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Opening in theaters on March 28th is the new action thriller ‘A Working Man’, which is based on the novel ‘Levon’s Trade’ by Chuck Dixon, and was directed by David Ayer (‘Suicide Squad’), based on a screenplay co-written by Ayer and Sylvester Stallone (‘Rocky’).

The movie reunites Ayer with his ‘The Beekeeper’ star Jason Statham (‘Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw’), and also stars David Harbour (‘Black Widow’), Michael Peña (‘Ant-Man’), and Jason Flemyng (‘X-Men: First Class’).

Related Article: Josh Hutcherson and Director David Ayer Talk ‘The Beekeeper’

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director and co-writer David Ayer about his work on ‘A Working Man’, writing with Sylvester Stallone, adapting Chuck Dixon’s novel, why he likes working with Jason Statham, and his philosophy behind shooting action sequences.

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

Moviefone: To begin with, talk about the development of this screenplay and how did the writing process work between you and Sylvester Stallone?

David Ayer: It is funny how life has these circles. As a kid I saw ‘Rocky’ and it made me want to work out and learn to box. But as a young writer, once I heard the story of how he had written the script and been so protective of it and ultimately got the film made the way he wanted on his terms, that inspired me to do the same thing with ‘Training Day’, which came together like a dream for me. Then when the opportunity came up to work with him, when I got this script with his name on it, it just made a lot of sense. I mean, here’s this ’80s action icon, this legend who really understands action. So, the script had a great starting point for me. Then to bring Jason Statham into that, who is really the inheritor of that action tradition from the ’80s and ’90s. I mean, you just don’t have icons like that in the action space like Jason. So, it just felt like a great team up.

MF: Were you a fan of the ‘Levon’s Trade’ before joining this project, and did you read any of the other novels in the series to get a feel the character?

DA: I did. Chuck’s one of those old school, two-fisted writers. He writes action. He writes hard characters. So, it just makes a lot of sense to take his work and bring it into the action cinema space.

MF: Can you talk about the challenges of adapting the book and what were some of the elements you wanted to make sure you included, and what were some of the things that you wanted to avoid?

DA: Well, the idea of this veteran, this highly capable military guy who, like anybody, has now changed his life and he’s working in construction and works for this family and is forced by circumstances to go back and do the thing he’s left. This life he’s left behind, he must turn to it again. So those elements were solidly in the book. Then for me it was just really making sure that the family he was helping was really defined and we love them. When we see Jason smile it just lights up the screen. I wanted to give him a grounded family life that the audience could connect with and really root for when it comes time for him to go to war.

MF: Obviously you worked with Jason Statham on ‘The Beekeeper’, so what do you enjoy about directing him?

DA: Jason shows up to work and he’s really demanding, and he pushes me and I push him. Now that I know him and know what he’s capable of, I mean doing the fight choreography, we’re really connected on that. He does his own stunts, which means I don’t have to cut away to a stunt guy for things. You get to design and build the shots around him and what he’s actually doing. So that’s a treat. You don’t normally get that. I mean, that’s absolutely exceptional. Then, I learned on ‘Beekeeper’ that he has a really big heart and when he brings that heart to a scene, there’s nothing like it. I feel like he hasn’t had that opportunity as much as he should. So again, to just see him in this family environment and see him smile and laugh, and to see him be a dad and to see him struggle with the things we struggle in our daily lives, there’s something so grounding about that that then makes the action play even better.

MF: Finally, as a director, can you talk a little bit about your philosophy behind action, your style, and how you specifically wanted to execute the action sequences in this movie?

DA: I think my action style just simply comes down to telling a story with the action and telling a character-based story. So, I think of it as character-based action. How would this character fight? How does he react? How does he move? How does he use the objects around him? How does he use weapons and what’s he after? When he is on the back foot, how does he react? That’s where good action comes from, is making us care about the character inside of the action.

What is the plot of ‘A Working Man’?

Levon Cade (Jason Statham), an ex-Royal Marines commando, leads a peaceful life as a construction worker in Chicago. However, Levon is forced to use his old set of skills to find his boss’s teenaged daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas), who had been kidnapped by human traffickers, and soon uncovers a conspiracy of corruption and government agents’ involvement in human trafficking.

Who is in the cast of ‘A Working Man’?

• Jason Statham as Levon Cade
• David Harbour as Gunny Lefferty
• Michael Peña as Joe Garcia
• Jason Flemyng as Wolo Kolisnyk
• Arianna Rivas as Jenny Garcia

List of Movies Written or Directed by David Ayer:

• ‘U-571‘ (2000)
• ‘Training Day‘ (2001)
• ‘The Fast and the Furious‘ (2001)
• ‘Dark Blue‘ (2003)
• ‘S.W.A.T.‘ (2003)
• ‘Harsh Times‘ (2006)
• ‘Street Kings‘ (2008)
• ‘End of Watch‘ (2012)
• ‘Sabotage‘ (2014)
• ‘Fury‘ (2014)
• ‘Suicide Squad‘ (2016)
• ‘Bright‘ (2017)
• ‘The Tax Collector‘ (2020)
• ‘The Beekeeper‘ (2024)

Buy Tickets: ‘A Working Man’ Movie Showtimes

Buy David Ayer Movies on Amazon