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Tag: the-expendables-4

  • ‘The Best Man’ Interview: Dolph Lundgren

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    The new action movie ‘The Best Man,’ which opens in theaters, On Demand and digital April 21st, was written and directed by Shane Dax Taylor (‘Bloodworth’).

    What is the plot of ‘The Best Man?’

    In ‘The Best Man,’ when a team of ruthless mercenaries violently seize control of a remote resort hotel looking for revenge, former Special Ops soldiers Bradley (Brendan Fehr) and Anders (Dolph Lundgren), who are attending their best friend Cal’s (Luke Wilson) wedding to Brook (Nicky Whelen), along with the bride’s sister Hailey (Scout Taylor-Compton), must rely only on their wits and training to combat the terrorists and save the hostages held for ransom.

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    Who is in the cast of ‘The Best Man?’

    ‘The Best Man’ stars Brendan Fehr (‘X-Men: First Class,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’), Nicky Whelan (‘Hall Pass’), Scout Taylor-Compton (‘The Runaways’), Scott Martin (‘Big Kill’), Dolph Lundgren (‘Rocky IV,’ ‘The Expendables,’ ‘Aquaman‘), and Luke Wilson (‘The Royal Tenenbaums,’ ‘Old School’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dolph Lundgren about his work on ‘The Best Man,’ his character, his approach to his work now, the ‘Die Hard’ type plot, working with Luke Wilson, playing the piano, and even teased the upcoming ‘The Expendables 4.’

    Dolph Lundgren as Anders in the action film, 'The Best Man,' a Saban Films release.
    Dolph Lundgren as Anders in the action film, ‘The Best Man,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

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

    Moviefone: To begin with, your character has been to war and its changed him. Where is he at mentally when the film begins?

    Dolph Lundgren: Well, the way it was written was this slightly lighthearted character who drinks and he is a bit of a rogue, he’s a bit of a drunk, but he is still sharp enough to do his job. So, I sort of focused on that part of him, not the military side of it because that I could do in my sleep and so many people play that. So I was trying to have fun with the character and make him a little irresponsible, and I thought it came across fairly well, at least in the first half of the movie.

    MF: Can you expand on your approach as an actor when you are playing a role like this and the idea of “not playing the military side” of the character?

    DL: Well, yes. I started that when I got older. When I was younger, you played a tough guy because it’s in your DNA and you’re trying to impress people or impress yourself. I don’t know. But I sort of started doing that. I think it started with ‘The Expendables’ franchise where I had this character in the first ‘Expendables.’ He was supposed to be killed off actually, but he was kind of a bit of a drunk, crazy and certainly didn’t care that he looked tough and he didn’t care what he looked like. He didn’t dress all cool and his hair was all hanging around. So I think it started there and I realized that people seem to enjoy that, and they kind of set me apart a little bit. There’s an ‘Expendables 4’ coming out, and I enjoyed going back and having fun with that unpredictability and also because I’m such a big guy. If you’re bigger than everybody else, you have to play something else. You can’t play tough because then it’s tough upon tough and it doesn’t really work. I mean, unless you’re a villain or somebody who’s totally over the top.

    Dolph Lundgren as Anders in the action film, 'The Best Man,' a Saban Films release.
    Dolph Lundgren as Anders in the action film, ‘The Best Man,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

    Related Article: Brendan Fehr Talks ‘The Best Man’ with Luke Wilson and Dolph Lundgren

    MF: You have a few scenes in the movie where your character plays the piano. Was that improvised, and is that an example of you choosing to focus on another aspect of the character?

    DL: Yes, I enjoyed that. That was in the script and I was afraid that it was going to be covered more in detail and I was going to have to practice. But I kind of spoke to the pianist a little bit about how to do it, but you’d only see me play and it was more the playfulness of that moment. I used to play trombone and I used to play drums in a couple of different bands, so I like music and I thought it was an interesting little departure.

    MF: The movie is sort of ‘Die Hard’ at a wedding, and if terrorists were going to attack at your wedding, these are the guys you want there. Can you talk about how your character springs into action when the trouble starts?

    DL: Yeah, you’re right. I mean, everybody’s armed for some reason. I was trying to figure that out, but I guess it’s in America. It could be in a state where everybody’s got a carry license, which they seem to have because everybody’s got a concealed weapon. Yeah, it’s like trying to rob a sheriff’s convention, bad idea, and I think here Anders and the other guys are ex-military. It was just a bad idea for these guys to try what they were trying to do.

    Luke Wilson as Cal in the action film, 'The Best Man,' a Saban Films release.
    Luke Wilson as Cal in the action film, ‘The Best Man,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

    MF: Finally, have a great scene at the bar with Luke Wilson, what was it like working with him?

    DL: I loved working with Luke. He is a lot of fun, very easy, easygoing guy, relaxed, and he improvised a lot of that scene. We ended up improvising and he started it, so he started improvising and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed working with him. I wish he would’ve had more scenes. Maybe next time.

    Luke Wilson as Cal, Nicky Whelan as Brooke and Dolph Lundgren as Anders in the action film,'The Best Man,' a Saban Films release.
    (L to R) Luke Wilson as Cal, Nicky Whelan as Brooke and Dolph Lundgren as Anders in the action film,’The Best Man,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

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    ‘The Best Man’ is produced by Saban Films. It is set to release in theaters, On Demand and digital on April 21st.

  • CinemaCon 2023: Lionsgate Films Presentation

    Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.'
    (L to R) Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.

    Lionsgate might not quite have the same number of giant films to tout compared to its bigger studio rivals, but it has some solid performers. Could there be chatter about the success of ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ and a look ahead to spin-off ‘Ballerina’, which stars Ana de Armas?

    And, of course, the company is headed back to the world of ‘The Hunger Games’ later this year for a prequel.

    Team Lionsgate kicked off by mentioning their two upcoming titles –– as in this week –– with ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ and ‘Sisu’ before turning to the forthcoming rest of the year and beyond…. Which somewhat surprisingly turned out to be a sizzle reel or imagery and logos that dispensed with most of the slate.

    Rachel McAdams as Barbara Dimon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in 'Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.'
    (L to R) Rachel McAdams as Barbara Dimon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.

    Among the movies we can expect?

    ‘About my Father’ (May 26th), a new comedy drama starring Robert De Niro, horror spoof ‘The Blackening’ (June 16th), raucous comedy ‘Joy Ride’ (more on that in a moment), ‘Wonder’ spin-off ‘White Bird’ (August 18th) and ‘The Expendables 4’ (September 22, which only showed a logo, but promises more action with genre legends and new faces).

    Plus, there is ‘Ordinary Angels’ (October 13), which stars Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson and is inspired by the true story of a hairdresser who single-handedly rallies an entire community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter. And finally in the reel, ‘Saw X’, which arrives just in time for Halloween on October 27th.

    First up, one of the biggies…

    ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’

    Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.'
    (L to R) Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.

    This prequel to the hugely successful movie series that starred Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen returns us to the dystopian world of Panem (where conflict has led to huge shortages and “Districts” send “Tributes” to compete in lethal games to distract the populace.

    This time, however, the story is set decades before the time of Katniss and focuses on a younger Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth –– playing the character who will eventually become Donald Sutherland’s cruel President Snow). At this point, the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.

    With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.

    ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th.
    ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th.

    A new poster appeared on screen, which was soon followed by the first trailer for the movie that you can see below.

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    It’s suitably epic, with the likes of Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage and Jason Schwartzman all involved, and even a vocal cameo for Donald Sutherland –– pointing to a potential bookend for the movie –– who reminds us that “it’s the things you love the most that destroy you.”

    But that was it for the movie; no star power and little else mentioned.

    ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th.

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    Next up, something all-together ruder and more chaotic…

    ‘Joy Ride’

    Stephanie Hsu as Kat, Sabrina Wu as Deadeye, Ashley Park as Audrey, and Sherry Cola as Lolo in 'Joy Ride.'
    (L to R) Stephanie Hsu as Kat, Sabrina Wu as Deadeye, Ashley Park as Audrey, and Sherry Cola as Lolo in ‘Joy Ride.’

    As mentioned, Lionsgate is hopeful for new comedy ‘Joy Ride’, directed by ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ co-writer Adele Lim and starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola and ‘Everything Everywhere’ Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu.

    Written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao, Joy Ride is a story of identity and self-discovery focusing on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin.

    This one at least had the on-stage support of producer Seth Rogen, who showed up (in a different outfit from the Paramount presentation) to enthuse about the movie and how it was the first comedy he watched after pandemic lockdowns and how much of a relief it was to see someone making one after the long, dark slog.

    And that was pretty much it for talk of the film –– since Lionsgate screened it for the CinemaCon crowd.

    Director Adele Lim on the set of 'Joy Ride.'
    Director Adele Lim on the set of ‘Joy Ride.’ Photo Courtesy of Lionsgate. Copyright © 2023 Lionsgate.

    Movies Presented at Lionsgate Films 2023 CinemaCon Presentation:

    Buy Lionsgate Movies On Amazon