Nintendo and Illumination’s ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic.
Previous champion ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ was pushed down to second place after three weekends in the No. 1 spot. Universal’s animated sequel added $21.2 million, boosting revenues to $384 million domestically and more than $800 million globally.
‘Project Hail Mary’, meanwhile, was third with $13.2 million, a remarkable tally for a film in its sixth weekend of release. So far, the space epic has generated a mighty $305 million in North America and $613 million worldwide.
What about other new releases?
(L to R) Michaela Coel and Anne Hathaway in ‘Mother Mary’. Photo: A24.
Besides ‘Michael,’ other new releases fared less well. A24’s thriller ‘Mother Mary’, starring Anne Hathaway as a pop star on the eve of a comeback, earned $1.3 million.
And ‘Lorne’, a documentary about ‘Saturday Night Live’ boss Lorne Michaels, struggled to break out with $70,000 from 248 theaters. The film has collected $426,000 while playing in limited release.
Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in ‘Michael’. Photo Credit: Bruce Talamon.
Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 2’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
Preview:
Denzel Washington says he’ll appear in two more ‘Equalizer’ movies.
Director Antoine Fuqua has yet to be confirmed.
The apparent movies don’t yet have release dates.
Denzel Washington is busy enjoying the acclaim that his scene-stealing (and, at times, movie-stealing) performance in ‘Gladiator II’ is generating, and he’s also been out and about promoting the movie.
He’s certainly generating headlines with some of his statements, including revealing that Ryan Coogler is writing a role for him in a future ‘Black Panther’ movie (albeit one we don’t even know formally exists yet).
And he’s not done –– in a recent interview he also dropped word that he’ll be back for more ‘Equalizer’ movies.
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Of course, we have to caution here that Washington is having a lot of fun on the press tour and proclaiming that he only has a few movies left (at least as an actor) before he retires. And Sony has yet to say anything official about a potential return to the ‘Equalizer’ films.
Washington stars as Robert McCall, a former special service commando who faked his own death in hopes of living out a quiet life.
Instead, he comes out of his self-imposed retirement to save a young girl and finds his desire for justice reawakened after coming face-to-face with members of a brutal Russian gang. McCall becomes the go-to man when the helpless require the kind of vengeance they would never find without his skills.
Across the next two movies, he faces off against more threats, including the Mafia.
Denzel Washington on the future of the ‘Equalizer’ franchise
Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) watches Vincent crawl down his stairs in Columbia Pictures ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
“I told them I would do another ‘Equalizer,’ and we’re doing four and five. More people are happy about that –– people love those daggone ‘Equalizers.’ But I’ve come to realize that the ‘Equalizer’ films are for me, too, because they’re for the people. They want me to go get the bad guys. ‘We can’t get them, so you go get them.’ And I say, Okay, I’ll get them! Just wait right there. I’ll be right back!”
The movies have certainly been successful, but now we’ll wait and see what Fuqua and the studio have to say.
When would the next ‘Equalizer’ be in theaters?
While Washington is certainly someone who should know about the future of the ‘Equalizer’ franchise since he’s, you know, the Equalizer himself, the lack of confirmation means we couldn’t even guess at when one potential new movie would arrive, let alone two.
Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) moves to Southern Italy to escape from his past, but later discovers that his new friends are under the control of the Sicilian Mafia. With the help of a young CIA agent (Dakota Fanning), Robert unleashes his past self to protect his new friends.
Denzel Washington stars as Robert McCall in Columbia Pictures ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo by: Stefano Montesi.
Against all odds ‘The Equalizer’ franchise has become one of the most reliable action series in cinema, right up there with the ‘John Wick’ movies, and the third chapter does not disappoint. Director Antoine Fuqua adds a new tone by taking Robert McCall’s story to Italy, which breathes fresh life into the franchise without ever betraying the spirit of the popular protagonist. Denzel Washington has truly created one of his most memorable characters with McCall, and has unforgettable onscreen chemistry with co-star Dakota Fanning, reuniting with the actress for the first time since their work on the 2004 now-classic ‘Man on Fire.’
Story and Direction
(L to R) Denzel Washington and Director Antoine Fuqua between takes while filming in the Amalfi Coast on the set of Columbia Pictures ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo by: Stefano Montesi.
The original ‘The Equalizer’ loosely adapted the 80’s TV series by introducing us to Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), a retired CIA operative trying to live a quiet life in Boston. When outside forces threaten the small community he has created, McCall strikes back raining fire and vengeance down upon them. By the end of the first film, McCall has decided to put his skills to use helping those that can’t help themselves, which was the basic plot of the original TV series.
‘The Equalizer 2’ saw McCall in Boston making good on his promise from the first film and helping the unfortunate. But when his close friend and former CIA colleague Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo) is murdered by McCall’s former partner Dave York (Pedro Pascal), McCall releases a personal vendetta on York and his former team members.
In ‘The Equalizer 3,’ we meet an older McCall, tired from his revenge-for-hire business, on a mission in Italy to right another wrong for an American family that lost their savings to an international gangster with terrorist ties. After an injury, McCall is taken to a small Italian town and nursed back to health by a local doctor named Enzo (Remo Girone). McCall soon comes to love the town and the people in it, including a waitress named Aminah (Gaia Scodellaro), who McCall has affection for. But when the town and its people are threatened by the same family of mobsters that McCall was trying to stop in the first place, he vows to take them all down one by one to save the town and protect its people. In order to do that, he enlists the help of a CIA agent named Emma Collins (Dakota Fanning), who unbeknownst to her, has a secret connection to McCall in her past.
(L to R) Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua and on the set of ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Cristiiano Montesi.
As action-packed as ‘The Equalizer’ franchise is, and as much as we all love seeing Denzel Washington systematically killing bad guys, the series is really a character study, and that has never been more apparent than in ‘Equalizer 3.’ By putting McCall in a new and foreign setting to him, it allows director Antoine Fuqua to slow the action just a bit and really explore what years of violence has done to this man that we’ve grown to love over the course of the previous films. It also doesn’t hurt that the character is portrayed by one of the most beloved actors of all time, who brings all that love and grace with him to the role, but more on that in a minute.
Fuqua wisely opens the movie with a fantastic action sequence, which was featured in the trailer and sets the pace for the film before slowing it down to explore McCall’s state of mind to great effect. While some might just be waiting for the next action sequence, they will end up captivated by McCall’s journey, meeting the town’s people and watching him find a feeling of home in this town, which will give him his motivation for the explosive second half of the film.
There is a comparison to be made between Fuqua and Washington’s collaborations and those of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. In addition to ‘The Equalizer’ franchise, Fuqua and Washington have made together the Oscar-winning ‘Training Day’ and the western remake ‘The Magnificent Seven.’ The director and actor clearly have a strong shorthand together that works, as it does here again with this film.
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Denzel’s Performance
Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) watches Vincent crawl down his stairs in Columbia Pictures ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
There is no arguing that Denzel Washington is one of the greatest screen actors of all time. His body of work speaks volumes, so I won’t bother listing them all as everyone knows his resume. But in this modern age of superhero movies, a serious actor like Denzel could easily have slipped away from making box office hits but instead has embraced a franchise based on an old TV show and has turned McCall into his own version of a modern day superhero by infusing the character with his real-life integrity and gravitas. We root for McCall because we love Denzel, and we love seeing him … as the actor has said publicly, “get the guys we can’t get.”
Washington takes the opportunity in ‘Equalizer 3,’ to really explore his character’s emotions in an authentic way that the franchise has not had a chance to do previously, while never really jeopardizing the pace or the action. After four films together Washington clearly trusts Fuqua, and it shows in his performance in this movie, as Robert McCall has truly become one of Washington’s signature characters.
‘Man on Fire’ Reunion
Emma (Dakota Fanning) reports to Frank what is happening in Italy in Columbia Pictures ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
But one of the best parts of ‘The Equalizer 3’ is seeing the ‘Man on Fire’ reunion between actress Dakota Fanning and Washington. ‘Man on Fire’ is a 2004 Tony Scott classic, and one of the best films of Washington’s long and respected career. Fanning starred opposite Washington when she was just 10 years old and the two actor’s chemistry together in that movie was unforgettable … seriously, you should watch it if you haven’t! So, seeing Dakota and Denzel together again was a real treat, and their chemistry together is as good now as it ever was. Washington clearly has a lot of affection for Fanning, and that plays well with their character’s secret connection. Fanning is also believable as a young CIA agent, and the movie benefits from her presence.
Misfires
Vincent (Andrea Scarduzio, right) comes to the church to see his brother Marco (Andrea Dodero) in Columbia Pictures ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
While the movie is thoroughly enjoyable, both through its action-sequences and its performances, it does lag a bit in the first act, after the cold open action scene. The scenes are still enjoyable, and it establishes McCall’s connection to his new community for what is to come, but some viewers looking for non-stop action, may find these sequences tedious.
The movie also lacks any original villains, and instead gives us generic Italian mafia bad guys. The first film at least established a ‘Die Hard’ Hans Gruber-type villain in Marton Csokas’ assassin Nicolai Itchenko, and the second movie had a personal antagonist in Pedro Pascal’s Dave York. In ‘The Equalizer 3’ we are given Andrea Scarduzio’s Vincent Quaranta, a spoiled narcissist with delusions of grandeur, who could easily be swapped into any James Bond or John Wick movie as the generic villain and has no real emotional to the story.
Will there be an ‘Equalizer 4’?
(L to R) Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington on the set of ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Cristiiano Montesi.
That’s hard to say, but neither Fuqua or Washington have said they wouldn’t be interested, and the movie certainly leaves the possibility for more stories featuring Washington’s version of Robert McCall. And now that Fanning’s Emma Collins has been established, she could make a great ally for McCall moving forward.
Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
‘The Equalizer 3’ is a worthy addition to the extremely enjoyable ‘Equalizer’ franchise and Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua have recaptured the magic of the previous films while expanding on the emotional journey of the title character. Dakota Fanning is a delightful addition to the franchise, and seeing her reunite with Washington is a true treat for fans of the classic ‘Man on Fire.’
‘The Equalizer 3’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) moves to Southern Italy to escape from his past, but later discovers that his new friends are under the control of the Sicilian Mafia. With the help of a young CIA agent (Dakota Fanning), Robert unleashes his past self to protect his new friends.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Antoine Fuqua about his work on ‘The Equalizer 3,’ what audiences should expect from the new movie, why this chapter takes place in Italy, reuniting Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington, how his relationship with Denzel has grown over the years, and why audiences love Washington as Robert McCall.
‘The Equalizer 3’ director Antoine Fuqua.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our exclusive interview with Fuqua, as well as interviews with Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning that took place before the SAG/AFTRA Strike.
Moviefone: To begin with, what would you say to fans of this franchise sitting down right now to watch the third installment to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have?
Antoine Fuqua: Be prepared for McCall’s final masterpiece of not only just violence, but finding a home for himself in a spectacular setting.
Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
MF: Why did you decide to take Robert McCall’s story to Italy for this movie?
AF: Myself, the writer and the producers have always wanted to take Robert McCall international. In my mind, in his other life, he probably lived in many different places in the world. So Italy just felt natural, because Denzel goes there quite a bit and as well as myself. I wanted a place that he felt at home and comfortable and knew the language. So, the Amalfi Coast, of course, not only is it ideal, it’s just beautiful. This place, Atrani, where we filmed, is so old world, you feel like you’ve been transported back in time, and that was important to us.
(L to R) Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua and on the set of ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Cristiiano Montesi.
MF: Obviously, you worked with Denzel Washington previously on ‘Training Day,’ but how has your friendship and your working relationship grown and changed through the course of making these three ‘Equalizer’ movies?
AF: I mean, the friendship remains the same. We’ve been friends. Our family, we know each other that way. Business wise and director-actor, it’s always been a mutual respect. Denzel has total trust in me, and of course, I have total trust in Mr. Washington. He’s never come over to look at the monitor or come to the editing bay or anything like that. He completely trusts what I do and I trust what he does, and that’s been our relationship. He knows I’m going to come to work to handle business, and I know he is. You know he’s coming, so I better be ready.
(L to R) Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington on the set of ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Cristiiano Montesi.
MF: Can you talk about reuniting Dakota Fanning with Denzel Washington so many years after ‘Man on Fire,’ and the incredible onscreen chemistry they still have together in ‘The Equalizer 3’?
AF: It’s incredible. I mean, what an opportunity. It just doesn’t happen that often where you see a young actor or actress grow up in front of you, and see an icon like Mr. Washington in a role together. Then have the opportunity to do it again later in life in something like this. So when I got the call from Todd Black that Dakota was interested, I said, “I got to meet her right now for lunch, today.” So we met. I fell in love with her, of course. I didn’t tell Denzel I was meeting with her. I wanted to make sure she really wanted to do it. Then I called Denzel, I said, “I met with Dakota. She wants to do it.” He was like, “Absolutely.” He loved Dakota. He lit up. So I was like, “Amazing.” So every day when I was filming them, he would turn to me sometimes and smile and go like, “She’s a grownup now.” He would just laugh about it. So it was like a father-daughter relationship. Really sweet.
Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
MF: Finally, what do you think it is about this franchise, and particularly Denzel Washington’s performance as Robert McCall that resonates so much with audiences?
AF: I think the audience resonated with him, because he’s a common man. There’s nothing fancy about him, and he’s all about helping others without recognition. He doesn’t do it for money or anything. It’s sort of a throwback to (Akira) Kurasawa, which is one of my heroes. Like the ‘Seven Samurai,’ you’re going to go help a village for a bowl of rice. Getting back to that was an important message to put out into the world. Denzel, just being a great actor and being the great person who he is, there’s no Robert McCall without Denzel Washington. So he brings all of himself to that character, and that’s why it works.
(L to R) Denzel Washington and Director Antoine Fuqua between takes while filming in the Amalfi Coast on the set of Columbia Pictures ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo by: Stefano Montesi.
(L to R) Denzel Washington and Director Antoine Fuqua between takes while filming in the Amalfi Coast on the set of Columbia Pictures ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo by: Stefano Montesi.
Denzel Washington will shoot back to our screens next month as government assassin-turned-do-gooding crusader Robert McCall in ‘The Equalizer 3’.
And while it could end up being the final outing (though nothing has been said) for McCall in his present form, director Antoine Fuqua is already thinking of an idea for an ‘Equalizer’ prequel which would use de-aging technology so Washington can star as a younger version of the character.
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What has Fuqua said about an ‘Equalizer’ prequel?
Director Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington on the set of ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo by: Stefano Cristiiano Montesi.
“I definitely thought about it a lot. Especially now with the new technology and the AI and all of that kind of stuff… Is there a story to be told about how [McCall] became this person — the younger version. I’ve had that conversation with [‘Equalizer’ screenwriter] Richard Wenk quite a bit.”
But don’t go booking your tickets to ‘The Equalizer: Young McCall’ just yet. Right now, it’s still only in Fuqua’s mind and he has yet to sound out Washington on the concept, which has been most recently deployed in the opening sequence of ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’, winding back the clock to show Harrison Ford looking like he did circa ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’.
As he explains:
“I haven’t talked to Denzel about that yet. It’s all so fresh and new. I’m still watching [the technology]. I’ve watched Harrison Ford’s film and I know there’s other movies coming out. I think Sony has one coming out with Tom Hanks soon [Robert Zemeckis’ ‘Here’]. And I’m hearing the technology is getting better and better and better. So, I’m kind of watching it to see where it goes.”
The notion of using AI and CG to de-age actors has been a controversial one; beyond the wider argument about AI and its impact on performers (which is a key point in the current SAG-AFTRA strike, it has been seen as a hit-and-miss idea.
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What’s the story of ‘The Equalizer 3?
Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed.
Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.
“The first film was about [McCall] finding a purpose. And it’s very external, right? He’s helping people. The second one is more about making peace with his past. He’s betrayed by his friends and [his colleague] dies and his wife has passed away… And then this one is more of a moral dilemma because he’s a darker character… He’s struggling with the violence and brutality.”
‘The Equalizer 3’ is in theaters on September 1.
Denzel Washington in ‘The Equalizer 3.’ Photo: Stefano Montesi.
When Antoine Fuqua took on directing ‘Emancipation’ a couple of years ago, he probably imagined a film that could attract awards attention while sensitively but honestly tackling a difficult subject.
Jackson surely needs little introduction. Raised along with his singer siblings by domineering father Joe Jackson, the Indiana native first rose to fame performing with his family as The Jackson 5.
Even beyond the likes of sister Janet, Michael rose to become a huge star, famous for hit songs and dance moves such as the Moonwalk. His videos boasted expensive production values (and directors such as John Landis) and he amassed a huge fortune.
Yet his life was also marked by chaotic decisions, a serious injury plastic surgery on the set of a Pepsi commercial in 1984 that led to him starting to take painkillers, and pedophile accusations that dogged his later years up to his death in 2009 at age 50, from cardiac arrest caused by a cocktail of sedatives.
(L to R) Director Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith behind the scenes of ‘Emancipation,’ premiering December 9, 2022 on Apple TV+.
“The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am,” says Fuqua in a statement. “For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson. I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work––the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV. His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible.”
“Antoine’s films provide personal perspectives of larger–than–life characters that continuously captivate global audiences,” adds King. “I’m confident that Antoine will make an exceptional and compelling film that will both celebrate and give profound new insights into the life of the King of Pop.”
King and Logan have been trying to put this one together for a few years now, looking to score the same level of success that ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ enjoyed, even though this promises to generate plenty of controversy, especially given the lawsuits and molestation accusations that swirled around the singer’s later life.
Given that filming is planned for later this year, the search is surely already on for an actor––or actors, if it aims to cover his life––to play Jackson. Fuqua has recruited regular collaborator, cinematographer Robert Richardson to work on this one.
Lionsgate is backing the movie, but there’s naturally no word yet on when it might arrive on screens. ‘The Equalizer 3’, meanwhile, will be in theaters on September 1st.
Michael Jackson from the ‘Bad’ music video.
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Premiering on Prime Video beginning July 1st is the new action series ‘The Terminal List,’ which is based on the novel of the same name by Jack Carr and directed by Antoine Fuqua.
The series stars Chris Pratt as Lt. Commander James Reece, a former Navy SEAL officer investigating why his entire platoon was ambushed during a high-stakes covert mission.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Pratt and Taylor Kitsch about their work on ‘The Terminal List.’
(L to R) Taylor Kitsch and Chris Pratt for Prime Video’s ‘The Terminal List.’
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Pratt, and Kitsch, as well as Constance Wu, JD Pardo, Jeanne Tripplehorn, JD Pardo, LaMonica Garrett, author Jack Carr, writer David DiGillio, and director Antonie Fuqua.
Moviefone: To begin with, Chris how would you describe the premise of ‘The Terminal List?’
Chris Pratt: Well, it’s based on the bestselling novel by Jack Carr. It follows Lieutenant Commander, James Reece, as his platoon of Navy Seals is killed in a covert mission overseas. We follow him home and realize that his memories of the event are conflicting with reality and that he is in a way, an unreliable narrator to his own story.
As his paranoia starts to mount we question whether or not he’s in the middle of a conspiracy or whether he’s losing his mind. So, it’s a psychological thriller that will really keep you guessing. It’s got incredible action, wonderful performances, it’s truly designed to honor the Navy Seal community, and we did our very best to bring this be bestselling book to screen.
MF: Taylor, did you read Jack Carr’s book before shooting the series?
Taylor Kitsch: I did not. No, I used the script as my Bible, more or less for Ben. Then of course I reached out to Jack Carr, which he couldn’t have been more inviting to talk about Ben. I think the most important part is really him giving me the reign to make it my own. I know this community pretty well, we’ve both played Navy Seals before, and to entrust me with that is very empowering. So, I was very flattered by it.
Taylor Kitsch in Prime Video’s ‘The Terminal List’
MF: What kind of training did you go through to prepare for ‘The Terminal List?’
CP: I mean, there’s physical training to get yourself in shape, so that you look like somebody who could be a Navy Seal. But granted, the only homogeny amongst this group of men is typically their grit, their fortitude, and their determination. But there are tall ones, short ones, kind of chunky ones, and skinny ones too. Some of them are in incredible shape, they look like they’re CrossFit gods and other guys who just are a little unassuming. So, they really come in all shapes and sizes.
The choice was to give yourself a physicality that would be believable if you were a Navy Seal. But most of the training that you really can’t fake is tactical training. Being able to hold a weapon system, transition between one weapon to another, shoot a gun without blinking your eyes or flinching, knowing how to hold a gun and where to hold your eyes, and how to walk into a room or turn around a corner or those types of things.
So, we both went through extensive training under the guidance of several Navy Seals that we hired as tech advisors and that we surrounded ourselves with so that we could be authentic in our movements. Oftentimes we’d do a take and we’d feel really good about it. They’d say, “you know what? Look at this, let’s try to fix those things and we’ll do it again.” We always gave them the room to be honest with us and critical of us, so that we could present these characters in an authentic way that would pass their sniff test. So, that’s where most of the training was.
MF: Finally, Taylor what was the most challenging scene for you to perform?
TK: I think the tactical part, to be honest. The beauty of this action is its story driven. It’s not violence for the sake of violence. You finally get to see these two guys in a whole different realm, serving each other, and working with each other through these different spots, indoor, outdoor, and even getting shot in the process and what that looks like. So, just figuring that out with the Seals and with Chris and again, keeping it as authentic and grounded as you can.
Yet following talk back in January that Sony was putting the pieces – including Washington and director Antoine Fuqua – back together for a third ‘Equalizer’ outing, we have confirmation that the plan is for them to return, since the studio handed out a release date.
“They have written the third ‘Equalizer’, so I’m scheduled to do that, Washington told Collider back then. “So I gotta get in shape and start beating people up again. I get to beat people up again. ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ and then going and beating some people up. Can’t get any better, right?”
For those who might have forgotten, the ‘Equalizer’ movies are a reboot of the classic 80s television series of the same name created by Richard Lindheim and Michael Sloan. The series followed Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a retired intelligence agent who becomes a private detective.
The first film, from 2014, saw Washington starring as McCall alongside Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Melissa Leo, and Bill Pullman as he faced off against the Russian Mafia to protect a young girl. The 2018 sequel has Washington, Leo, and Pullman all returning, joined by Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, and Orson Bean as Washington’s McCall sets out on a mission of revenge when one of his friends is murdered.
Details about the third movie have yet to be revealed, but you can reliably expect that Washington’s Robert McCall will bring his smarts and creative weapons skills to another tough mission battling criminals.
Sony is looking to release the new movie on September 1st, 2023.
This latest outing for Miles Morales and co., which has dropped the “Part One” from its title, will now bow in theaters on June 2, 2023. And the third movie in the series is also on the move: ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Part II’ is due on March 29th, 2024.
That wasn’t the only Spider-news to hit from Sony – the company has also handed out a July 7, 2023 spot to ‘Madame Web’, which stars Dakota Johnson as the title character, a clairvoyant with abilities to see into the spider world. Sydney Sweeney also stars, while S.J. Clarkson will direct a script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.
With ‘Across: The Spider-Verse’ vacating its original October 7 release date this year, that has left room for Sony to put live-action/CGI musical adaptation of children’s book series ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’ in its place. Shawn Mendes voices the eponymous singing crocodile, while Will Speck and Josh Gordon direct and produce.
In ‘The Guilty’ Jake Gyllenhaal plays an LAPD detective that’s been assigned as a 911 operator, and who receives a call from a woman that’s been abducted. The movie reteams Gyllenhall with director Antoine Fuqua, and they both talked to Moviefone about their new film.
Moviefone: Jake, what was it about this story that struck a chord with you?
Jake Gyllenhaal: You know, I think for me, first of all, I think the opportunity to sort of use sound in the way the movie uses sound, experience it in that way, just technically. But I also think it’s a movie about how we perceive people when we don’t get to see them, the misjudgments we make, the judgments we make, the projections we put on other people. And to me, in America right now, transposing an originally Danish movie into an American context in the period of time that we made this movie was talking a lot about how broken our systems are and how those misjudgments and those perceptions, the system does not help people in that space. That’s what really got me, outside of it just being like this crazy thrill ride, and you just didn’t know what was going to happen next. The undercurrents of it are what really ended up hooking me.
MF: Absolutely. And for you, Antoine, what was it that interest you enough to come on to direct?
Antoine Fuqua: All the things Jake just said. First Jake, to direct Jake again after ‘Southpaw‘ was a big plus. The script was well done. The original film was well done, the [original] Danish film. But as I listened to these interviews we’ve been doing lately… Today, I think part of it is that we weren’t sure we were ever going to get to make another movie again as well. We’re at the height of COVID, there was a lot of anxiety and fear that we may never get a chance to make another movie again, or we don’t know when. And so this had all the right elements and spoke to me on subject matter. But I think also there was an urgency to do the art, to do the work right. To make it happen by any means necessary.
MF: What were some of those means necessary? And I’m going to preface this by saying you were fantastic in it. But was there ever a time… because it’s really all you. We hear voices only, and we don’t even see any other locations except for this call center. So it’s really all on your shoulders. What was it like shooting this, and was there ever a time when you had any trepidation? Did you ever go, “oh my gosh, what have I gotten myself into?”
Gyllenhaal: Frankly, there was no other way to make a movie at the time. You put one person in a room with a crew, that was the safest way to make a movie at the time to get anything made really. I had just come off-stage, on for a year doing a monologue and telling a story alone on a stage to an audience every night. I could feel when their imaginations turned on. There’s a moment when you’re in a live space, and you can feel when people sort of leave watching you and go into their own space. And I love the idea of being able to do that in a cinema. Do the same sort of thing where, sure, you’re watching someone’s face, but you’re really listening to other people. You’re imagining what’s happening outside in the world that you don’t get to see.
And that was just inherently full attention. So I think really my trepidation only came about safety and everybody else’s safety when we were making the film. It’s hard to now say what it felt like at the time. Now, we’re sort of coming out and people feel a little more comfortable. Obviously, there are so many things still to work through, but at the time it just didn’t feel like we were going to get through it. And we were trying to make a movie that time. That was my only real trepidation was. Are we going to be safe? Is everyone going to be okay?
Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘The Guilty’
MF: And for you, Antoine, what were the technical challenges? You have basically one actor in one room and we hear everything else. Whereas maybe you’d do a cutaway, and we’d actually go out to the street and see this band, or we’d see kind of some action. All we do, are we just hearing voices. So what were the challenges for you?
Fuqua: In that case, it was really about making sure that Jake can have real-time performance with the other actors, as you would in any film. But they weren’t in the country, some of them. It’s just voices, as you said. And, we had a lot of technical issues with glitches and zoom and somebody in Australia, and he’d have to get up at, I don’t know what time he had. Paul had to get up at three in the morning or something. Ethan’s in New York. Peter’s in New York. And Jake had to perform with all the different actors. Da’Vine in his ear, with echoes and delays, and still have a rhythm and do it in real time. So that was one of the biggest challenges.
Other than that, it was really about COVID. I mean, really when we have plastic all over the floors, plastic over everything, almost after every take, when we would break after the 20-minute takes. And that was always dangerous, right? Because you don’t know if someone went somewhere and then came back. So we had to watch everything, and Jake was the only one with his mask off at times. And so that’s a scary thought as well. And he was in the environment. I was out in a van, but he was in an environment with a lot of people.
‘The Guilty’ is in limited release and will be on Netflix on October 1.
Mark Wahlberg is in talks to replace Chris Evans in director Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming action thriller “Infinite.”
The movie is an adaptation of D. Eric Maikranz’s novel “The Reincarnationist Papers.” Wahlberg would play Evan Michaels, a man haunted by memories of two past lives who stumbles upon a centuries-old secret society of similar individuals called the Cognomina. Its members have been agents of change throughout and Evan seeks to join their ranks.
Wahlberg most recently starred in the comedy “Instant Family” and longtime collaborator Peter Berg’s action pic “Mile 22.” He next appears in Netflix’s upcoming thriller “Wonderland,” again directed by Berg. He will also be part of the voice cast for the new animated Scooby-Do movie “Scoob.”
