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  • ‘1992’ Interview: Tyrese Gibson and Scott Eastwood

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    Opening in theaters on August 30th is the new action movie ‘1992’, which was directed by Ariel Vromen (‘The Iceman’) and Tyrese Gibson (‘Fast X’), Scott Eastwood (‘Suicide Squad’) and the late great Ray Liotta (‘Goodfellas’).

    Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Fast X’

    (L to R) Tyrese Gibson and Scott Eastwood star in '1992'.
    (L to R) Tyrese Gibson and Scott Eastwood star in ‘1992’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Tyrese Gibson and Scott Eastwood about their work on ‘1992’, making a heist movie with the backdrop of the LA Riots, their characters, collaborating with director Ariel Vromen and working with the legendary Ray Liotta.

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

    Scott Eastwood as Riggin Bigby in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, '1992', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
    Scott Eastwood as Riggin Bigby in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, ‘1992’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Scott, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and the idea of making a heist movie with the backdrop of the LA Riots?

    Scott Eastwood: I am always attracted to heist movies. One, I loved movies like ‘The Town’ and ‘Den of Thieves’. I think if you like those types of movies, you’ll like this type of movie because it’s a heist movie, but it’s got high stakes, and it’s set upon the backdrop, like you said. It’s also really grounded. It’s got some dynamic character issues that create a lot of conflict, and that stood out for me in this film.

    MF: Tyrese, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and the plot of the film?

    Tyrese Gibson: The crazy thing is when I got the ‘1992’ script, we read it and then at some point got on with Ariel Vromen, our director, who is brilliant, and I love him so much. After reading the script, I realized quickly that I don’t want to do a heist movie and I don’t want to just do a movie about the riots. So, if we can’t do them both, then this is not a movie for me because there’s plenty of documentaries. So yeah, it was a journey to pull this all together. I was there protesting on April 29th, 1992. So was Snoop Dogg, believe it or not. So, it’s unbelievable to be here. God has a sense of humor like, “You’re in the riots, you’re out there protesting, you’re active, you got your boots on the ground, and I’m glad you’re doing this right now because 30 years from now, you’re about to do a movie.” What a life.

    Tyrese Gibson as Mercer in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, '1992', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
    Tyrese Gibson as Mercer in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, ‘1992’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

    MF: Scott, can you talk about your approach to this character and why this heist is so important to him?

    SE: I think this is his Moby Dick, right? He’s got to do this to get out. This is for him. He does not want to be in this world. He’s got other dreams of getting out. The character was an amalgamation of guys I’d seen growing up, Riverside guys, East County guys, rough around the edges, tatted up. I had seen guys like that growing up, so I was able to steal character traits and things and pepper it in there.

    MF: Can you talk about his uneasy relationship with his father and what it was like working with Ray Liotta?

    SE: It was perfect because Ray is a no-bulls**t kind of guy. You know what you’re getting with him, and he doesn’t intellectualize about the work. It’s like, “Let’s do it.” So, there was an uneasiness about it and I think it created for exactly the relationship we have. There was an uneasiness, there was conflict. He’s a master. When they say action, he’s electric.

    (L to R) Ray Liotta as Lowell and Christopher A’mmanuel as Antoine in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, '1992', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
    (L to R) Ray Liotta as Lowell and Christopher A’mmanuel as Antoine in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, ‘1992’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

    MF: Tyrese, what was your experience like working with Ray Liotta?

    TG: Ray Liotta was dark. He was intense, man. You walk up to him on the set, “Hey, Ray, how are you doing?” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” He was really in it, which I appreciate. I’m one of those guys who’s like, “I don’t need you to explain what your space and what your zone is and how you go about getting in the spirit of your role.” But when it was time for us to do our scenes together, all that distance and being mean in my mind, it all showed up on camera.

    MF: Scott, can you talk about the unlikely alliance that Riggin makes with Mercer?

    SE: Look, they’re both in a father-son standoff, which is interesting. I like the parallel stories that go through the whole film about fathers and sons, and I thought that was one of the more interesting parts of this film.

    Tyrese Gibson as Mercer in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, '1992', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
    Tyrese Gibson as Mercer in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, ‘1992’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

    MF: Tyrese, can you talk about how prison changed your character and what he’s trying to teach his son?

    TG: I think this specific character is Mr. Self-Sabotage, where there’s problems, where there’s issues, where there’s some street Crips and Bloods and shooting and killing. Just a typical dude in the hood that’s just going to end up on another episode of ‘The First 48’. That was my character, just got nothing to live for, and then had this child. The mother of my child knew that I was still out there very active and crazy, and just basically isolated me away from having a presence in my son’s life. Then she died and grandmother died, and I got full custody. So now you have this dynamic between, “You are my father, but you haven’t been present, and I know everybody here probably more than you.” Then trying to get him to understand that there’s nobody else here that matters in your life more than me, and everything about you being safe from this point on is going to happen on my back. Understanding you’re not my friend, you’re my son. If you don’t like what I’m saying and what I’m talking about or where we’re going, it’s not up for discussion. I’m your father. Get in the car, we’re leaving. That’s what we wanted to establish with that dynamic. Then the duality of me and my son versus the dynamic of Ray Liotta, rest in peace, and Scott, which just really built the contrast, it was inspiring and interesting.

    (L to R) Director/Co-Writer Ariel Vromen, Ray Liotta as Lowell and Scott Eastwood as Riggin Bigby behind the scenes of the Action, Crime, Thriller film, '1992', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
    (L to R) Director/Co-Writer Ariel Vromen, Ray Liotta as Lowell and Scott Eastwood as Riggin Bigby behind the scenes of the Action, Crime, Thriller film, ‘1992’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

    MF: Scott, what was it like collaborating with director Ariel Vromen on set?

    SE: Ariel’s great. I’ve known Ariel for 20 years. Way before we ever decided to work together, we were friends. When I had seen him do ‘The Iceman’, I was like, “Let’s try to find something together.” I thought that was a well-executed film. This just fell into place. It was the right character, it was the right age, the right thing, and I thought it was an interesting original story.

    MF: Finally, is it fun making a heist movie?

    SE: I think there’s some exhausting moments, but there’s also some fun moments. It’s like any film. This film, a lot of it took place at night, so that’s tough. Nights are tough. Doing any action movie is tough. Your body’s beat up by the end of it. You’re crushed.

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    What is the plot of ‘1992’?

    In 1992, Mercer (Tyrese Gibson) endeavors to restore his life and relationship with his son during the unrest following the Rodney King verdict. Meanwhile, in another part of town, a father (Ray Liotta) and son (Scott Eastwood) confront their troubled relationship by planning a perilous heist at Mercer’s workplace. As tensions in Los Angeles escalate and chaos ensues, the two family’s cross paths.

    Who is in the cast of ‘1992’?

    (L to R) Ori Pfeffer as Murphy, Dylan Arnold as Dennis, Ray Liotta as Lowel, Clé Bennett as Copeland, Scott Eastwood as Riggin Bigby, and Oleg Taktarov as Titus in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, '1992', a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
    (L to R) Ori Pfeffer as Murphy, Dylan Arnold as Dennis, Ray Liotta as Lowel, Clé Bennett as Copeland, Scott Eastwood as Riggin Bigby, and Oleg Taktarov as Titus in the Action, Crime, Thriller film, ‘1992’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

    Other Heist Movies:

    Buy Tyrese Gibson Movies on Amazon

    Buy Scott Eastwood Movies on Amazon

  • Movie Review: ‘Cocaine Bear’

    'Cocaine Bear,' directed by Elizabeth Banks.
    ‘Cocaine Bear,’ directed by Elizabeth Banks. © 2023 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    If you slap a title on a film with as much promise as ‘Cocaine Bear’, there had better be A) plenty of cocaine and B) a bear. Fortunately, this new pitch dark comedy delivers both––you’ll see more powder on screen than in a skiing competition and plentiful bear activity. This is far more fully ursine than, say, ‘The Edge’.

    Bears with obsessions have been cinematic gold in the past––see, for example, Winnie the Pooh’s love of honey or Paddington’s choice of marmalade sandwiches. ‘Cocaine Bear’, however, is definitely more of a horror (in the entertaining sense of the word) than either of those. And the title character here has fewer homilies about behavior to deliver.

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    What is ‘Cocaine Bear’ based on?

    Inspired by the unbelievable true story of a drug runner ditching his haul over Tennessee (and proceeding to die when his parachute doesn’t open after he jumps out), ‘Cocaine Bear’ follows what happens when a black bear stumbles upon one of the cocaine packages that ends up landing in the Blood Mountain region of Georgia.

    Before long, hikers, park rangers, and drug dealers––the latter on the hunt for their missing narcotics––are just trying to survive as the bear, hooked on the stuff, rampages through the woods, seeking out its next high and savaging almost everyone it happens upon.

    Caught up in all this is Sari (Keri Russell), a single mother whose daughter Dee Dee (‘The Florida Project’s Brooklynn Prince) has skipped school with best friend Henry (‘Sweet Tooth’ star Christian Convery). She’ll have to find the kids and save her own hide when she crosses paths with both the bear and the criminals…

    Director Elizabeth Banks on the set of 'Cocaine Bear.'
    Director Elizabeth Banks on the set of ‘Cocaine Bear.’ © 2023 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    What works in ‘Cocaine Bear’?

    Director Elizabeth Banks has shown a keen eye and ear for comedy in both her acting and directing past (even her unfairly maligned ‘Charlie’s Angels’ reboot is funnier than people remember). And combined with the usually sure hands of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (for whom she acted in ‘The Lego Movie’ franchise), Banks has delivered an early contender for silliest (and goriest) movie of the year.

    ‘Cocaine Bear’ is under no illusions as to what is on offer––come for the drug-addled ursine, stay for the various humans who are trying not to die. With a succession of entertaining ‘80s needle drops (since the movie is set in 1985), the tone is here very much echoing Sam Raimi’s early work, with plenty of practical effects spurting blood everywhere.

    The cast also seems very aware of the assignment; and the likes of O’Shea Jackson, Jr., Alden Ehrenreich and even the late, great Ray Liotta deliver on the laughs as well as breathing life into these people. A special shout-out must also go to Aaron Holliday playing the nogoodnik known as “‘Stache”, who gives real Dax Shepard energy as he makes his gangly way through the movie.

    Set-piece-wise, it’s also a whole heap of fun, with Margo Martindale in particular (or at least her stunt double) put through the ringer as a Park Ranger with a gun and terrible aim. One particularly funny scene involves, Martindale, a couple of paramedics played by Kahyun Kim and Tom Scott Seiss, an ambulance and the titular creature. Let’s just say that the ‘Fast & Furious’ crew might get some ideas, and the use of Depeche Mode’s ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ is the blood-red cherry on the cocaine cake.

    In amongst all the practical gore, there is the bear, a creation of Wētā FX that means no real animals were used in the scenes. “Cokey” was performed on set by a performance capture actor named Allan Henry, who trained with Andy Serkis on the ‘Planet of the Apes’ movies. He and the digital wizardry are responsible for some of the funnier moments in the movie.

    Actually, the bear straddles both categories. While there are moments where it looks like it padded straight out of a National Geographic documentary, there are other times when it looks ridiculously crude and wouldn’t be out of place in a ‘Sharknado’ movie. That doesn’t really hurt the entertainment value.

    Keri Russell in director Elizabeth Banks' 'Cocaine Bear.'
    Keri Russell in director Elizabeth Banks’ ‘Cocaine Bear.’ © 2023 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    What doesn’t work in ‘Cocaine Bear’?

    Like its central figure, the movie also has high points –– pun entirely intended –– and low points, though the highs are more consistent and the lows are mostly a product of the tone.

    This is a movie that was never aiming for subtlety, nor particularly deep character development, and indeed it is mostly without either. And while that certainly works given the zanier tone, it’s also a little one-note. Beyond a couple of stabs at real emotion between Sari and her young charges and one or two fun exchanges between O’Shea Jackson, Jr.’s Daveed: and Ehrenreich’s Eddie, there’s not much to make you care for anyone on screen.

    Which is really the point, since it’s hardly a spoiler to reveal that many characters end up as bear bait (or at the hands of more human fates).

    Yet Jimmy Warden’s script is never quite as funny as all involved seem to think it is––certainly it has some laugh-out-loud moments (as we referred to above), but there’s still the sense of the creators chuckling away more than the audience perhaps will.

    Expect this one to be more of a cult favorite, sure to be enjoyed by audiences in years to come, and certainly one to see with a crowd expecting little more than a gory, campy comedy that makes sure you get what you expect.

    ‘Cocaine Bear’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.

    O'Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Ayoola Smart, and Ray Liotta in director Elizabeth Banks' 'Cocaine Bear.'
    (L to R) O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Ayoola Smart, and Ray Liotta in director Elizabeth Banks’ ‘Cocaine Bear.’ © 2023 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Cocaine Bear’

    Buy Tickets: ‘Cocaine Bear’ Movie Showtimes

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  • Apple TV+’s ‘Black Bird’ Interview: Paul Walter Hauser

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    Golden Globe winner Paul Walter Hauser has also been nominated at the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series, along with his co-star Taron Egerton, for their work on the Apple TV+ miniseries ‘Black Bird.’

    What is the true story behind ‘Black Bird’ and what is the miniseries about?

    ‘Black Bird’ is based on the true story of Larry Hall, who in 1995 was sent to prison for the kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl who went missing in 1993, although he was suspected multiple murders the police could not prove.

    In 1998, former football star Jimmy Keene was arrested in a drug and firearms case and sentenced to ten years in prison. The FBI makes Jimmy an offer, befriend Larry in a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and get him to confess to the murders, and Jimmy’s sentence will be commuted, or don’t and he will be forced to serve his full sentence.

    Who stars in ‘Black Bird?’

    ‘Black Bird’ stars Taron Egerton (‘Rocketman’) as James “Jimmy” Keene, and Paul Walter Hauser (‘Richard Jewell’) as Lawrence “Larry” Hall. In addition, the cast includes Sepideh Moafi (‘The Killing of Two Lovers’), Greg Kinnear (‘As Good as It Gets’), Robert Wisdom (‘Motherless Brooklyn’), and Ray Liotta (‘Goodfellas’).

    How many 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards was ‘Black Bird’ nominated for?

    Both Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser were nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Walter Hauser about his work on ‘Black Bird,’ as well as his SAG award nomination and the true story the series is based on.

    Paul Walter Hauser stars in 'Black Bird,' now streaming on Apple TV+.
    Paul Walter Hauser stars in ‘Black Bird,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Hauser about ‘Black Bird.’

    Moviefone: To begin with, you recently won a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award for this series, and have now been nominated for a SAG Award. How does it feel to be nominated for this award from your peers?

    Paul Walter Hauser: It feels really good. It’s the kind of award show that you hope you get to attend or be nominated for because you’re voted on by your peers, some of your heroes, and some of your collaborators. We really are a big community, so the fact that I’ve been nominated alongside these other guys it means more to me than an Academy Award. It’s amazing.

    MF: Can you talk about your approach to playing real life character Larry Hall in this series?

    PWH: In a way, playing real characters can be easier than playing entirely fabricated ones because you have materials, you about their backstory, you have photographs, sometimes you have video footage, and that can be very helpful. What’s difficult about it is you really have to get it accurate. You have people judging it a bit differently than if it were just some made up character. So there’s a lot of pressure, and it’s also really scary.

    The fear I have with some characters, like the racist idiot that I played in ‘BlacKkKlansman’ or the serial killer Larry Hall, you never want it to enter into a lane of unbelievability and have it be almost too crazy, and become comedic or hard to ground. So the key really is trying to be specific, ground the character in a sense of reality, and then commit to that.

    Paul Walter Hauser in 'Black Bird,' now streaming on Apple TV+.
    Paul Walter Hauser in ‘Black Bird,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.

    Related Article: Taron Egerton Talks ‘Black Bird’

    MF: What was the most challenging aspect of playing this character?

    PWH: Keeping the voice is difficult. There were days I did it better than others, and there are moments in the show where I look at it and go, I wish I would’ve done that a little bit differently. But I would say that, and having to think the thoughts of Larry. Some of the things Larry says about his crimes are just so dark and disgusting, and disturbing that I have to think those thoughts. I have to imagine him, me doing that, or it isn’t going to be real in the eyes. You can always tell if an actor’s full of crap by looking at their eyes, and I had to own that and that was not fun. That was very difficult.

    MF: Was this a difficult character for you to shake after the production was over?

    PWH: I guess I just am able to differentiate myself from the character. I have better hygiene than him. I had a better childhood than him. I have faith in a God that I can’t see, but I may as well because of the belief I have. These are all things Larry didn’t have. I had a mass amount of friends growing up. Larry probably could have used some friends. He could have used some people that grounded him and made him feel seen. Who knows, he may have went a whole different path. So I think I just have the cognizance of mine to know that you’re Paul, not Larry and I have a million flaws too, but they’re not Larry’s flaws, that’s for sure.

    MF: Finally, what was it like for you to work with Taron Egerton on this project?

    PWH: Now I’ve worked with some great actors. I’ve gotten to work alongside Vince Vaughn and Sam Rockwell, and Emma Thompson and Marisa Tomei. Taron really is one of the greats right now, and between ‘Rocketman’ and ‘Black Bird,’ he’s just a must see for me. I’m always going to want to watch whatever he’s doing, because I want to see what he does with it. He’s a brilliant actor and a really kind man, and I’m proud to call him a friend.

    Paul Walter Hauser and Taron Egerton in 'Black Bird,' now streaming on Apple TV+.
    (L to R) Paul Walter Hauser and Taron Egerton in ‘Black Bird,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.

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  • ‘Cocaine Bear’ Interview: Director Elizabeth Banks

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    Opening in theaters on February 24th is the new dark comedy ‘Cocaine Bear,’ which was directed by Elizabeth Banks (‘Pitch Perfect 2,’ ‘Charlie’s Angels’) and is loosely based on a true story.

    What is ‘Cocaine Bear’ based on?

    According to Wikipedia, the film is inspired by the real story of a 175-pound American black bear that died after ingesting a duffel bag full of cocaine in December 1985. The cocaine had been dropped out of an airplane piloted by Andrew C. Thornton II, a former narcotics officer and convicted drug smuggler, because his plane was carrying too heavy a load. Thornton then jumped out of the plane with a faulty parachute and died. The bear was found three months later in northern Georgia alongside 40 opened plastic containers of cocaine.

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    What is ‘Cocaine Bear’ about?

    In the film, after Thornton’s accident and the bear ingests the cocaine, he goes on a killing rampage in a small town in Georgia. The movie follows three different groups, Sari (Keri Russell), a single mother looking for her daughter (Brooklynn Prince) and her friend (Christian Convery) who are lost in the woods, Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) and Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), two drug smugglers forced by Eddie’s father (Ray Liotta) to recover his missing cocaine, and Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), the law enforcement officer hot on their trail.

    Who is in ‘Cocaine Bear?’

    ‘Cocaine Bear’ stars Keri Russell (‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’) as Sari, O’Shea Jackson Jr. (‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’) as Daveed, Alden Ehrenreich (‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’) as Eddie Dentwood, Ray Liotta (‘Goodfellas’) as Syd Dentwood, Isiah Whitlock Jr. (‘Da 5 Bloods’) as Bob, Christian Convery (‘The Tiger Rising’) as Henry, Brooklyn Prince (‘The Florida Project’) as Dee Dee, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (‘Ice Age: Collision Course’) as Peter, Margo Martindale (‘Downsizing’) as Ranger Liz, and Matthew Rhys (‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’) as Andrew C Thornton II.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with actress and director Elizabeth Banks about her work on ‘Cocaine Bear,’ her initial reaction to the screenplay and the true story it is based on, balancing the movie’s tones of comedy and horror, and working with Weta FX to create the bear.

    Director Elizabeth Banks' 'Cocaine Bear' opens in theaters on February 24th.
    Director Elizabeth Banks’ ‘Cocaine Bear’ opens in theaters on February 24th.

    You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Banks, as well as Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Alden Ehrenreich.

    Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction when you read a screenplay titled ‘Cocaine Bear’ and learned of the true story it is based on, and as a director, how did you balance the film’s different tones of comedy and horror?

    Elizabeth Banks: My first thought when reading it was, ‘This can’t possibly be based on a true story.’ Then I went down the rabbit hole of investigating what had really happened. At that point I realized, in real life the bear had overdosed on the cocaine and died. I thought, ‘Oh, man, this movie is like a redemption story for that bear.’ This is a way to avenge the untimely death of that bear. Because I really felt for that bear, that bear was like collateral damage. It didn’t know what it was getting into. It doesn’t want to do drugs!

    I loved that there was this crazy idea of a rampaging bear on a bender. That’s such a big, high concept, wild, crazy thing that, actually the way to balance the tone was really to ground everything else. So everything else has to be super grounded. The real story of a mom just trying to find her daughter. The real story of a guy grieving the loss of his wife, trying to be connected to his best friend again, trying to break away from his father. A man who is like, ‘I’ve got to find these drugs or we’re going to get killed.’

    Those are very grounded, relatable, emotional storylines that set against the backdrop of the bear. It’s in that space in between where human beings do crazy things in reaction to the bear that I really felt that’s where the humor was, that’s where the wackiness could live, as long as the characters remained relatable to the audience.

    'Cocaine Bear,' directed by Elizabeth Banks.
    ‘Cocaine Bear,’ directed by Elizabeth Banks. © 2023 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Related Article: ‘Call Jane’ Interview: Sigourney Weaver and Elizabeth Banks

    MF: Finally, can you talk about working with Weta to create the design of the bear and developing it to look as real as possible?

    EB: Absolutely. Well, I’ve said before I thought that this movie was super risky for me. What I meant by that was I had to give up control over the lead character of the film. I had no idea while we were making it, if we were going to pull off the bear. And if the bear didn’t work, then the movie didn’t work.

    The partnership with Weta, they were great. From day one, they made me laugh. They got the tone. I think they saw it as an opportunity to do really intense, old school CGI. They’re so used to creating crazy, fantastical worlds in outer space and people flying around. This was like, ‘No, no, no. You’ve got to create something so realistic that people think a real bear was on set. How are we going to do that?’ This has to be a documentary about the bear.

    And the level of detail that went into animating this bear, this incredible lead animator, Carmen Leggiero, who did so much homework on how bears act. We looked at so many reference videos, picking and choosing every detail of the bear: the size of its head, its nose, its ears, its eyes, the coloration of its fur, the textures, all of that. What does it look like wet? What does it look like with blood on it? What does it look like with guts on it? What does it look like when it’s eating? That was the big, big, big question mark hanging over the movie until the very end. And I am just pleased as punch with the results.

    ‘Cocaine Bear’ is produced by Universal Pictures, Brownstone Productions and Lord Miller Productions, and scheduled for release on February 24th.

    Director Elizabeth Banks on the set of 'Cocaine Bear.'
    Director Elizabeth Banks on the set of ‘Cocaine Bear.’ © 2023 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

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    Buy Tickets: ‘Cocaine Bear’ Movie Showtimes

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  • Taron Egerton Talks ‘Black Bird’

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    Premiering on Apple TV+ beginning July 8th is the new six-part miniseries entitled ‘Black Bird,’ which is based on the book “In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption’ by author James Keene.

    Created by novelist Dennis Lehane (‘Mystic River’), the series follows James Keene (Taron Egerton), who is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum-security prison but cuts a deal with the FBI to befriend a suspected serial killer for an early release. Now, Keene has to elicit a confession from Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) to find the bodies of as many as eighteen women.

    The series also features Greg Kinnear, Sepideh Moafi, and the late Ray Liotta.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Taron Egerton about his work on ‘Black Bird.’

    Taron Egerton in “Black Bird,” premiering globally July 8, 2022 on Apple TV+.
    Taron Egerton in “Black Bird,” premiering globally July 8, 2022 on Apple TV+.

    You can read our full interview with Taron Egerton below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Egerton, Greg Kinnear, Sepideh Moafi, and Dennis Lehane.

    Moviefone: To begin with, were you aware of the true story the series is based on before shooting, and what was your initial reaction to the screenplay?

    Taron Egerton: I was aware of the story actually, but only in relation to the prospect of me playing it. I think there’ve been conversations between the producers, especially Bradley Thomas, and one of my representatives in the couple of years in the run up to me being offered it.

    It’s just an undeniably great bit of writing. Of course, Dennis’ name is enough to peak your interest, because of everything he’s done. When I read it, I was just completely engrossed and compelled, and wanted to know what happened. I also recognized an opportunity for me to do something that I hadn’t really done before with the character.

    Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser in “Black Bird,” premiering globally July 8, 2022 on Apple TV+.
    Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser in “Black Bird,” premiering globally July 8, 2022 on Apple TV+.

    MF: Finally, you have played real-life people in the past, most recently as Elton John in ‘Rocketman.’ What type of research do you do when you are playing a real-person, and do you feel a sense of responsibility when you are playing a living person as opposed to a fictional character?

    TE: Yes, I do. Of course, you don’t want that person to be unhappy with what you do. But also, my primary responsibility is to the script and to serve the script rather than to serve the person I’m playing. It’s always got to be that I’m playing the character that’s on the page before the person in real life, because those things are different. Personally, I feel that we get a little bit preoccupied with the idea of factual accuracy, or a carbon copy of playing someone who’s real, because it’s always you. It’s always as if you had lived a different life. You can’t really play someone else. You can only bring your own experiences to a role, but it was such an exciting story, ‘Black Bird.’

    I suppose I recognized things in the character that were less like me, but also elements of it that I did recognize in myself. I just thought it was a brilliant opportunity, to do something that was such a counterpoint to Elton, with his sparkly shoes that are seven inches off the ground, flamboyance and sure charisma. This guy’s much more grounded. He’s hyper masculine, I suppose, whereas Elton was played with the idea of masculinity with what he wore and how he behaved. Yeah, it’s just a joy to be able to do something so different after the Elton John movie, ‘Rocketman.’

    Taron Egerton in “Black Bird,” premiering globally July 8, 2022 on Apple TV+.
    Taron Egerton in “Black Bird,” premiering globally July 8, 2022 on Apple TV+.

  • Actor Ray Liotta has Died

    Ray Liotta in 'Unforgettable'
    Ray Liotta in ‘Unforgettable’ (1996)

    Ray Liotta, an actor known for playing tough guys and mobsters, but who proved through a long and varied career that he could turn his hand to all sorts of characters, has died. He was 67.

    Liotta had been filming thriller ‘Dangerous Waters’ opposite Saffron Burrows and Eric Dane in the Dominican Republic when he reportedly died in his sleep.

    The actor was born Raymond Allen Liotta on December 18, 1954, in Newark, New Jersey. The adoptive son of Alfred and Mary Liotta, he was a talented athlete, playing both basketball and soccer in high school.

    After graduating from Union High School in 1973, Liotta attended the University of Miami, where he began studying acting. He moved to New York after college and was soon spotted by a casting agent. He started his performing career in TV commercials, until he scored a job playing Joey Perrini on the daytime drama ‘Another World’.

    After moving to California to try and crack Hollywood, Liotta initially struggled to find work. He landed a breakthrough role as Melanie Griffith’s crazed ex-con husband in 1985’s ‘Something Wild’. Showing his versatility, the actor switched tracks for his next role, that of a medical student caring for his mentally challenged brother in 1988 drama ‘Dominick and Eugene’. After that came one of his most acclaimed turns, as baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson opposite Kevin Costner in ‘Field of Dreams’.

    The best, though, was yet to come. ‘Goodfellas’ saw Liotta sharing the screen with the likes of Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Liotta shone, bringing nuance and grit to the role of mobster Henry Hill, who rises through the ranks of a New York crime family but ends up struggling with his choices and how it affects both himself and his family. Martin Scorsese’s powerful, based-on-truth tale was nominated for several Oscars.

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    Ray Liotta in 'The Many Saints of Newark'
    Ray Liotta in ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ (2021)

    Yet Liotta has always been more than just one role: he was a versatile character actor, able to be funny and dangerous and appearing in the big screen likes of ‘No Escape’, ‘Corrina, Corrina’, ‘Cop Land’, ‘Hannibal’, ‘Narc’, ‘Observe and Report’, ‘Date Night’, ‘Revolver’, ‘Muppets Most Wanted’, ‘The Iceman’, ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’, ‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’, ‘Sopranos’ prequel ‘The Many Saints of Newark, and Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’. Still to be released is Elizabeth Banks’ based-on-truth comedy thriller ‘Cocaine Bear’, due in theaters next year.

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    Though his career was primarily on the big screen, Liotta also carved a niche for himself on TV, in shows such as ‘Shades of Blue’, ‘Hanna’, ‘ER’, ‘St. Elsewhere’, and ‘Modern Family’. He most recently worked alongside Taron Egerton in Apple TV’s upcoming ‘Black Bird’.

    The actor is survived by his daughter, Karsen. Before his death, he was engaged to be married to Jacy Nittolo.

    Watch our Ray Liotta interview on his HBOMax mystery thriller ‘No Sudden Move’.

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  • ‘Hanna’ Season 3 Cast Interviews

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    Season three of ‘Hanna’ finds Hanna (Esmé Creed-Miles) teaming up with her former enemy Marissa Wiegler (Mireille Enos) to take down Utrax from the inside. That means manipulating John Carmichael (Dermot Mulroney) into helping them, but they discover a deeper conspiracy involving a new foe; the ruthless Gordon Evans (Ray Liotta). The cast recently sat down with Moviefone to talk about the upcoming season.

    'Hanna' stars Esmé Creed-Miles and Mireille Enos
    ‘Hanna’ stars Esmé Creed-Miles and Mireille Enos

    Esmé Creed-Miles and Mireille Enos talk about their characters learning to work together.

    Movefone: So Esmé, tell me where season three picks up from season two.

    Esmé Creed-Miles: Season three picks up with Hanna returning to the Meadows, which is confusing. And we wonder is she perhaps one of the baddies now, which of course we don’t really wonder that, but then it’s revealed that she’s working alongside Marissa to infiltrate from the inside, the Utrax world place.

    MF: I think that’s key to this series. We are always wondering like, Who’s who? Are they bad now? Are they good now? I think that’s part of the charm of the series. And Mireille, where do we find Marissa in season three?

    Mireille Enos: So, part of the plan that Hanna and Marissa have is that Marissa is going to pretend to be dead. So she has to go deep, deep, undercover, and she’s moving the chess pieces from her hidden bunker. Together, they have Carmichael under their thumb, and they are going to try to deconstruct Utrax from the inside.

    MF: Tell me as much as you can about the interaction that you have, Esme, with Carmichael this season.

    Creed-Miles: Well, working with Dermot was a dream. He’s the best. And it was interesting. I mean, again, he’s a character who, I guess, in season two is more of an ominous figure, and then in season three, just feels like a Q-Tip who’s just being like pushed around by these different powerful people, like Stapleton. He’s like this guy who’s just being, meh, by Stapleton and, meh, by Marissa. It’s funny.

    Enos: Yeah. He’s fighting for his life. He’s just like, whatever opportunities are in front of him, he’s trying to take so that he can get out. We feel bad for him.

    Creed-Miles: Yeah. He’s not the baddie or the goodie, he’s just-

    Enos: No, he’s really a pawn this year.

    Creed-Miles: Yeah.

    MF: He’s out for himself this season, right?

    Creed-Miles: He’s trying to just look after himself. It’s true. Yeah. Yeah.

    MF: And Mireille, tell me out Gordon Evans. I mean, Marissa and Gordon are familiar with each other.

    Enos: Yes. They know each other. They have known each other for a very long time. He’s a very powerful figure in the United States in government in the espionage world. And he had a powerful effect on Marissa early on when they knew each other. And he’s one of the few people that she’s scared of. And it’s been a long time. She hasn’t seen him. And then he reemerges in her life in a way that really just rocks hers.

    MF: And Mireille, how would you describe the relationship between Hanna and Marissa this season?

    Enos: It’s very hard for Marissa to work in a team. She always likes to be the one in charge, and there’s still that dynamic at the beginning that she’s the final say on everything. And as the season continues, that shifts, and they grow to trust each other. They each give each other room to take the lead, and that’s very new for her.

    MF: And Esmé, I’m always, when I watch the show, just so astounded at these girls and how finely tuned they are. They’re not scared. They show no emotion. They never get worked up when something horrible is happening. So this has been really coming of age for Hanna through the seasons. So I’m wondering what it’s like for you personally coming from season one now to season three, because your character has really grown. We’ve really seen three different parts of Hanna’s life in these three seasons.

    Creed-Miles: Well, I was just turning 18 when I was cast, so it was a lot of pressure, and sometimes I didn’t handle that great. Sometimes I did. It was just being a young person, essentially a teenager in this big with all this responsibility, so it encouraged me to, I guess, grow up and take care of things that I probably wouldn’t have done if I didn’t have the responsibility of a TV show. And so for that, I’m very grateful. And also just to have a footing in an industry that’s really difficult to get into again, I’m very grateful for.

    MF: And Esmé, back to your character now, Hanna and the rest of the girls, at the end of the day, you do see things through it that shows that even though they’re so finely trained, they are still young girls. And so Hanna has a relationship this season with Abba. So what is that relationship like?

    Creed-Miles: I think it’s the first time she really falls in love and I think that it complicates her obligations, and it complicates her life because now there’s not just the goal of whatever espionage-esque endeavor that they’re on. It’s like, oh, there’s someone else to protect and that person’s child as well. So it adds another element of tension into the narrative arc, I guess. That’s super pretentious. I’m sorry.

    Enos: No, it’s not at all. Something I love about it is there’s these two scenes, there’s one scene in episode one in which Hanna says to Marissa, I” only know how to fight. If you gave me the life I’ve always wanted, I wouldn’t know what to do with it.” And then a few episodes later, she’s having a conversation with a boss in which he’s describing the home. If in some fairytale life, they got to build a home together, what it would be like, and it would have white walls, and it would have orange trees. And those two things in juxtaposition, it’s like the first time she’s able to imagine what a life she would want might look like.

    Dermot Mulroney gives an update on his character John Carmichael.

    Movefone: Tell us where season three picks up from season two.

    Dermot Mulroney: Season three starts just a couple of days after season two. Carmichael just got shot in the arm by Hanna. Not cool. And Marissa Viegler has just said to him, “Now you work for me.” And we go back to the Meadows. This is how it opens, at least on my character, which is that country of state in England, where I’ve been training up the girl assassins. You’re seeing the third season a year or more after we had that second season out, but it’s almost the next day. Carmichael, however, is in a completely different circumstance. Last season, he was running the show, right? Or at least it seemed that way. And now he’s being forced to take down his own program. So it’s a pretty cool turn right from the beginning. And then season three is just full of other plot twists and turns.

    MF: As always. There’s always so many twists and turns and so many uncertainties for the audience watching it. What is the relationship in this season between Marissa and Carmichael?

    Mulroney: Well, that’s somewhat even a mystery to me still. I love that it’s never fully defined and that there’s some definite sensation of them having, I don’t even mean a romantic relationship or anything, but it’s pretty dense the way that they are around each other. This season, however, now she’s engaged in pulling, using… Hanna goes back into the Meadows to take it down, to take down Utrax, but they still don’t know everything about it, even Marissa doesn’t. So they need to get that information from Carmichael, so they’re using me. We also learn in this season, as Ray Liotta comes into play the chairman, that Carmichael hasn’t been in charge of the Meadows and the DNA dosing program. He’s just been a middle management guy. So that was news to me too, but it reframed Carmichael’s place in Utrax for me, and then that’s happening as he’s getting in deeper and deeper trouble. So there are good bits after that, that I won’t share with you, but know that the action increases right to the end and the way they twist this story around is quite incredible.

    MF: Where do you think Carmichael’s loyalties lie in this season?

    Mulroney: Well, as always, Carmichael’s main concern is Carmichael. So you see him especially deeper into this season. You see him in real trouble. And so you’ll see a side of Carmichael you haven’t seen where he’s out of control and where he is seriously desperate and fighting for his own survival. So it’s a really fun turn for me, the actor, but also for Carmichael to… The table’s turn on him. It’s that simple. He’s now more like Hanna in that Hanna’s never really had a say in who she is, what her true identity is and where she fits into the world. And now Carmichael’s world has turned completely upside down. He’d been in total control last season, and now he can’t really put two and two together until he has to. Then he goes feral, pretty much. He gets down and dirty.

    MF: He does, which I’m not completely used to seeing you in those types of roles. I did watch ‘Hard Luck Love Song.’ I did some interviews for that, so I saw you in that.

    Mulroney: Right on. Thank you for supporting that film. Thank you. We love that movie.

    MF: And kind of a rough and down and dirty role as well.

    Mulroney: Yeah. I think I was some sort of poolroom punk.

    MF: In my mind, I still see you in rom coms. I don’t know.

    Mulroney: Understood. I get that. I know. But sometimes that helps for me then to play the bad guy, because then it’s a little more unexpected maybe, or so I think at times, but really I’ve played so many different types of parts. I’m more and more proud of the things that everybody likes. Amazing. Yeah.

    MF: Going back to the season of ‘Hanna,’ there’s a kill list, an assassination list. Who are they targeting?

    Mulroney: Well, that’s the amazing thing. This is the distinctive part of the story. David Farr cooked up an Utrax program. He knew what it was doing all along, but he didn’t tell anybody in season one. Season two, we learned a little bit, but really now we finally realize that this program has taken decades to get to the point of launching these young female assassins out into the world to kill any young person, I think they say under the age of 29, that the CIA has determined might be a future threat to the United States of America. So Carmichael’s a company man, G man, he’s CIA through and through. He’s doing what he knows to be best for his country. Now, we all watching the show know that’s not cool going around killing people because they’re activists or protesters or all that. We also get to know one of those young people, Adam Bessa plays Abbas Naziri in our show.

    He and Hanna have a really strong connection. I won’t give too much on that. Wonderful actor. And that’s part of the story that helps Hanna get in touch with who she really is, which is ultimately the heart of this entire story, is who she really is instead of what she’s been manipulated, down to her DNA, being manipulated. And we see a young woman coming into who she is, where she fits in the world, what her true identity is. So I know so many people can relate to that now. And Esmé Creed-Miles is exquisite in this role.

    MF: She absolutely is. And we’ve seen her really grow from the first season to the third. When you start a season, do you know the arc of the whole season, or are you just getting script by script?

    Mulroney: No, I think this was more a script by script, which in its own way is wonderful. I’ll do it either way, but it’s its own exercise in acting, because you don’t really know the end of the character, but that teaches you to just be in the moment. Right? I mean, it sounds really corny coming from an actor, but since you don’t know where the story’s going, you have to really commit to the truth in the scene you’re in. But I have these incredible actors to work with, so it is that anyway. Mireille Enos plays the lead grown up spy who just really goes even further this season, and they added Ray Liotta to the thing to be the chairman of the Utrax program. So that was a super highlight for me. The two old bulls do have a scene in the middle of the show that turns the plot again. So it was a real honor to be working with Ray, and he’s an integral part with lots of plot twists involved in his character too.

    MF: You must be very comfortable in your character now that it’s season three. So is it easier just to play now in season three because you know Carmichael so well, you know how he’d react to something?

    Mulroney: Well, yes, except that the circumstances are so new that some of those scenes, I didn’t know Carmichael had it in him. He really is depicted more like a man behind the scenes, sitting at the desk on the computers in our previous season. And we kind of start out that way, except we know he’s being asked to work against himself. But then, yeah, it gets pretty gnarly. I have to say, script upon script, I didn’t see that coming to that extent. So he has been trained as a spy, let’s say genius spy craft. But when it gets down to it, he’s got to fight tooth and nail, so it takes on a whole other quality.

    Series newcomer Ray Liotta describes his character and what attracted him to the show.

    Movefone: Ray, you’re new to the cast this season. What intrigued you enough to say yes to this role?

    Ray Liotta: I liked the script. I watched the first two seasons and thought the acting was really compelling, so between the script and that … I wasn’t sure at first, but then I said, “You know what? Let me just give it a shot.” I’m glad I did because … I haven’t seen it yet, but people seem to like it.

    MF: You are the villain in season three, Gordon Evans. What does he want with Hanna? Why does he want her so badly?

    Liotta: Well, Hanna’s a connection to my daughter, and I know my daughter would do whatever I want her to do if I could manipulate Hanna and get her into me, I knew I’d be able to get my daughter and try to connect with her again. I mean, it’s a twisted way of thinking, but that’s what this was.

    MF: When you were building your character, what kind of is the backstory of Gordon Evans?

    Liotta: I think that all the information that you need is within the script. Like I said, there was the backstory with my daughter. There’s a scene and there are a couple of times … Although I’m not sure if it made it into the cut. But it’s a twisted, bizarre relationship. I mean, it’s very, very extreme.

    MF: Tell me about Pioneer, who is Pioneer, or what is Pioneer?

    Liotta: It’s the way of doing what it is that my character thinks is the right thing to do. He cloaks himself in patriotism and extremism because he doesn’t want bad things to happen. There’s a mention about 9/11, and if we could get those guys before it even happened, it might not have happened. But now, like I said, it’s very extreme, and as Roy points out well, what happens if you get the wrong people? What if … You’re going after these bad guys when they’re young. Again, but Pioneer is what these girls … I mean, I’m grooming them to do bad things to other people.

    MF: There’s this kill list, the assassination list. Who are they specifically targeting?

    Liotta: People that I think we think that could end up doing something bad to the country, their belief system and how… It’s almost as extreme as McCarthyism, when back in the fifties they’re going after people that they think might have leaning towards communism. So they go after them made some mistakes like we do in this. But basically the character thinks that this is the way to go to protect our country. It’s just a very twisted way of doing it.

    ‘Hanna’ Season 3 is available on Prime Video.

  • Don Cheadle, Jon Hamm, more stars talk ‘No Sudden Move’

    Don Cheadle, Jon Hamm, more stars talk ‘No Sudden Move’

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    ‘No Sudden Move,’ Steven Soderbergh‘s new crime thriller, is set in Detroit in 1954, and the film boasts a very impressive cast. Don Cheadle, Benecio Del Toro, and Kieran Culkin play a trio of hoods, Brendan Fraser plays the man that put the trio together, and David Harbour, Amy Seimetz, and Noah Jupe play the family that the hoods take hostage. Bill Duke and Ray Liotta play crime lords, and Jon Hamm plays the detective trying to get to the bottom of it all. The cast of the movie took some time to tell us about their characters and the movie’s twists and turns.

    Don Cheadle and Benecio Del Toro talk about working with director Steven Soderbergh.

    Moviefone: Don, did you see the tension in the film when you signed on?

    Don Cheadle:     Yeah, I really enjoyed the script that Ed Solomon wrote. I thought it was really good. And when I knew Benicio was in, it was a no-brainer to say yes, and we had a lot of fun. It was pretty intense working under those conditions. We were one of the first projects to come back with the COVID protocols and Steven wrote the protocols for the DGA. So we felt like we were in good hands with him, but it was, yeah, the whole thing was an experience and shooting in Detroit and these locations that are still there, this great architecture in these cars and then the costumes. It was just great.

    MF: Benecio, how do you describe these two characters, these two guys, and what they do and who they are?

    Benicio Del Toro: Well, I think they are two criminals that come together and they just go on this journey to, led by greed, or so we think, and then we go on this roller coaster of all kinds of situations that happens to them, and the betrayals that happen and all that stuff. I think this movie’s a lot of fun that way.

    Cheadle: No doubt.

    MF: I just talked to Ray Liotta and he summed it up by saying, “Everybody is scummy,” and I thought that was kind of perfect. What I really love too, Don, is I feel like as an audience member, I was finding out things and discovering things along with the characters.

    Cheadle: Yeah. That’s some of the fun of this, I think, is that you don’t really get ahead of it. You don’t know what’s going to happen and things keep being revealed along the way. People’s motivations are shifting and allegiances that you think are one way go the other way. And I think between David and Benicio’s and my character, we’re all on these separate journeys that somehow come together, which is really a testament to the script and Steven.

    Del Toro: Yeah. Yeah.

    MF: Benicio, what is it about Steven Soderbergh, or a Soderbergh production?

    Del Toro: I tell you what, he gets you home early while you’re shooting on the movie. We finish about 10 days early. I think he knows exactly what he wants.

    Cheadle: Yeah.

    Del Toro: He knows that story back and forth better than anyone on the set. And he’s just a 100% there while you’re shooting. He’s like a machine. And the minute I knew that Don Cheadle and Steven Soderbergh were attached to the project, Steven called me up and I said, “I’m in. I don’t have to read it.” It was that simple for me. So I’m just happy that the movie also is working.

    MF: It worked so well, and I was thinking about the name of the movie, No Sudden Move, because as I was watching it, when any of you guys made a move, I was like, “Oh, well, that’s not good. That door opening, that’s not good.”

    Cheadle: Right.

    MF: It’s literally someone turned their head and I was like, “Oh, what’s about to happen next?” I mean, it was a fun little ride.

    Cheadle: Yeah. The movie was renamed during production because the other name that it had that we won’t even bring up was used by another movie. So Steven just kind of came up with “No Sudden Move.” And he said before he even kind of told us that he was on the set and the guy drove by in a car and said, “What’s this movie?” And he said, “It’s called No Sudden Move.” And the guy said, “Sounds like a thriller.” And he went, “Okay, that title works.”

    MF: Thank you to that guy for driving by and saying that.

    Del Toro: Yeah. That’s right.

    MF: I also liked the idea in your work that you guys do, you really have to trust your director and editors and all that, but the world that these guys live in the characters, there’s no trust.

    Cheadle: No trust. Yeah. Nobody trusts anybody. Everybody’s waiting for the person next to them to cut their legs out from under him, which is great. I mean, it’s cool for the audience, I think, to try to figure out who’s scummier than the last, and who’s going to come out on top.

    Del Toro: Right.

    Cheadle: And I think the film holds that tension for the whole time.

    Bill Duke and Brendan Fraser discuss how the movie keeps the audience guessing.

    MF: I can’t remember the last time I cussed this much watching a movie because every time something happened, because it was really a ride. Did you guys have that kind of same experience being in the movie, Bill?

    Bill Duke: Well, working with the actors that we worked with, was a wonderful experience. And following the script, it’s like, it’s one thing to memorize your lines, but when you’re in a scene with Don Cheadles of the world and the Matt Damons et cetera, and all the actors, it was like a very, very, very insightful, wonderful experience. Put it that way.

    MF: Brendan, and the same for you, kind of just riding the moment?

    Brendan Fraser: I knew it would be exciting. It’s a multi-layered screenplay with plenty of twists and turns. It’ll keep you guessing. It’s a story of redemption in many ways. Although we see these anti-heroes that populate the screen and everyone gets what they deserve by stories. And I felt great knowing that this is a genre that Steven Soderbergh absolutely excels with. And I guess the excitement just came mostly from seeing the film in its entirety and going, wow, that’s the product that you get when you work with the best that there is in the business. It was exciting.

    MF: I really enjoyed, as a member of the audience, that I felt like I was finding out stuff, as you guys were founding out, or the characters, like we were all in it together.

    Duke: And that’s not easy to do, because the thing is, as I said before, he has the ability to stay ahead of the audience, because once the audience catches up, you’re done. Right? And he doesn’t do it in a corny way. I mean, he just hooks you and just takes you through his journey until the end. And sometimes there’s not an end-to-end, but it’s the end of the movie, but there’re other things that’s why this movie didn’t have an end-end. Don walks off, right? But what is he walking off into? Nobody knows. He doesn’t even know really.

    Fraser: And he entered the world of this film with a walk too. So it really completes his journey. And as the credits roll, we learned that the overriding theme of what we’ve seen and how exciting it is, and it is. Prior to that, there’s some truth to what really happened in those days, with regard to what the prize is in this film that everyone’s chasing up. And they’re all chasing something different. Exactly. And that’s really the technology behind the catalytic converter, which is, was suppressed by the car companies for some 25 years, until it was mandated by law, that this technology is put into cars so that we can all breathe cleaner air. And it leaves you wondering, why couldn’t we have done this sooner? Well, there’s some very powerful forces of greed at work in our world. And hopefully we can move on from there. I don’t know. That’s the answer. That’s the takeaway I get from it.

    MF: Quickly tell me like who your characters are. Brendan, who is Jones?

    Fraser: Doug Jones likely fought in the war. He survived it. I don’t think he participated in a way that… I just think he probably got up to no good during that time. Came back to America and didn’t get with society and the program and decided that a life of crime was his. He’s working his way up the management chain of organized crime. I found it helpful to understand the character as being rotten to the core by wearing false teeth that were really nasty. He gets his, just like everybody else. So I’m not telling tales out of school.

    MF: And Bill for you is, is your character just a bad-ass boss?

    Duke: No, he is part of a tradition. I think his family, his father was an O.G. and I think his father’s father, maybe it was what they taught him was about power. In power, you don’t talk power. You be power. As I said before, if I know where your kids go to school and where you asleep, I’m going to ask you a question. And I just expect an honest answer, because you’ll know if you lie to me, there’ll be consequences.

    Amy Seimetz and Frankie Shaw share their experiences making the movie.

    Moviefone: Frankie, let’s talk about life on the set. What is life on a Steven Soderbergh set like? What was that experience?

    Frankie Shaw: So he’s super collaborative. He makes you feel like you’re a genius and he knows exactly what he wants, and has the whole movie in his head already. And there’s no fat on it, so he just shoots what he needs, because he’s going to edit later that day. And yeah, it’s like a really fun vibe. He’s serious and he’s jokey. And he’s just like maybe the smartest person we’ve probably ever met.

    MF: Well, that’s a nice review of a guy. I was talking about this movie, how, what you guys do, you trust your director, you trust your sound people and your editors, but this world that we’re living in, there’s no trust for anyone in any of these characters. I didn’t trust anyone from the very beginning, and that helped me throughout the entire movie.

    Amy Seimetz: I think that’s part of the fun and part of, with the twists and turns, it’s like, you’re never, in the way that he’s shooting it, even just watching it again and also being on set and seeing how he framed everything. Everything’s like a little off-kilter, so you never feel completely grounded. And that goes for with the characters too. You can’t trust, you’re never on firm grounding with any of the characters.

    MF: Yeah, Frankie, I thought the name of the movie was perfect because as a viewer, as an audience member, anytime anyone in the film made a sudden move, or any kind of move, I was like, well, that’s a bad sign. Like if a door opened, I was like, that’s a bad sign. Someone looked to the left. I was like, what’s he looking at?

    Shaw: Yeah, there wasn’t a lot of reason for these characters to trust. So then they became untrustworthy, I felt like. But if you really go, and all the actors were so incredible. And I feel like did such a good job bringing in the history, their history to the current moment of where they were at. And so, I don’t know, even through their deep untrustworthiness, you really felt for them.

    Jon Hamm and Noah Jupe talk about the complex plot.

    Moviefone: Jon, my gift and curse in life is that I can usually tell where a movie is going. I’m like, I see what’s happening here. This movie proved me wrong time and time again in the best way possible. Did you see that when you guys first signed on?

    Jon Hamm: It’s baked into the script, for sure. The complexity is there on purpose and Ed Solomon is a phenomenal writer and set out to write a very twisty and turny heist movie, essentially about the catalytic converter, which on its face sounds like a ridiculous idea, but is actually, especially because it’s based on true events and reality, it’s an ambitious story to tell, and it’s a very compelling story. Cause it wraps up so much about American history and racial politics and how the car culture basically ruined neighborhoods in inner cities that were low income and majority minority neighborhoods. And this is all part of history that kind of got literally bulldozed, but it should not be forgotten.

    MF: Noah, your character is one of the few people I trusted in this movie. How did you find him? What did you make of Matthew?

    Noah Jupe: I really liked Matthew. I thought he was really interesting. I connected with him a lot. I feel like in that situation, I had actually hoped I would also do the same thing as he did. I thought it was very strong. He knew he could read a person very well. I felt like he knew exactly who to trust and when to trust them, and who he couldn’t quite get a handle on. And for example, his relationship with Don’s character is very interesting. Because I think by the end of the meeting, I think they always do trust each other a little bit. And so it’s very interesting to explore that in the scenes and yeah. Honestly, I just love playing Matthew.

    MF: Jon, what was life like on a Steven Soderbergh set? What is that experience?

    Hamm: You feel very taken care of. I will say that, especially given the fact that we were shooting this in October-November of last year, so pretty deep into the pandemic situation in Michigan, but you definitely feel there was a very strong hand on the tiller, so you know that there’s a plan for the day, there’s a plan in case something goes wrong, everything is planned out, and you get your work done, and then you go home. And we were all staying in the same hotel. We were in a bubble, so to speak. So, we all got to go home early and have dinner like adults. And it was very much a professionally run set. And then to be able to be a part of something that’s so creatively ambitious and beautifully crafted was kind of a bonus.

    Lastly, Ray Liotta and Julia Fox discuss their married character’s relationship.

    Moviefone: I don’t know if this is a direct reflection of the movie, but I no longer trust either one of you. That’s kind of the world we’re living in. Ray, what was it about this whole concept that made you want to sign on?

    Ray Liotta: Well, basically I liked the script, and to work with Steven. I’d worked with Don before, not Benicio, which I wanted to do. So, the combination of things made me… Yeah, I was just in and out really quick, but I just wanted to do it.

    MF: Julia, this whole concept of we can’t trust one person. You literally can’t trust the next guy. Did you see that in the script originally when you first read it, or did it kind of open itself up as you guys shot the film?

    Julia Fox: It definitely opened itself up, I think. I did not see what I did coming at all. But I totally understood it, and I sympathized with her, and I think being a woman in the forties must’ve been really tough, and she wanted to level the playing field. So, I loved her and when I read her. I said, “this is me, I can do this, I have to do this, I was born to do this,” and I did.

    MF: Let’s talk about their relationship, then. This is a couple, you two play a couple? But it’s complicated, is it not?

    Liotta: Yeah. No question. I think we probably got married young, and I was doing the stuff that I do, and she ends up cheating on me. And so, it was just interesting.

    Fox: You deserved it, though. (Laughing)

    MF: Julia, how did you find the relationship? What did you make of it?

    Fox: Yeah, it just seemed like what Ray said, that back in those days, a woman’s worth was dictated by who she’s married to. And if you’re not married, you’re worthless. And if you… You know what I mean? And, I think it was that same thing. It was kind of out of opportunity, out of convenience. I’m sure maybe there was love or lust there at some point, but eventually love is not enough. Money comes then, and that’s the overpowering force, I think.

    And the theme of the root of this whole movie, is just the greed and desire for more, and it’s not enough. Keep pushing more, and more, and more, and never satisfied. And then eventually the house of cards falls.

    MF: I just watched the movie last night, Ray, and I’m still in knots. Did you get a sense of that when you guys were shooting? That this was going to be so tension filled?

    Liotta: Well, you don’t really know how they’re going to put it together, but each scene has, for lack of better words, a rhythm within itself in the way that it’s written. Yeah, but the stakes are intense, and I know Benicio, and I don’t know he’s fooling around with my wife. No, I do eventually figure it out, because I confront him.

    So, you never know how they’re going to put it together. It’s more Steven and the editors, with the music, and the way it’s cut that makes it move along.

    MF: I bet that’s interesting, though, because you do have to trust your director. You have to trust everyone on the crew. You have to trust your editors. And then this world that the movie encompasses is a world where no one trusts anyone else, there’s no trust at all.

    Liotta: Yeah. Not at all. Everyone’s kind of scummy.

    ‘No Sudden Move’ is now streaming on HBO Max.

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  • Ray Liotta Joins ‘The Many Saints of Newark,’ ‘The Sopranos’ Prequel Movie

    Ray Liotta Joins ‘The Many Saints of Newark,’ ‘The Sopranos’ Prequel Movie

    NBC

    Ray Liotta is going back to his mobster movie roots.

    The actor is joining the cast of “The Many Saints Of Newark,” “The Sopranos” prequel movie.

    Co-written by “Sopranos” series creator David Chase and directed by Alan Taylor, “The Many Saints of Newark” is set amid the Newark riots in the 1960s, when African Americans and Italian Americans clashed.

    Liotta, who was actually born and raised in Newark, is the latest “Goodfellas” actor to appear in “The Sopranos” universe. In total, 27 cast members crossed over, including  Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Frank Vincent and Tony Sirico.

    Last month, the prequel movie cast Michael Gandolfini, the son of James Gandolfini, to play the younger version of Tony Soprano.

    “The Many Saints of Newark” focuses on Dickie Moltisanti, Tony’s uncle, to be played by Alessandro Nivola. “Uncle Dickie” is a mob soldier who eventually dies at the hands of a crooked cop in the ’70s.