Earlier today I got to interview Jason Statham as CBS Films is junketing his next movie The Mechanic (which is a welcome addition to Statham’s ass kicking resume) here in Los Angeles. As a fan of his work over the past decade, it was really cool to finally ask him some questions about how he chooses his projects and just to hear him talk about making movies. And while I’ll have the entire conversation online the week of release (January 28), I wanted to post two highlights tonight: what he said about Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables 2 and if he thinks a Crank 3 will ever happen. Hit the jump for what he had to say:
If you’re a fan of Crank and Crank: High Voltage, Statham doesn’t sound confident that we’re going to see a Crank 3 as the second one didn’t do as well as the first one. He said:
“It’s a shame the last one didn’t do that well. I think the first one had a little bit more success and usually if you do a sequel, it usually has to in some ways take a little bit more money than the first one.”
As a huge fan of the first two Crank films, I’d love to see a third film. But if they don’t make another Crank, perhaps Neveldine/Taylor and Statham can create a new character…
But while we are probably not going to get another sequel to Crank, Statham sounded very confident that The Expendables 2 is going to move forward much sooner than many thought. When I asked him what he’s getting ready to film this year, he told me this is the first time he has nothing scheduled in years. I then asked if Expendables 2 is what he was waiting on. He said yes.
While I was unsure that The Expendables 2 would move forward that fast, Statham said, “I’m very positive that it will be going.”
Of course, who really knows what’s up with The Expendables 2, but with Statham one of the stars of the franchise, since he hasn’t booked another gig, perhaps the movie is going to be filming much sooner than we all thought.
Here’s the part of the roundtable interview that covered Crank and Expenables. More with Statham soon.
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Collider: I’m a big fan of your pairings with Neveldine/Taylor, I’m curious, when you think of the Crank movies, what’s the first thing that comes to your head and do you ever think there’ll be a third?
Jason Statham: It’s a shame the last one didn’t do that well. I think the first one had a little bit more success and usually if you do a sequel, it usually has to in some ways take a little bit more money than the first one.
Well the second one is just balls up crazy.
Statham: Yeah, it was absolutely nuts, which reflects exactly who those two are. I don’t know, whether we’ll do another one? Who knows? I just know we had a great…working with those two guys is not like working with anybody else. I mean, they are absolutely mad as hatters. And Neveldine, moved to the country not so long ago, and has been living a different kind of life. I don’t know how plugged in he is to doing a third one.
Well they’re directing Ghost Rider 2 right now, so they’re clearly back in the game.
Statham: We’re always in touch. We always mention the idea of, shall we do another one, I don’t know.
Have you heard about a sequel to The Expendables?
Statham: Yes I have heard about a sequel and I’d be the first to say yes to a phone call from Sly. I mean, we spoke about it as soon as the movie started to do really well and he says, you know, it would be great to do this again, and if there’s anyone who can do a good sequel it’s Sly Stallone! He’s done a fair amount. Yeah, we had a good time. It’s something I’d like to repeat.
How far out do you plan for your career? Are you thinking, I’ve got films lined up all in 2011, I’ve got four things, or are you sort of like, I take one project at a time and that’s as far as I’m going to look?
Statham: Sometimes you can get kind of chopped up with it. This is the first period in several years now that for the next few months I’m not doing anything. Normally come January the last three years, I’ve always had something in front of me. The trouble is, once you sign on to do a movie, there’s always an aspect of that, that you might miss something else, so.. The most I’ve had is a couple of movies in front of me, but now I’m just waiting for Stallone’s next film, The Expendables 2.
There’s been a lot of conjecture that, ‘it’s definitely going, that it might be going’…
Statham: It’s more than likely, yeah. I’m very positive that it will be going.
Oh, so this is what you’re waiting on.
Statham: Yes. Right now.
by Jason Barr Posted: January 14th, 2011
Via
our interview with J.J. Abrams earlier in the week, we found out that the writer/director/producer was unsure whether or not he would return to helm the sequel to 2009’s
Star Trek as he has yet to check out any pages from Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, and Bob Orci’s script. With that in mind, director’s chair or not, he confirmed in a recent interview that Paramount has approached him about releasing the sequel in 3D. When
Vulture asked if the studio had mentioned the prospect of 3D to him, he responded with a simple “Yup,” before explaining:
“I have nothing against 3-D in theory. But I’ve also never run to the movies because something’s in 3-D. [As for Trek], as soon as I read the script, if it says, “Somebody pushes a weapon toward the camera in a menacing way,” and we think, “That’d be better in 3-D!”… I dunno.”
While the thought of studios wanting to release blockbuster films like Star Trek 2 in 3D is hardly a surprising one, I think Abrams’ open-minded sentiments toward the technology make a lot of sense. If 3D can add to the overall atmosphere and presentation of a film, great. But, in and of itself, it’s not going to make a film worth seeing. 3D feelings aside, Star Trek 2 is currently slated for a June 29th, 2012 release with shooting set to begin this summer. More on Abrams’ involvement in the Star Trek sequel (or lack thereof) as it becomes available.
by Matt Goldberg Posted: January 14th, 2011
While Peter Weir’s The Way Back has yet to screen for critics in Atlanta, I’ve heard nothing but positive things about the film. The Way Back is Weir’s first film in seven years and boasts a strong cast that includes Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Mark Strong, Jim Sturgess, and Saoirse Ronan. I can’t wait to get a look at the film and now we have seven clips from the flick, which opens next week. Here’s the synopsis:
Inspired by Slavomir Rawicz’s acclaimed book, The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom as well as other real life accounts, six time Oscar nominated director Peter Weir’s (Witness, Master And Commander, & Dead Poet’s Society) The Way Back is a remarkable adventure story chronicling the escape of a small group of multi-national prisoners from a Siberian gulag in 1940 and their epic life affirming journey over thousands of miles across five hostile countries.
Hit the jump to check out the clips.
