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Tag: Daniella Pineda

  • ‘The Accountant 2’s Cynthia Addai-Robinson and Daniella Pineda

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    Opening in theaters on April 25th is ‘The Accountant 2’, which is a sequel to 2016’s ‘The Accountant’ and is once again directed by Gavin O’Connor (‘Miracle’).

    The returning cast includes Ben Affleck (‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’) as Christian Wolf, Jon Bernthal (‘Daredevil: Born Again’) as Christian’s brother Braxton, Cynthia Addai-Robinson (‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’) as Treasury agent Marybeth Medina, and J.K. Simmons (‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’) as director of the Treasury Department Raymond King, as well as new recruit Daniella Pineda (‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’).

    Related Article: 10 Things We Learned at Amazon MGM’s ‘The Accountant 2’ Press Conference

    (L to R) Daniella Pineda and Cynthia Addai-Robinson star in 'The Accountant 2'.
    (L to R) Daniella Pineda and Cynthia Addai-Robinson star in ‘The Accountant 2’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Cynthia Addai-Robinson and Daniella Pineda about their work on ‘The Accountant 2’, Addai-Robinson’s reaction to the screenplay, how her character has changed since the first film, if she knew there would be a sequel when she shot the original, working opposite Affleck and Bernthal this time around, and if she’s ready for ‘The Accountant 3’, while Pineda discussed joining the franchise, her love for the original, shooting her fight scenes, acting opposite Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, and working with director Gavin O’Connor.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Addai-Robinson and Pineda, as well as Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and director Gavin O’Connor.

    Cynthia Addai-Robinson attends the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    Cynthia Addai-Robinson attends the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Cynthia, Ben Affleck has said that he thinks your character is the real protagonist of this film and that he is more like a “character actor”. Do you agree with that and what was your first reaction to the sequel taking that approach?

    Cynthia Addai-Robinson: It’s interesting, if you think about the character of Marybeth Medina, I feel like she’s very much the audience’s eyes and ears in this story. You’re following along with her as she must essentially solve this puzzle, solve this mystery that really in his final moments, she’s enlisted again by J.K. Simmons, his character Ray King. I think even for Ray King, he understands that “There are two people I can entrust that I think are going to be able to figure this out. Marybeth is one of them, and of course the accountant is the other.” Really her recruiting and pulling him in to help, it’s very much initially a reluctant partnership. Then once he brings his brother Brax along, Jon Bernthal, it’s like, “Now I’m having to navigate this with these two people that I don’t really know what to expect once I bring them on.” It is true that she essentially is the through line and you’re following her journey as she tries to understand the particulars of this case.

    MF: Daniella, what was it like for you to join this franchise and work with this cast?

    Daniella Pineda: I think the coolest part about it was if you get to sign onto a project that you yourself sought out as a fan, I saw the first one in theaters in 2016 and I loved it, and I was like, “Oh man, I hope they would come out with a second one.” That was weird to be a fan of something and then you’re like, “I’m going to be in it. This is awesome.” They left it largely a mystery once I was cast. I was not aware that the film centered around this character. I just thought it was more of a supporting role and you’re in and out. I was so surprised when I read how much she’s a part of the story.

    Daniella Pineda attends the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    Daniella Pineda attends the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    MF: Cynthia, did you have a sense making the first movie that a sequel was possible?

    CAR: You’re always hopeful. I think certainly the intention from the creatives at the top was, “If this works, it would be great to continue telling this story.” I think when you’re an actor brought on board, unless you’re directly involved as say Ben obviously is a more hands-on with this, you’re just hoping and never assuming. Obviously, it took a lot longer I think than anybody would’ve ideally liked with eight years passing from when we finished the first movie to now bring this. But it always felt like there’s more story to tell. The way the first movie ends, you feel like you want to see what happens to these characters. Where do they go from here? What does life look like for them? We’ve taken the same time jump, eight years in real life and nine years in the story. It’s nice because we get to not only progress the characters, but tonally the movie is completely different from the first one. The first one’s an origin story. It’s a little bit more serious and grounded in tone. This one we just get to have fun with it and change up the genre a bit.

    MF: Daniella, can you talk about shooting the fight sequences?

    DP: We were lucky, Cynthia and I were both lucky in that most of our fight sequences happened at the end of production. We had the duration of the movie to build up and train for that. We took Muay Thai classes outside of rehearsal, which was interesting. Cynthia has a mean kick. It was a surprise to me. But I have a movie kick that’s pretty good. It was trying and it was exhausting at times, but I love the way it turned out. Muay Thai was very different for me. I messed my foot up during a rehearsal toward the end, and I got so scared, like, “Oh my God, I broke my foot right before the fight.” But thankfully it worked out. I think it took us two days to shoot that fight sequence, two or three days, and it was so much fun.

    Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    MF: Cynthia, how has Medina changed since the first film?

    CAR: She’s a grownup. I think there was in the first movie, both for Marybeth and for myself, a bit of a like, “Let me just keep my head down, do my job, don’t mess up, and don’t draw attention.” I think for Marybeth, there wasn’t necessarily a level of say, career ambition, it was just about doing a good job and serving justice. I think she’s very much led by her moral compass in putting away the bad guys, so to speak. Now here she is in a more elevated position, she’s deputy director and she’s essentially like the new Ray King. Again, J.K. Simmons character has passed the baton to her. That sense of this secret that she carries, which is she gets a leg up, she gets this information, she gets these tips, and would she have gotten there without it? Would she be able to get to that same position if she was just working hard? I love that there is that sense of a bit of imposter syndrome. You see her in the beginning of the movie literally sitting in the boss’s chair, and who she is in the beginning of the film and who she’s at the end I think there’s a beautiful arc and a real change, I think for her.

    MF: Daniella, can you talk about your character’s relationship with Raymond King and what it was like working with J.K. Simmons?

    DP: I was delighted to get a sit-down scene with Oscar winner J.K. Simmons. This is not a shocker. He is a very, very, very good actor. I am of the belief that I think that other actors make you a better actor, not necessarily directors. When it comes time to who you’re looking at and performing and bringing it, he’s one of those actors that like, “I really have to come correct today.” We meet them in a mysterious way. We don’t know why he’s so deeply intrigued by her or why he’s calling her out or how he even got a hold of her. But he seems so desperate to speak to her like he’s been fishing, and he finally has the catch. It’s a little bit under mysterious circumstances and sad ones, unfortunately for J.K.

    (L to R) Anais (Daniella Pineda) and Ray King (J.K. Simmons) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Anais (Daniella Pineda) and Ray King (J.K. Simmons) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    MF: Cynthia, you didn’t have any scenes with Ben or Jon in the first movie, what was it like getting to act opposite them this time around?

    CAR: It was like this lovely meeting of the minds both for the reality of, “Great, I get to work with these actors that I have not worked with before, even though we were in the same movie.” For those characters and seeing, “What exactly is going to happen? What happens when you put these three very different characters who are all very strong in their individuality and in their way of doing things and their perception of things, what happens?” I think what I love about this movie, and I’ve been hearing from a lot of people is there’s so much comedy to be mined from that uncomfortable situation. Uncomfortable for the characters, not uncomfortable for me or for us, but again, there is that sense of, “These characters are all circling each other, trying to make heads or tails of things.” For Marybeth especially, it’s like, “These guys are dragging me down into the gutter. This is not my way of doing things.” We had a lot of fun with it. I think when you see on the page that there’s something humorous and funny without overplaying it, I think you want to play to the truth of the situation, but you know that there’s a chuckle to be had and you can keep it loose and you can try for things. Gavin O’Connor, our director, was great at allowing for that, creating that environment where it’s like Jon’s throwing out some improvised lines, and Ben’s reacting in real time. I’m just watching the ping pong match. We just had fun with it. I think that sense of fun and play translates to what the audience experiences. Again, there’s a lot of laughs to be had on this sequel.

    MF: Daniella, what was it like working with director Gavin O’Connor?

    DP: It takes a very talented director to be able to pull off what is being hailed as arguably a better sequel. The first movie is great, but the second one, a lot of people are saying, “The second one’s better.” That takes a very talented director to be able to pull that off. I think he established the world in the first film, and then he was able to, in a very skillful way, bring out the humor and all these goodies all along. But I feel like he’s always in front of the monitor and he’s like, “I don’t know. Do I believe this? Is this believable?” Everything must be believable and must convince him. As an actor, it was so lovely to be able to work with a director who put so much trust in me and I took some liberties. I asked for her to be blonde, and Gavin was like, “Yeah, sure, okay.” I thought he was really going to fight me on that. It’s so funny the things that he graced and the other things where he knew what he wanted, but it was a wonderful balance. I loved working with him.

    (L to R) Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina), Director Gavin O'Connor, and Jon Bernthal (Brax) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina), Director Gavin O’Connor, and Jon Bernthal (Brax) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    MF: Finally, Cynthia, are you open to making ‘The Accountant 3’ if the opportunity comes your way?

    CAR: Yes, I’m very open to that. We’re getting asked that all the time. I feel like I’ve heard Gavin say as much that a trilogy to really tell the story and with each version of the movie again, give a different experience for the audience, if the audience wants it, I think it’s very much there. When this movie ends, same thing, you’re like, “What happens to these characters? Where do they go from here after everything that happens, after everything unfolds, where do they go from here?” If you still want to know that, if you still care about the fate of these characters, then, I think a third one, let’s go. Let’s do it.

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    What is the plot of ‘The Accountant 2’?

    When someone close to her is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax (Jon Bernthal), Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draw the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive — all intent on putting a stop to their search.

    Who is in the cast of ‘The Accountant 2’?

    (L to R) Allison Robertson, Ben Affleck, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lynette Howell Taylor, Gavin O'Connor, Daniella Pineda and Jon Berthal attend the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    (L to R) Allison Robertson, Ben Affleck, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lynette Howell Taylor, Gavin O’Connor, Daniella Pineda and Jon Berthal attend the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    List of Gavin O’Connor Movies:

    Buy Tickets: ‘The Accountant 2’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Ben Affleck Movies On Amazon

     

  • Movie Review: ‘The Accountant 2’

    (L to R) Jon Bernthal and Ben Affleck in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
    (L to R) Jon Bernthal and Ben Affleck in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

    ‘The Accountant 2’ receives 6 out of 10 stars.

    Opening in theaters April 25th is ‘The Accountant 2,’ directed by Gavin O’Connor and starring Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson, and J.K. Simmons.

    Related Article: 10 Things We Learned at Amazon MGM’s ‘The Accountant 2’ Press Conference

    Initial Thoughts

    Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    2016’s ‘The Accountant’ was an offbeat thriller about an autistic man named Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), whose brilliance with numbers has led him to become a forensic accountant for criminal organizations looking to find theft in their ranks, while he fronts as a legitimate public accountant and acts as an undercover mole for the U.S. Treasury. Featuring a strong central performance from Affleck, a terrific supporting cast, and a quirky blend of action, drama, and humor, ‘The Accountant’ scored well enough with audiences to put a sequel in motion.

    Some nine years later, ‘The Accountant 2’ has arrived, with Affleck, co-stars Jon Bernthal and Cynthia Addai-Robinson, director Gavin O’Connor, and writer Bill Dubuque all returning. The results are a mixed bag, with the movie intermittently capturing some of the original’s charm by building on the chemistry between Affleck and, as his brother, Bernthal.

    But a ridiculously convoluted plot, the addition of a new character almost reminiscent of a Marvel-type villain, and – speaking of Marvel – the expansion of Christian’s support system into something resembling Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, make it clear that the creatives here want to – perhaps unwisely — build this into a superhero franchise of their own.

    Story and Direction

    (L to R) Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina), Director Gavin O'Connor, and Jon Bernthal (Brax) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina), Director Gavin O’Connor, and Jon Bernthal (Brax) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    Eight years after the events of ‘The Accountant,’ Ray King (J.K. Simmons), retired director of the U.S. Treasury financial crimes bureau, is shot dead outside a bar by assassins (don’t holler, it’s right there in the trailer) after a meeting with an unknown woman who only goes by the name Anais (Daniella Pineda). King’s death and the circumstances behind are naturally investigated by his one-time assistant, Deputy Director Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), whose last message from King was to call in Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) – accountant to criminal organizations and FBI mole – to help her figure what shady business their friend was wrapped up in.

    The only lead is a photo of an undocumented family of immigrants, who disappeared some years back. Christian, who now lives an itinerant life out of his tricked-out Airstream RV, in turn calls his brother, security expert and professional killer Brax (Jon Bernthal), to help, despite the two not being in touch again for years. As Christian, Brax, and Marybeth delve deeper into what Ray was involved with, they discover he was on the trail of human traffickers – and the woman he was meeting the night he died has her own agenda and bizarre history as well.

    What set ‘The Accountant’ apart from most other crime thrillers was the way Christian went about solving problems – as puzzles in math and logic – and the relationship between him and the corporate accountant played in the first film by Anna Kendrick, who’s sorely missed here. That’s replaced by essentially a bromance between the two siblings, and indeed the best parts of ‘The Accountant 2’ are the scenes of simple back-and-forth between the preternaturally calm Christian and the frequently hot-headed Brax.

    (L to R) Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) and Brax (Jon Bernthal) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) and Brax (Jon Bernthal) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    The scene in which the two share beers atop Christian’s Airstream, talking about their dad, the effect he had on them, and their own fractured relationship – Brax looking for a sign of affection, Christian not able to give it due to his condition – is the best in the film. The second best comes right after that, when Christian and Brax head out to a country bar where Christian abruptly starts line dancing with a woman who’s interested in him, much to Brax’s delight. Although it stops the plot and the film literally in their tracks for 10 minutes, it at least features some of the idiosyncratic vibe of its predecessor.

    The brotherly comedy in the movie – which is ramped up here – clashes awkwardly with the grim human trafficking plot at the center of the film, a confusing vortex of plot points that could snarl even a human computer like Christian. There are also increasingly outlandish and indirect nods to superhero cinema, with Christian’s helper at Harbor Neuroscience now a team of a dozen kids, all on the spectrum, who sit at their laptops and can do everything from hack into mobile phones to switch off blocks of traffic lights (where are their teachers?). With backup like that, the Wolff brothers are all but indestructible, even against a kind of super soldier who adds another layer of comic-book mayhem to the proceedings. By the time we get to the standard, improbable (and generic) climactic shootout with the two brothers against an army of thugs, it’s truly difficult to remember how they got there and what the endgame is.

    It’s the clash of tones – family melodrama, buddy cop movie, brutal thriller, and Marvel-lite knockoff – that doesn’t add up in the end, making ‘The Accountant 2’ literally less than the sum of its parts. By piling on more, the filmmakers end up with less.

    Cast and Performances

    (L to R) Brax (Jon Bernthal) and Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Brax (Jon Bernthal) and Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    We’re not able to comment directly on the neurobiological accuracy of Ben Affleck’s work – which got a split response from the autism community in the first film – but he and the movie seem somewhat at odds: the literal-minded Christian is used more as the butt of jokes this time out (almost like Dave Bautista’s Drax, to wring another Marvel comparison out of this), while the humor was more organic the first time around. Affleck still acquits himself well enough, though, especially in the scenes between him and Bernthal. His best moments come when we see Christian attempting to push himself past his neurological barriers and not always getting there.

    Bernthal is probably the film’s MVP, in the sense that we learn more about him this time out while Affleck’s Christian is already established. One of current cinema’s best tough guys, Bernthal gets the chance to peel away some of the top layers of Brax’s heavily armored personality and reveal the wounded younger sibling underneath. He plays Brax’s need for approval – denied by the boys’ father, he now turns to his older brother for it – beautifully, along with the hurt he feels when he doesn’t get what he yearns for, creating an intense, internal tug of war with his fierce sense of loyalty and brotherly love.

    Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    Cynthia Addai-Robinson is once again sort of the audience avatar, meant to smooth over the vagaries of the plot by asking helpful questions of the brothers, but while she does get one brutal fight scene, she’s largely out of the picture by the third act. As for Daniella Pineda, we’ll leave her role spoiler-free except to say that a choice made by the filmmakers late in the game doesn’t make much sense to us. The rest of the cast — villains and thugs – are unremarkable and unmemorable.

    Final Thoughts

    Brax (Jon Bernthal) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Brax (Jon Bernthal) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    We went into ‘The Accountant 2’ with decent expectations, especially because the first movie grew on us and there was a lot of potential in the relationship between the two brothers. And while they do provide the best moments in the movie, the bigger scope pushes this into more generic action/crime territory and loses some of what made the first one distinct.

    Sadly, making Christian, Brax, and their confederates into a crimefighting force in all but name means that the franchise will have to go even more blockbuster for ‘The Accountant 3,’ if that film comes to pass. But we kind of wish that the series would find its way back to logic puzzles, corporate shenanigans, and a modest murder mystery – the elements that boosted the good will for ‘The Accountant’ in the first place.

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    What is the plot of ‘The Accountant 2’?

    When someone close to her is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax (Jon Bernthal), Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draw the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive — all intent on putting a stop to their search.

    Who is in the cast of ‘The Accountant 2’?

    • Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff / The Accountant
    • Jon Bernthal as Braxton
    • Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Marybeth Medina
    • Daniella Pineda as Anaïs
    • Allison Robertson as Justine
    • J. K. Simmons as Raymond King
    • Robert Morgan as Burke
    • Grant Harvey as Cobb
    • Andrew Howard as Batu
    Gavin O'Connor attends the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    Gavin O’Connor attends the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    List of Gavin O’Connor Movies:

    Buy Tickets: ‘The Accountant 2’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Ben Affleck Movies On Amazon

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  • ‘The Accountant 2’ Press Conference with Stars and Director

    (L to R) Allison Robertson, Ben Affleck, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lynette Howell Taylor, Gavin O'Connor, Daniella Pineda and Jon Berthal attend the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    (L to R) Allison Robertson, Ben Affleck, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lynette Howell Taylor, Gavin O’Connor, Daniella Pineda and Jon Berthal attend the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    Coming out in 2016, ‘The Accountant’ was the very definition of a sleeper hit. Directed by Gavin O’Connor (‘Warrior’), the film starred Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff, an autistic man with a genius for numbers who acts as a financial adviser and forensic accountant for criminal organizations.

    Tasked with examining the books for an allegedly legit but corrupt firm, Christian is pursued by Treasury agents Ray King (J.K. Simmons) and Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), while also learning that a hitman on his trail turns out to be his long-estranged brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal).

    ‘The Accountant’ was a surprise success at the box office, grossing $155 million worldwide off a reasonable $44 million budget, but the movie also had a vibrant afterlife on streaming and home video, which ultimately led to the development of ‘The Accountant 2.’

    (L to R) Jon Bernthal and Ben Affleck in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
    (L to R) Jon Bernthal and Ben Affleck in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.

    The sequel brings back O’Connor, Affleck, Bernthal, and Addai-Robinson, with the latter three reuniting to investigate the mysterious death of Ray King. Operating on the fringes of the law and the criminal underworld, the trio find themselves dealing with both a human trafficking ring and a lethal new assassin (Danielle Pineda).

    With ‘The Accountant 2’ arriving in theaters on April 25th, members of the cast and crew – including Affleck, Bernthal, Pineda, Addai-Robinson, and O’Connor — participated in a virtual press conference that Moviefone had the opportunity to attend, along with other members of the press,  and crunch the numbers on ‘The Accountant 2.’

    Related Article: Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal Return in First Pictures from ‘The Accountant 2’

    1) Why Ben Affleck Made A Rare Sequel

    Ben Affleck attends the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    Ben Affleck attends the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    With the exception of his two-movie stint (plus cameos) as Batman in the now-defunct DC Snyderverse, and brief appearances as Daredevil in the director’s cut of ‘Elektra’ and his ‘Chasing Amy’ character in Kevin Smith’s ViewAskewniverse, Ben Affleck has never played the same character twice until taking on the role of Christian Wolff.

    Ben Affleck: The first one – which was successful and I was really proud of — had a longer life in terms of the real-life feedback that I get from people and what movies they mention when they come up to me. So I definitely was aware, “Oh, wow, that movie seems to still be watched.” I think it’s also a function of the fact that streaming really started to take off after this movie. Also, I love this character. I really enjoyed playing it. Gavin and I both very much were drawn to the idea of bringing Jon back and expanding on that because we both were like, “This guy’s fabulous,” and we both felt like there was a lot more to do. Bill (Dubuque, screenwriter) and Gavin spent a lot of time in the intervening years developing and putting together — in a meticulous, detail-oriented, character-driven way that’s quite typical of Gavin — what it could be, because both were quite mindful of not wanting to repeat [the first one]. So everything about it was appealing to me.

    2) Gavin O’Connor Didn’t Want To Make The Same Movie Twice

    (L to R) Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina), Director Gavin O'Connor, and Jon Bernthal (Brax) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina), Director Gavin O’Connor, and Jon Bernthal (Brax) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    Director Gavin O’Connor says he was very concerned – as Ben Affleck states above – with not just rehashing the first ‘Accountant.’

    Gavin O’Connor: There was certain DNA that was important to preserve, and then after that, it was a lot of left turns and just try to refill the tank in a very different way. I in no way wanted to recycle the same thing that we did in the first film, so it was just a matter of how do we just start recreating the character in a way that is putting him on a different journey, integrating Brax, and bringing Cynthia back. We knew the key in the ignition was to kill Ray because I wanted it to be personal for both [Christian and Marybeth]. Most importantly, I just wanted to make a movie that was fun and entertaining and put people in the seats, where they can walk out of the theater and go, “Man, that was a f**king ball. That was a great time at the movies.” That’s really what we were going for.

    3) Jon Bernthal Enjoyed Having A New Dynamic With Ben Affleck

    (L to R) Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) and Brax (Jon Bernthal) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) and Brax (Jon Bernthal) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    Christian and Braxton spend a lot more time together in ‘The Accountant 2,’ and the film not only delves deeper into their backstory but also plays up both the friction and the humor between the two brothers, which Jon Bernthal cites as a major factor in his return.

    Jon Bernthal: It was a real thrill for me to get back, and I think with Ben, it just kind of happened that way. I mean, it’s there, but it was very much supported by Gavin to sort of let moments linger and let it exist naturally and play the moments in between the beats. [Ben is] unbelievably funny and, it sounds corny, but he’s just mastered this character in such a way that there’s just so many little moments of truth that are going on that you love, but can also drive you crazy from the right point of view. I feel like I was really let off the leash to have a real opinion about that.

    4) They Didn’t Set Out To Make The Sequel Funnier

    Gavin O'Connor attends the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    Gavin O’Connor attends the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    While there is a lot more humor in ‘The Accountant 2,’ Jon Bernthal notes that Gavin O’Connor “never told us to be funny.” O’Connor says that it wasn’t done on purpose – it just happened that way.

    Gavin O’Connor: I don’t think we ever said, “Oh, it has to be funny.” When I say I wanted the movie to be fun and entertaining, I mean, Jon and I had so many sit-downs where we would just dissect the character and the intention in the scene, but once you just put these guys together, both of these guys, their characters are slightly bonkers in certain ways, so if you just let them do their thing, it was such a fertile kind of environment. The reason I think it works is because they weren’t trying to be funny. They were just so ingrained in their characters.

    5) Cynthia Addai-Robinson Says She And Her Character Evolved At The Same Time

    Cynthia Addai-Robinson attends the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    Cynthia Addai-Robinson attends the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    Coming back to play Treasury agent Marybeth Medina, who is pushed to her limits both legally and physically by her collaboration with Christian and Braxton, Cynthia Addai-Robinson said that she and the character had a similar kind of growth from the first movie to the second.

    Cynthia Addai-Robinson: I think I always viewed Marybeth as sort of the entry point for the audience because she’s observing and seeing all these things unfold around her and reacting in kind. And myself as an actor, same thing. I think back to working on the first movie. I was nervous. I was kind of out of my depth in a way, but just trying to present as if I wasn’t, which I think was a similar type of situation for Marybeth. Here we are eight years later, and Marybeth has evolved, she’s grown, she’s in this sort of elevated position within the Treasury Department, and for myself as a person and an actor, I felt like I had also grown, and it was like, “All right, I’m going to be returning to a situation that’s familiar. I feel a little bit more comfortable, a little bit more confident.” So that was really nice for me to kind of feel like, “Okay, I’m feeling like I can handle what I’m now getting thrown at me,” which is this dynamic with Ben and Jon’s characters and just, again, being that point of entry for the audience. I get to bear witness to all of their shenanigans and be like, “All right, these guys are kind of crazy and they’re also kind of challenging my view of how to serve justice really.”

    6) Christian Wolff Is Not The Movie’s Protagonist, Says Ben Affleck

    Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    Although his role is right there in the title, Ben Affleck has a theory that somebody else is actually the movie’s main character.

    Ben Affleck: The secret of this movie is that Cynthia is the protagonist really. She’s the lead in the movie. She is the entree for the audience, which means we get to play character parts, and there is a kind of relief from not having to carry a certain — there are a whole bunch of expectations and stuff that go with being the lead in the movie because, as Cynthia says, the audience is really projecting themselves onto you. So [Jon and I] are like a dual aggravant in some ways to her, and if you look at the math of the story, it’s about her being brought into this, seeing this person be killed, trying to find out what it was and what she has to go through to get there and the resolution of her story. That’s something that I find very artful and interesting, where this person is the lead of the movie and you have these dual character actors in there. That affords Jon and I the luxury of doing the sort of ‘Odd Couple‘ thing.

    7) Daniella Pineda Says This Was Her Most Physically Demanding Role Yet

    Daniella Pineda attends the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    Daniella Pineda attends the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    Daniella Pineda’s first big break came via a major role in ‘The Vampire Diaries’ TV spinoff ‘The Originals,’ and more recently she has appeared in action-oriented movies like ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ and ‘Plane.’ But she says the role of Anais – a ruthless killer with an enigmatic and ultimately bizarre backstory – was her most challenging yet.

    Daniella Pineda: I would say it was definitely next level. I mean, it’s not necessarily a character you see all the time. There is something really compelling about watching a predator do their thing, but at the same time, I felt like there’s more to her. There are more layers there. So she’s not just a stone-cold killer, and it’s the type of role that I would like to see more women get to play. They’re certainly here in the real world. I love to beat the s**t out of Cynthia (laughs). But we were hugging in between takes and it was nice. I got really lucky. I had a good partner.

    8) All The Action Was Character-Driven

    (L to R) Brax (Jon Bernthal) and Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Brax (Jon Bernthal) and Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    Gavin O’Connor says the reason the action – which can be quite violent — works in ‘The Accountant 2’ is because the movie spends the time getting the viewer invested in the characters.

    Gavin O’Connor: We can cite action movies that are great, but it just feels like the action is in front of the characters. For us, and the same with the girls, we were always coming from characters. What we were always tracking when we got to the third act was, “How are [Jon and Ben] working together? How are they now united?” We knew the stakes, we knew what they wanted, so inside the action and choreography, it was really about the emotional line between the two brothers and how are they going to try to accomplish this together. That was really what the conversations were about. Action isn’t emotional, and no one cares about disposable violence, so it was really evoking emotion because you care about the characters.

    9) We Find Out A Lot More About Jon Bernthal’s Brax

    Brax (Jon Bernthal) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Brax (Jon Bernthal) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    While Jon Bernthal’s character, Brax, is a relatively late arrival in the first ‘Accountant,’ he’s in much more of the sequel and we get to discover more about Christian’s tough and fiercely loyal brother.

    Jon Bernthal: Brax is really sort of shrouded in mystery in the first one. You really don’t know too much about him, but you have these amazing flashbacks to see how these two boys were raised and what their relationship was with their dad. It really is the crux of what is bothering both of them and what’s really bothering Brax, the roles that we’ve always filled for each other, getting each other’s back, having to be there for each other, and the lack of being there for each other. So it doesn’t culminate just in a gunfight, it culminates in, “Hey, I’m there for you. I’m getting your back, you’re getting mine. We’re joined forever,” and it’s a way, for lack of a better word, of showing how much you love somebody.

    10) Ben Affleck Line Dances Onscreen For The First Time

    (L to R) Ben Affleck and Jon Berthal attend the Amazon MGM Studios 'The Accountant 2' World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
    (L to R) Ben Affleck and Jon Berthal attend the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

    In one unexpected scene, Christian and Brax take a night off and head to a bar – where the introverted Christian shockingly gets up and begins to line dance with a woman on the crowded floor. Affleck jokes about the scene, “America wasn’t asking for it, but they’re going to get it.”

    Ben Affleck: That was one of the fun things about this, the idea that here’s a guy who wants to have a relationship with a woman, and he’s trying to figure out how to do that, how to put yourself out there. He’s not comfortable extending himself, he doesn’t really know how to flirt exactly, like so many of us. It’s not easy for anyone figuring out relationships, particularly the very early part where you’re trying to gauge, “What does this signal mean? Is this person looking at me? Do they like me? Am I going to humiliate myself if I go over there?” What he does is kind of a lovely thing: he uses something that he’s comfortable with, which in that case is the ability to recognize and identify the pattern of line dancing — because it is so structured and patterned — to participate in this. It’s the perfect way that he’s comfortable with standing next to this woman who he’s attracted to and wants to connect with, because it’s kind of like parallel play with little kids. You don’t have to look at somebody and engage them, but you get to be with them and do something next to them, and he finds a way that he’s comfortable doing that. I probably am not going to get a lot more demands for my line dancing work, but it was really fun. I think what’s charming about it, at least I hope, is that it’s somebody putting themselves out there to do something that they’re not necessarily great at, but they’re trying. I mean really, at the end of the day, that’s all any of us can do.

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    What is the plot of ‘The Accountant 2’?

    When someone close to her is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax (Jon Bernthal), Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draw the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive — all intent on putting a stop to their search.

    Who is in the cast of ‘The Accountant 2’?

    Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    List of Gavin O’Connor Movies:

    Buy Tickets: ‘The Accountant 2’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Ben Affleck Movies On Amazon

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  • First Images of Ben Affleck in ‘The Accountant 2’

    (L to R) Brax (Jon Bernthal) and Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Brax (Jon Bernthal) and Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    Preview:

    • 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.

    What’s the story of ‘The Accountant 2’?

    Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    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…

    Who else is in ‘The Accountant 2’?

    Brax (Jon Bernthal) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Brax (Jon Bernthal) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    The cast for the new movie includes the returning likes of Addai-Robinson, Simmons and Bernthal plus new recruits including ‘Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom’s Daniella Pineda, as well as Allison Robertson.

    Related Article: ‘The Account 2’: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and More All Returning

    ‘The Accountant 2’: The Cast Speak

    (L to R) Anais (Daniella Pineda) and Ray King (J.K. Simmons) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Anais (Daniella Pineda) and Ray King (J.K. Simmons) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    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.”

    Could there be a third movie?

    (L to R) Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina), Director Gavin O'Connor, and Jon Bernthal (Brax) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina), Director Gavin O’Connor, and Jon Bernthal (Brax) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    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.

    (L to R) Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) and Brax (Jon Bernthal) in 'The Accountant 2'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) and Brax (Jon Bernthal) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    List of Gavin O’Connor Movies:

    Buy Ben Affleck Movies On Amazon

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  • ‘Bang Bang’ Interview: Tim Blake Nelson and More

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    Premiering at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival on June 11th is the new boxing drama ‘Bang Bang,’ which was directed by Vincent Grashaw.

    The movie stars Tim Blake Nelson (‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’), Andrew Liner (‘Gray Matter’), Glenn Plummer (‘Speed‘), Kevin Corrigan (‘The Departed‘), Erica Gimpel (‘King of New York‘), Daniella Pineda (‘Jurassic World Dominion‘) and Nina Arianda (‘Being the Ricardos‘).

    Related Article: George Foreman and Forest Whitaker Talk Boxing Biopic ‘Big George Foreman’

    Andrew Liner and Tim Blake Nelson in 'Bang Bang'.
    (L to R) Andrew Liner and Tim Blake Nelson in ‘Bang Bang’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Vincent Grashaw, as well as actors Tim Blake Nelson and Andrew Liner about their work on ‘Bang Bang’, Grashaw’s first reaction to the screenplay and what he wanted to say about the sport of boxing, Nelson’s approach to his character and playing a former boxer, the fight sequences, Liner’s character’s relationship with his grandfather and working with Nelson and Kevin Corrigan, and why Nelson enjoyed making the movie.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Tim Blake Nelson and Andrew Liner.

    Andrew Liner and Tim Blake Nelson in 'Bang Bang'.
    (L to R) Andrew Liner and Tim Blake Nelson in ‘Bang Bang’.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Vincent, can you talk about your first reaction to Will Janowitz’s screenplay and the themes you wanted to explore as a director?

    Vincent Grashaw: The script speaks for itself. As a director, unless you write the thing, which I always feel, you’re a little more naked and probably protective and less collaborative, not even something you’re aware of. I always find you’re a little more guarded, and I don’t like that. That’s why I prefer to read somebody else’s material, fall in love with it, and then take it and bring yourself to it. Will’s script, when you’re reading something like that, you find yourself disappearing in it, and it doesn’t take long. I can gauge my interest based on how long it takes me to read a script based on the page count and how long, and it’s one that I breezed through, and everything happened quickly from there in terms of getting it made. But I was really excited about the boxing aspects to it on top of the intimate characters and their relationships. It was an unexpected direction that the script takes that also just, it kept surprising me, and by the end, you’re throwing the script across the room because you’re just like, “Dude, it’s fantastic.” I think it’s one of those things, as a filmmaker, you see an opportunity and you’re like, “I want to tell the story.” It becomes an obsession almost until it gets done.

    MF: Tim, can you talk about your approach to playing Bernard and what were some of the aspects of the character you were excited to explore on screen?

    Tim Blake Nelson: I’ve never encountered a character quite like this. The swerve to which Vince refers also interested me and recalled the John Huston film ‘Fat City’ and how deeply that movie delved into the aftermath of a career in boxing. I felt that I hadn’t read a script or seen a boxing movie that had those sorts of ambitions. I was very excited to lend myself to that. The big question for me was how credible I could be as this guy, particularly as somebody with a boxing past. Luckily Vince, in addition to being a wonderful director in his own right, regardless of his association with boxing, has a boxing past, comes from a family with boxers in it and has boxed himself. He was able to talk me through not only the simple aspects of the fact that I could have been a lightweight or a featherweight fighter, and in fact it would make perfect sense for my build if I could devote myself to the training, which I was certainly willing to do. But he helped me start to think about the mindset and allowing that to seep in during the training process. Because of Vince, I had the confidence that I was going to be able to fill the character out inside of this rather slight diminutive frame. Then at the time we made this movie, I guess I was 59, and to be able to continue acting at my age, and not only that, but be given a challenge like this, this is why I set out on this career path in the first place. I couldn’t be happier. I’m a lucky soul to have been guided through this character by Vincent Grashaw.

    Tim Blake Nelson in 'Bang Bang'.
    Tim Blake Nelson in ‘Bang Bang’.

    MF: Can you talk about the anger that Bernard carries with him and his obsession with his past?

    TBN: Well, the script is so well written that in the way I was trained way back, as my wife would say in the Mesozoic era, I am guided by the writing and Will Janowitz‘s script supplies an actor with everything an actor needs. Really, I just answered that without ladling a bunch of confusing stuff on top of that. I just played the truth of the character as written, as directed by Vince, refracted through a lot of boxing training and hanging around boxers. In terms of the relationship with the grandson, I had this wonderful scene partner in Andrew who was open, honest, available, professional and everything you’d want in a scene partner. The anger, the love, the disappointment was just all readily there for me to open myself up to it.

    MF: Andrew, can you talk about Justin’s relationship with his grandfather and what he learns from training with him?

    Andrew Liner: I think it’s interesting having Justin be a young man trying to find who he is without a male role model in his life until Bang Bang. The messy weird relationship that Bang and Justin have is in a way cathartic for both because in a way they needed each other and they have a deep love for one another, even though it does get messy because Bang gives Justin purpose. I think that in exploring these characters, I think Tim and I also just were very prepared and got to talk and listen with one another. I think at the end of the day, the writing was so good that there was nothing else needed. You could just talk to one another, and it’ll ring true. Having the characters be so real and so thought out, thanks to Will and Vince bringing those characters to life, the story fell in place. I think that Vince is very specific as well. If he wasn’t getting what he wanted, he would very much explain what exactly he wants. I think through that, it’s hard to mess up. It was a great experience because we all came together and told a story.

    Andrew Liner in 'Bang Bang'.
    Andrew Liner in ‘Bang Bang’.

    MF What was your experience like working with Tim, and what did you learn from him while making the film?

    AL: I learned a lot working with Tim. He’s one of the best actors of his generation, and he pours himself into these characters not only emotionally and spiritually, but physically as well, which is everything that I want to do with what I take to acting. Just picking his brain and seeing how he operates during rehearsals, or asking Vince questions about what the shot is, or asking Will questions about where the character is going in this scene, what the target is, just watching him do his thing. With Bang being the character that he is, it’s daunting and it’s hard. Seeing him obsess over who he is and the relationships, that was a learning experience for me because it got me to a place where I was like, “Okay, I can start trying this. I can start pushing this envelope here, and I’m not so much in a box.” He broke that box down for me.

    MF: Tim, you have some very physical scenes, did you work with a stunt coordinator for the fight sequences?

    TBN: I don’t think I’ve ever been so despised by a stunt coordinator as I was on this movie because I just kept saying, “No, let us just, please don’t worry about us.” I think the guy wanted to kill me. Stunt coordinators, to their credit, it’s their job. I admire it. I fault myself in the way that I was at times with this guy, who’s a perfectly wonderful guy and good at his job. But he was protecting us and really protecting me because Andrew is, he’s like an Adonis and I’m getting a little superannuated. So, he didn’t want me to get hurt, but I’m also in really good shape and I wanted Andrew to be able to whack me. It was that kind of thing. I think the guy very much, I take his side against me on this. I think at times he was just saying, “Would this guy just get over himself and let me do my job?” But I wanted to get whacked and really play the scene, and I didn’t feel that Andrew Liner, the actor, was going to be irresponsible in that scenario.

    Glenn Plummer in 'Bang Bang'.
    Glenn Plummer in ‘Bang Bang’.

    MF: Glenn Plummer, who plays Darnell Washington, has a great speech at the end of the film where he talks about the “truth” behind boxing. Vincent, as a filmmaker, what did you want to say about the sport of boxing with this movie?

    VG: It’s a beautiful seven-minute back and forth between these two, and mainly Glenn speaking, just how things really are. On an intimate level, for me, its exploring what boxers are left with post-career. A lot of times it’s a sad, lonely place. You see it all the time. Boxers don’t know when to retire. Not all of them, but a lot of them aren’t really left with much money. They’re forgotten by an audience that if you were at the height of the sport, it’s a drug. That’s one of the reasons they don’t know when to retire. That was the heart of it. Then, almost all sports are regulated, and they have a commission. As much as boxing does have a state-by-state commission, it’s the wild, wild west. There’s no union, there’s no protections. There was a fighter, not too long ago, he was a young prospect, undefeated, good-looking kid, and he got knocked out in a fight that was six months or three months after a previous time he lost. He wasn’t protected. The athletic commission typically would suspend you after a knockout to give your brain a certain amount of time to recover. He ended up with brain damage and ended up thankfully recovering and being able to live a life. But he’s out of the sport and he was forgotten by his own promoter. You’re done at that point, who do you turn to? He’s got his family and he’s able to live now and have a life. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there was a similarity to the character of Bang Bang’s brother that this guy went through. It just breaks your heart. I wanted to be honest about the sport, really.

    MF: Andrew, you have a scene with Kevin Corrigan where he starts singing spontaneously at the end of a monologue. Was that in the script or something he improvised?

    AL: Yeah, that was in the script and that was also Kevin’s first day, and that was my first day as well. That was the last shot of the day, I think. It was like a crazy experience for me to just sit there and watch and listen and it made my acting job easy because he was so phenomenal. I think it just showcased the bizarre world that they both live in. Also, you feel a lot of what these characters are going through with that scene because Kevin is so emotional and powerful and boosts my ego and tells me how Bang feels about me. It’s not like Justin and Bang are going to go sit, get coffee and be like, “I actually love you so much.” It was a very important scene that not only told Justin, but told the audience that “No, no, no. You got to understand how he looks at you. He looks at you like you’re a king, and he believes that, and that’s why he’s giving you this tough love.”

    Kevin Corrigan in 'Bang Bang'.
    Kevin Corrigan in ‘Bang Bang’.

    MF: Finally, Tim, what was the experience of making this movie and working with Andrew and Vincent like for you?

    TBN: Well, I loved working with Andrew. He was wonderfully open, available, and generous as a scene partner. I couldn’t have asked for a better scene partner. I think he’s going to have an incredible career, and anybody would be lucky to work with him. That was fantastic. I was somewhat involved in the casting process, not with any final decisions, but with a bit of a say-so and certainly supported Vince in his choice of Andrew. It was clear this was going to be a great citizen on the film, and the unknown was what performance he would give, and I think it’s extraordinary. As for Vincent, I’m incredibly grateful to him for trusting me with this role. I credit him very much for guiding what the performance is and for giving me the space and wherewithal to give him what he needed for his movie. I think Vince is going to make some extraordinary films in his life, and I hope I’m a part of them.

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    What is the plot of ‘Bang Bang’?

    Retired pugilist Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski (Tim Blake Nelson) is inspired to try his hand at training once he reconnects with his estranged grandson (Andrew Liner). While their training brings Bang Bang out of the hole he’s been living in, everyone questions his motivations, including an ex-girlfriend (Erica Gimpel) from decades ago, who was privy to Bang Bang’s meteoric rise in the sport in the 80s as well as the rivalry with his former opponent, her cousin and Detroit’s Mayoral candidate Darnell Washington (Glenn Plummer). Is Bang Bang merely passing down inherited rage, or is there true altruism behind his tutelage?

    Who is in the cast of ‘Bang Bang’?

    • Tim Blake Nelson as Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski
    • Glenn Plummer as Darnell Washington
    • Kevin Corrigan as John Eton
    • Andrew Liner as Justin
    • Nina Arianda as Jen
    • Erica Gimpel as Sharon
    • Daniella Pineda as Officer Flores
    Tim Blake Nelson in 'Bang Bang'.
    Tim Blake Nelson in ‘Bang Bang’.

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  • Gerard Butler Thriller ‘Plane’ Spawns ‘Ship’ Sequel

    Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in 'Plane.'
    Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in ‘Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.

    There’s simplicity in storytelling and then there’s the quick, easy-to-understand but also easy-to-joke-about nature of this year’s Gerard Butler-starring action thriller ‘Plane’.

    The internet naturally had a lot of fun when ‘Plane’ was announced, becoming the latest movie in which Butler has trouble in the air (or, in this case, the real trouble started when the plane crashed).

    ‘Plane’, which landed in theaters last month starred Butler alongside Mike Colter, Tony Goldwyn, Daniella Pineda, Lilly Krug and Paul Ben-Victor.

    Jean-François Richet called the shots, working from a script by writers Charles Cumming and J.P. Davis. With a $25 million budget, the indie release has so far earned more than $43 million worldwide. So of course, a sequel is now on the way. The title this time? ‘Ship’!

    According to Variety, ‘Ship’ will pick up where the original left off but focus on Colter’s character.

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    What was the story of ‘Plane’?

    For those who have yet to sample the testosterone-driven delights of ‘Plane’, here’s a basic briefing.

    Pilot Brodie Torrance (Butler) saves his passengers on Trailblazer Flight 119 from a lightning strike by making a risky landing on a war-torn island––only to find that surviving the landing was just the beginning.

    When most of the passengers are taken hostage by dangerous rebels, the only person Torrance can count on for help is Louis Gaspare (Colter), an accused murderer who was being transported by the FBI. In order to rescue the passengers, Torrance will need Gaspare’s help, and will learn there’s more to Gaspare than meets the eye…

    Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare and Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance in 'Plane.'
    (L to R) Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare and Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance in ‘Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.

    Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Plane’

    What will ‘Ship’ be about?

    It might not have either writers or a director officially aboard yet, but ‘Ship’ has a concept…

    Following a high-octane showdown with the local militia on Jolo’s shores, Gaspare manages to commandeer a fishing boat and escape the Philippines. But he’s not out of the woods yet: the media circus surrounding Flight 119 has elevated his public profile, making him the subject of an international manhunt.

    Hoping to stay under the radar and get far away from his last known location, Gaspare hops aboard a cargo ship in East Asia that’s bound for South Africa. But as he settles in for a long voyage, the stowaway discovers that the ocean vessel is transporting more than goods—it’s also being used as a ferry for a human trafficking ring.

    A strong moral code won’t allow Gaspare to simply stand by, so he once again puts his own freedom on hold. Together with the ship’s second mate, a last-minute addition to the crew who was unaware of its illicit activities, and a passenger with military experience and a bone to pick, Gaspare embarks on a mission to take down the ship’s corrupt captain, keep its innocent passengers safe, and liberate its captives.

    The big question is whether Butler’s pilot character who––spoiler alert––also survives the first movie will show up to help out.

    We can’t help but think the producers missed a trick not calling this next film ‘Train’, with ‘Automobile’ waiting in the wings, but we suppose that a train wasn’t the best mode of transport off the island…

    Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance and Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in "Plane.' Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.
    (L to R) Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance and Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in “Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.
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    ‘Plane’ was written by Charles Cumming and J.P. Davis, directed by Jean-Francois Richet, and stars Gerard Butler, Mike Colter and Tony Goldwyn. The movie was produced by Di Bonaventura Pictures, G-BASE, and Lionsgate, and was released in theaters on January 13th, 2023.

     

  • Movie Review: ‘Plane’

    Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare and Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance in 'Plane.'
    (L to R) Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare and Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance in ‘Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.

    ‘Plane,’ the new action-thriller from director Jean-François Richet (‘Assault on Precinct 13’), is scheduled to crash-land into theaters on January 13th.

    Gerard Butler stars as commercial pilot Brodie Torrance, who is traveling on New Year’s Eve with a plane full of passengers, including FBI transport and accused murderer Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter).

    But when the plane is forced to make an emergency landing, Torrance saves his passengers by landing on a remote island, only to find that it is inhabited by a dangerous group of rebels. When the passengers are taken hostage, Torrance and Gaspare must learn to trust each other and work together in order to rescue them and survive.

    The result is a fun and entertaining action-adventure that has elements of ‘Con Air,’ ‘The Grey,’ ‘Speed,’ and even ‘Sully,’ and features a great onscreen duo in Butler and Colter.

    Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance in 'Plane.'
    Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance in ‘Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.

    In some ways, Gerard Butler is one of the most reliable movie stars working today. He created a strong action franchise with the ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ trilogy, and had such success with one-off movies like ‘Law Abiding Citizen’ and ‘Den of Thieves’ that sequels are in the works for each. He’s also appeared in a string of successful action movies like ‘Geostorm,’ ‘Copshop,’ and ‘Greenland.’

    With ‘Plane’ Butler adds another entertaining action movie to his resume and also continues to create believable “everyman” characters for the audience to relate to. In a world that is dominated by superhero movies, it’s nice to see a fillm about an “ordinary man in an extraordinary situation” that audiences can actually relate to. Butler has wisely shed the superhero persona that made him a household name with ‘300,’ for an “everyman” persona that he has played well in films like ‘Greenland’ and now ‘Plane.’

    Mike Colter, who should be a much bigger star than he is, is probably best known for his work as the title character on Netflix’s Marvel series ‘Luke Cage,’ as well as the CBS series ‘Evil.’ Colter gives a strong performance as convict Louis Gaspare, and is a great partner for Butler. The two actors have a strong chemistry together, and I enjoyed the fact that they left Gaspare’s backstory a mystery, as it was not necessary and adds to the mystic of his character.

    Director Jean-François Richet really packs the movie with incredible action sequences, including the crash landing that begins the film. But the action doesn’t stop there, as that is only the beginning and the movie features some great shoot-outs and fight scenes with both Butler and Colter. However, the film also features several quieter moments that allow the audience a better chance to understand these character’s emotions, thanks to a fairly smart script from screenwriters Charles Cumming and J.P. Davis.

    Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in 'Plane.'
    Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in ‘Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.

    Veteran character actors Paul Ben-Victor and Tony Goldwyn make welcomed additions to the cast as the airline owner and his crisis manager, respectively. While Butler and Colter are obviously the leads, it certainly helped the integrity of the project to sprinkle in such talented and respected actors in supporting roles.

    Actress Daniella Pineda, who plays flight attendant Bonnie, is fine in her role, but has limited screen time and could have been given more to do. The weakest point in the cast is probably the rebels. They do the most with what is given, but ultimately the villains were tragically underwritten. It works for a while, having the rebel forces’ true motivations a mystery to both the audience and the other characters, but once they are revealed, little is done to humanize them or make their point of view clear.

    In the end, director Jean-François Richet delivers a fun and entertaining action movie that combines elements we’ve seen before but does it in a new and fresh way. Gerard Butler continues his success at turning otherwise “B-Movies” into entertaining theatrical experiences, with some help from Mike Colter’s strong performance and the two actors great onscreen chemistry together.

    ‘Plane’ receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.

    Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance and Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in "Plane.' Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.
    (L to R) Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance and Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in “Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.
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  • ‘Plane’ Exclusive Interview: Gerard Butler and Mike Colter

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    Opening in theaters on January 13th is the new action-thriller ‘Plane,’ which was directed by Jean-François Richet (‘Assault on Precinct 13’).

    The film stars Gerard Butler (‘300,’ ‘Olympus Has Fallen,’ ‘Den of Thieves‘) as commercial pilot Brodie Torrance, who saves his passengers from a lightning strike by making a risky landing on a war-torn island, only to find that surviving the landing was just the beginning.

    When the passengers are taken hostage by dangerous rebels, the only person Torrance can count on for help is Louis Gaspare (‘Luke Cage’s Mike Colter), an accused murderer who was being transported by the FBI. Now, Torrance and Gaspare must learn to trust each other and work together in order to rescue the passengers and survive.

    In addition to Butler and Colter, the movie also features Yoson An, Daniella Pineda, Kelly Gale, Paul Ben-Victor, and Tony Goldwyn.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Gerard Butler and Mike Colter about their work on ‘Plane,’ what audiences can expect from the new movie, why Butler wanted to play this role, and the bond that is formed between his and Colter’s characters.

    Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance and Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in "Plane.' Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.
    (L to R) Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance and Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in “Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Gerard Butler and Mike Colter about ‘Plane.’

    Moviefone: To begin with, what would you both say to audiences getting ready to watch this movie to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have?

    Mike Colter: Listen, ‘Plane’ is a movie that is for everybody. Everybody is going to enjoy this film because this film, it checks all the boxes. It’s a thriller, it’s passionate, and it’s action. It’s a character-driven plot that you can’t get away from because we basically connect and we’re from opposite sides of the spectrum. What people are going to respond to are things that they’ve experienced in their life, but it’s a thrill ride and you just got to watch it from beginning to end, and it’s going to be fast so enjoy.

    Gerard Butler: I feel like we have the survival, we have the drama, and we have the thriller. It really has so much going on. You’re dealing with characters that aren’t superheroes, they’re characters that you can get behind. They’re the underdogs.

    One, we have what I think is one of the most thrilling action sequences on the plane as we go through this storm, that we are not letting anybody off the hook. You’re in it till the end and it’s terrifying. It’s just white knuckle, and then that’s the start of the movie. Once we land, we’re in a whole new world of Hell. But it’s such a fascinating dynamic between the passengers, how do you control them?

    Then me as a captain who’s pretty square, big heart, but I have to rely on essentially an accused murderer, who I know is far better in this environment than I am. It leads to a really, I think, memorable relationship in an action movie between these two guys.

    Daniella Pineda as Bonnie Lane, Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance, and Yoson An as Samuel Dele in 'Plane.'
    (L to R) Daniella Pineda as Bonnie Lane, Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance, and Yoson An as Samuel Dele in ‘Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.

    MF: Gerard, Brodie Torrance is an ordinary guy thrown into an extraordinary circumstance. Can you talk about that and the challenges of playing a character like that?

    GB: For me, it was a chance for me to play a character who’s, in a lot of ways, more like me as a person. He’s an everyman. This morning that he wakes up, he’s kind of a sad guy. He lost his wife, and he’s trying to bond with his daughter. He thinks he’s flying on New Year’s Eve, and he’s going to get some precious time because things haven’t been going very well in his career. He is flying for an economy airline on the other side of the world. A few hours later he realizes that he’s in a position where these next few hours will define his whole life, and he didn’t even know what it was going to pull out of him.

    How far does a sense of duty take you that you owe to your passengers or the people around you? He clearly takes that to the extreme, but as I say, there’s no perfection in these characters. Is he taking them down the wrong path? Am I going to get them all killed? A lot of the time, I’m gung-ho and this man here’s like, “Yeah, that’s cool, but there’s other ways to go about this.” That’s another fascinating thing about our dynamic.

    Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in 'Plane.'
    Mike Colter as Louis Gaspare in ‘Plane.’ Photo Credit: Kenneth Rexach.

    MF: Finally, Mike, Louis Gaspare seems uniquely qualified for the situation he finds himself in. Can you talk about that and the partnership that he forms with Brodie?

    MC: It’s really interesting because we never really lay out exactly all of his skills, or anything like that. But it’s interesting because within the context of the two characters, Brodie is more gung-ho, as Gerard said. I’m kind of pulling him back. He’s got all the heart, and he’s got all the determination. I’m sort of assessing things, trying to figure out how to survive and how to make sure we don’t do too much and keep us alive. We’re trying to live to fight another day.

    So, I think his character inspires my character to do things that he normally wouldn’t do for other people because he’s never had to. In this situation, he’s an accused murderer. If anything, he’s about self-preservation. But I think he just sees the passion and the humanity in Brodie. That rubs off on him and that creates this bond between the two of them. Somehow you just see them joined at the hip for a bit and it’s a great thing to see.

    Gerard Butler and Mike Colter star in "Plane.'
    (L to R) Gerard Butler and Mike Colter star in “Plane.’
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  • ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ Prologue Goes All the Way Back to the Cretaceous

    Jurassic World Dominion

    Universal Pictures has released an online teaser for the upcoming ‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ entitled ‘The Prologue.’ The trailer, which was originally released on IMAX screens with ‘F9’ last summer does something no other ‘Jurassic Park’ movie has ever done, depict dinosaurs in their natural habitat over 65 million years ago, before jumping to present day to see a T. rex terrorizing a drive-in movie theater.

    Very little is known at this point about the plot of ‘Dominion,’ except that it will pick up where ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ left off, with cloned dinosaurs running wild through our modern society. Filmmaker Colin Trevorrow, who directed 2015’s ‘Jurassic World,’ is set to return for ‘Dominion’ after sitting out ‘Fallen Kingdom.’

    The Prologue is five and a half minutes long and begins over 65 million years ago, showing several types of ancient species living together in peace… that is, until we see a T. rex attack another T. rex and kill it by biting its neck. We then see what appears to be a mosquito bite the dead T. rex and fly away, which is of course what led to the dinosaur cloning we see in the first film.

    The trailer then jumps ahead 65 million years, to what appears to be present day, as a helicopter chases a T. rex to a drive-in movie theater, which is playing a double feature of ‘American Graffiti’ and ‘Flash Gordon.’ The drive-in theaters’ double feature and the retro clothes on the theater patrons might lead some to believe that this scene takes place in the early 80s, before the events of the first ‘Jurassic Park, but that theory is shot down when Chris Pratt appears, indicating that this is present day. It’s also worth mentioning that the movies shown at the theater could be a nod to original ‘Jurassic Park’ director Steven Spielberg, who’s best friend, George Lucas, wrote and directed ‘American Graffiti’.’

    During the retro “Let’s all go to the lobby” animated commercial that used to play before movie screenings, terror erupts as the T. rex arrives. Most of the patrons beginning screaming and running for their life, while others don’t even notice the dinosaur because they’re focused on watching the movie screen. Then we see our hero, Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady, in the helicopter taking a shot at the T. rex with a rifle. The tranquilizer he shoots misses the dinosaur and hits the car of an unsuspecting driver trying to escape the dinosaur massacre before fading to black.

    The new teaser begins with the Universal Pictures logo, making one think that the footage from 65 million years ago might be the way the movie actually starts. However, the drive-in theater footage could appear later in the film, unless this scene is our first introduction to Owen Grady after the events of ‘Fallen Kingdom.’ Since ‘Dominion’ is set to feature a world dominated by dinosaurs and humans alike after the events of ‘Fallen Kingdom,’ it makes sense to begin the film like this, contrasting a world before humans to now, when humans and dinosaurs will be forced to live together.

    The teaser trailer also gives us our first look at seven new species of dinosaurs never before seen in a ‘Jurassic Park’ movie, which was recently confirmed by Trevorrow to Empire Magazine. “We have our first feathered dinosaur, the Oviraptor,” the director said to the British film publication. “I feel like that’s going to be a bit of a headline for those who care about paleontological accuracy. Another one, with feathers, is the Moros intrepidus. That one showed up maybe two years ago. It probably popped up into your feed, that people found a tiny, T-Rex-like feathered dinosaur. That was one of the quickest turnarounds that we’ve had, from discovery to putting it on screen.”

    ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ is scheduled for release on June 10th, 2022 and will be the third film in the ‘Jurassic World’ sequel series, which began with Trevorrow’s ‘Jurassic World’ in 2015. That film was at one time the third highest grossing movie of all time, and currently is the sixth highest grossing film of all time following ‘Avatar,’ ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ ‘Titanic,’ ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ and ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’ The series continued with director J.A. Bayona’s ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ in 2018, which is currently the fifteenth highest grossing movie of all time. But ‘Dominion’ will also feature the return of Jeff Goldblum’s fan-favorite character Dr. Ian Malcolm, after a brief cameo in ‘Fallen Kingdom,’ as well as Sam Neill and Oscar winner Laura Dern reprising their roles as Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler, respectively, for the first time since ‘Jurassic Park III.’

    The original film series, which is based on author Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel of the same name, began in 1993 with ‘Jurassic Park,’ which was directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was a massive hit and went on to earn over a billion dollars at the box office and was selected in 2018 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Spielberg returned in 1997 to direct ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park,’ which was based on Crichton’s sequel novel. Goldblum and Richard Attenborough, who played Dr. John Hammond, were the only original cast members to return, and were joined by Julianne Moore and Vince Vaughn. The original trilogy ended in 2001 with the third installment, ‘Jurassic Park III.’ There was no Goldblum this time around, but Neil and Dern did return, along with new cast members William H. Macy and Téa Leoni.

    In addition to Chris Pratt, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, and Laura Dern returning for ‘Jurassic Park: Dominion’, Bryce Dallas Howard and B.D. Wong are also set to reprise their franchise roles as Claire Dearing and Dr. Henry Wu, respectively, while Campbell Scott will join the series as Dr. Lewis Dodgson, a character briefly seen in the first ‘Jurassic Park’ portrayed by actor Cameron Thor. Actors Omar Sy (‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’), Scott Haze (‘Venom’), Daniella Pineda (‘Cowboy Bebop’), and Justice Smith (‘Detective Pikachu’) are also all scheduled to appear.

    You can watch ‘The Prologue’ teaser trailer for ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ below:

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  • ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Adds John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, Alex Hassell

    ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Adds John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, Alex Hassell

    John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, and Alex Hassell split
    Netflix

    The anime series “Cowboy Bebop” is getting a live-action version on Netflix, and four major characters have been cast. John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, and Alex Hassell have all snagged parts, Netflix announced Thursday.

    The series is based on the original Japanese version from Sunrise Inc., and is described as “the jazz-inspired, genre-bending story of a rag-tag crew of bounty hunters on the run from their pasts, as they hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals.” Thursday’s casting news revealed that Cho, Shakir, and Pineda will play bounty hunters Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Faye Valentine, respectively, while Hassell will play hitman Vicious, Spike’s ex-partner and now-nemesis. So far, another member of the bounty hunting-group, Radical Ed, remains to be cast.

    The characters are all interesting ones. Spike is described as “an impossibly cool ‘cowboy’ (bounty hunter) with a deadly smile, a wry wit, and style to spare,” and Jet is a betrayed former cop who became Captain of the Bebop. Meanwhile, Faye is “bold, brash and unpredictable,” not to mention dealing with amnesia after having been cryogenically frozen. And then there’s Vicious, the notorious hitman for the lethal crime organization the Syndicate.

    There will be 10 episodes in the upcoming series, and director Alex Garcia Lopez is on board to helm the first two. Christopher Yost will write the first episode and executive produce. The original anime’s director, Shinichiro Watanabe, serves as a consultant.

    Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg of Midnight Radio serve as showrunners and executive producers. Fellow executive producers include Tomorrow Studios’ Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements; Sunrise Inc.’s Yasuo Miyakawa, Masayuki Ozaki, and Shin Sasaki; and Tetsu Fujimura and Matthew Weinberg. The show is a Netflix and Tomorrow Studios co-production.