DWAYNE JOHNSON INVITES PINOYS TO WATCH “SAN ANDREAS”

A short clip featuring Dwayne Johnson inviting Filipinos to watch his latest film, “San Andreas” has just been released by Warner Bros. 

The action adventure “San Andreas,” from New Line Cinema and Village Roadshow Pictures, reunites Dwayne Johnson with director Brad Peyton and producer Beau Flynn, following their collaboration on the global hit “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.”

After the infamous San Andreas Fault finally gives, triggering a magnitude 9 earthquake in California, a search and rescue helicopter pilot (Johnson) and his estranged wife make their way together from Los Angeles to San Francisco to save their only daughter. But their treacherous journey north is only the beginning. And when they think the worst may be over…it’s just getting started.

“San Andreas” also stars Carla Gugino (“Night at the Museum,” TV’s “Entourage”), Alexandra Daddario (“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” TV’s “True Detective”), Ioan Gruffudd (“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”), Archie Panjabi (TV’s “The Good Wife”), Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Australian TV’s “Home and Away”), Art Parkinson (TV’s “Game of Thrones”) and Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti (“Cinderella Man”).

Opening across the Philippines in 3D , 2D and 4DX formats on Thursday, May 28, “San Andreas” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

DWAYNE JOHNSON FEELS HE'S BORN TO PLAY “HERCULES”

Action superstar Dwayne Johnson experienced a massive jolt on the set of Paramount Pictures' epic adventure “Hercules” during a scene when his Greek hero was chained to stone pillars.

Photo courtesy of UIP

"It's when Hercules breaks through the chains and becomes the demi-god he was born to be," says Johnson. "I was actually yelling with all the power I could muster, 'I am Hercules!' I gave it my all and made myself pass out every time we did it. But I honestly felt in that moment that I was born to play this role."

From the looks of it, he might be right.

Even as a child, Johnson, 41, idolized the Herculean legend — "He was the first superhero." But with his 6-foot-5 frame and his famously heroic stature, Johnson is one of the few actors who could legitimately portray his hero onscreen. The effort has taken a decade, and came into focus when director Brett Ratner came onboard four years ago. Johnson took eight months to sculpt his body to demi-god status and maintained it during the taxing shoot in Hungary.

"It's incredible, he's up every morning at 3:45 right on the treadmill, then it was right to the gym for hours," says producer Beau Flynn. "And then it was to the makeup chair, then shooting all day in the heat. And repeat that for 90 days."

Johnson's first transformation into his character took 41/2 hours after being adorned with a wig, beard, makeup and wardrobe. "It looked incredible, we had succeeded," says Johnson. "But it was like, how the hell can we cut the time down?"

Eventually they whittled the daily process to 3 1/2 hours, though the lush yak-beard ("Yes, real yak hair," says Johnson) alone took 2 1/2 hours of application.

"The No. 1 goal is to make the definitive version of Hercules," says Johnson. "We know we're going to be under a microscope." But he's confident moviegoers will accept his "passion-driven" project based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars.

The story finds Hercules after he has endured his famous 12 Labors (which included slaying a nine-headed hydra and the fearsome Nemean lion), punishment bestowed on him after killing his family in a fit of insanity.

Hercules is still in a dark place mentally, with scars from his many battles. But now he is traveling with a group of mercenaries and cashing in on his famous name until he's hired to train an army for an epic battle.

The setting allowed Johnson, wearing Hercules' Nemean lion headpiece and wielding a massive oak club (with the lion's claws), to lead war scenes featuring more than 1,000 soldiers.

"Green screen and effects can be fantastic. But when you have real men, real sweat and even real blood, it's very gratifying," says Johnson. "You feel the substance."

After he was done with some serious clubbing, Johnson would recover in modern Hercules style.

"I had the club of Hercules and the Nemean lion's head in my room," says Johnson. "I'd come home to that and catch something on the BBC with a glass of tequila."

From Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, "Hercules" stars Dwayne Johnson as both man and myth, leading a band of mercenaries to help end a bloody civil war in the land of Thrace and return the rightful king to his throne. A tormented soul from birth, Hercules has the strength of a God but feels the suffering of a human. Unimaginable villains will test the mythical power of Hercules in director Brett Ratner's gritty take on one of the most epic action heroes of the ages.

“Hercules” also stars Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Joseph Fiennes, Peter Mullan, Aksel Hennie, Ingrid Berdal, Reece Ritchie, Tobias Santelmann, Rebecca Ferguson, Isaac Andrews and John Hurt.

The film is produced by Beau Flynn, Barry Levine and Brett Ratner. Based on Radical Comics' "Hercules" by Steve Moore, with a screenplay by Ryan J. Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos. Directed by Brett Ratner.

Now showing in the Philippines in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D cinemas, “Hercules” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

Dwayne Johnson is back as Luke Hobbs in Fast And Furious 6

A one-time top level American football player and former WWE star, Dwayne Johnson broke into film with The Mummy Returns, which led to his first starring role, in The Scorpion King in 2002.  The success of that film led to subsequent leading roles in The Rundown, Walking Tall and Gridiron Gang.  He also gave a strong performance in the ensemble hit Be Cool, lent his voice to Planet 51 as astronaut Captain Charles Baker and returned to big family comedy with his starring role in Tooth Fairy and Race to Witch Mountain. Other credits include Faster and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. He joined the Fast and Furious franchise in 2011’s Fast Five, playing hard lawman Luke Hobbs. He returns in Fast & Furious 6…

 

Photo courtesy of UIP

What’s new for your character, Hobbs, in this movie?

In the Hobbs world and in the Hobbs fashion world there is another mission. There is another bad guy to get and in order to catch wolves you need to get wolves, so Hobbs has to enlist the help of Dom and his crew to help catch this other group of bad guys. Essentially, I am just giving you the rough overview of it, but in the spirit of Don Corleone they make him ‘an offer that he can’t refuse.’ There is a reason why he has to help; he has no choice but I am never on their side. They are bad guys and they broke the law and I still think they are pieces of sh*t, excuse my language! There is a bigger picture involved and there are bigger fish to get. Once we get this big fish I am then going to take care of Dom and his crew because there is still unfinished business. That creates a wonderful conflict dynamic and palpable energy and intensity.

What do you like about playing this guy?

I like that he is very myopic in his approach and there is no grey area. It is either black or white. In his constitution and in his make up and his wiring he is all about getting the job done, all about finding whomever that person or group is, hunting them down and bringing them in. That’s what he does. Along the way he has access to some of the greatest automobiles in the world that the government supplies. He is not about small and fast in terms of cars. He is about big and powerful. It is the same with the weapons, too. It is a fun, fun character and it is great as an actor to come on board with an incredible franchise that really has, against the odds, been incredibly successful and continues to ascend in this success. The character is fun.

To what do you attribute the success of the Fast and Furious franchise?

I think what drives the success of the franchise is the studio. You have individuals at Universal who have been around for a very long time and with Universal, they are like family to me. They were the ones who broke me into the business with The Mummy Returns and they saw potential in me and then gave me my break with The Scorpion King and a lot of those individuals are still there. So I know that they are consistently in the sphere of, ‘How can we be better?’ They are very protective of their franchise and it is important not only to make a movie that’s better in many ways than the last one, but also in two, three, four movies down the road and whether they do ten more without me, who knows, but that spirit drives them. And then there’s Vin, who cares deeply about the franchise and he really helps to drive it.

In this movie there’s no major showdown with Hobbs and Dom, but you do fight one guy who’s even bigger than you, right?

Right. Since there is not a Dom and Hobbs showdown in this one the idea was to get individuals who were viable bad guys, not only psychologically to have the advantage over the good guys but also physically as well.

Have you ever fought an actor who is bigger than you?

No. I haven’t.

Are you looking forward to it?

I am looking forward to it because I win! If I was going to lose on the other hand…

How do you think the sixth movie will top what’s come before?

The last one was great, I enjoyed it, I loved the script and I think we are making a hell of a movie. I think we have a great shot at making a movie that is just as exciting as the last one, possibly more so, in different ways. We are introducing a lot more characters in this one, which is a great challenge for Justin [Lin, the director]. He has done a great job at balancing that and making sure that everyone has a moment to shine, characters old and new. The action is ramped up. Generally, it is hard to compare. You just kind of put together the best movie you can and have confidence in what you deliver. I think we are making a great movie.

Can you talk a little about the aeroplane sequence at the end of the movie?

I started shooting a little bit of that a couple of days ago. The Antonov is a massive Russian plane, a massive plane, and it is an incredibly massive final sequence to the movie. I will put it up there and challenge any ending action sequence in the history of Hollywood in comparison. We have thrown everything we had at this final action sequence. It will be however high-up in the air and there will be the Antonov and every character in the movie will be on that plane. And without giving too much away, the plane’s going down!

How have you enjoyed the experience of shooting in London?

I love London, I do, and we have had a lot of challenges with the city. The number one challenge was the Olympics, which was interesting because we had knew that the Olympics were here! There have been challenges that you just deal with. I give a lot of credit to Justin Lin. It is a very, very big movie, a very big franchise and he has a lot to balance and he wears a multitude of hats every day. And all the challenges we talked about he deals with in a very calm, smart way. He has a wonderful energy to him, very focused, but personally I have enjoyed London. The city is very film-friendly regardless of the challenges that we have had. The city is great so I have a continued love affair with London. I love it.

Does it feel like coming back to visit old friends when you return to a franchise like this?

Every actor has their own processes and some of the processes make sense to a lot of people. Some of it seems crazy. It worked out very well for me, personally, coming into this franchise. They are already a family, a group that has been together for many, many years on screen and off screen. For me, my character didn’t know the other characters, personally, and it worked out very nicely because I was able to keep my distance on the last movie and on this one too. I come on and it is an intense shoot. I am intense. I like to have fun but I don’t like to mess around necessarily with the other actors because there is still a palpable energy that is important that we maintain.

Do you plan to do some more diverse movies or will you be sticking to action roles?

I would love to do more diverse movies. My goal when I went into acting was to have a diverse career. Twelve years ago when I started with The Mummy Returns I wanted to be able to sit here all these years later today saying that I had been able to work in all different genres and hopefully have success in them. But if not, okay. Doing something like Southland Tales was very exciting to me and working with a director like Richard Kelly, a writer-director, was very unique. And there is a big movie I am doing called Pain and Gain, myself and Mark Wahlberg, directed by Michael Bay, and there’s another small movie I have coming out called Snitch. So those are different movies that hit a sensibility for me and I welcome them and love that. Those movies are not the first ones that come across my desk. And when a studio has a script it is ‘Okay, we have here a main character who has multiple personal disorders, suicidal tendencies and all these things.’ The Rock isn’t really the person who comes to mind! I do get that and for me generally it is through a director who wants to shake things up and wants to shock the world — that’s how I get more interesting material.

Do you have any thoughts on women in action films?

I think it is great when you can find women in action films and you certainly find it in spades in this movie because you have two women who are viable, believable, bankable and are good at kicking ass! And they can do it legitimately. I think that is played out on screen so I think the audience is really going to enjoy seeing them.

How was it working with Gina Carano?

I spend a lot of time with Gina. I love Gina. I have followed her career for a very, very long time and I admire her too, in so many ways. It is not easy to break into Hollywood and it is not easy to make it in Hollywood and yet she has done both very well. She surrounds herself with good people and she has a great head on her shoulders.  She was very successful in MMA, a male dominated world, which is very admirable and then to make that transition, seemingly seamless by the way, is very impressive. She has a big, bright future in that business if she wants it.

Will Samoa ever beat the Wallabies at rugby again and do you wish you were on the national side?

I have faith in my homeland. Do I ever wish I were playing? No. I will tell you why. I used to live in New Zealand for some time. I went to school there and I played rugby. I have been very lucky to have played American Football and American professional wrestling for a very long time and have my fair share of action in Hollywood. But there is no tougher sport than rugby and those who have played it and understand the game know what I am talking about. Those who don’t, well I have this argument all the time with my American buddies who are great football players and I tell them, ‘As amazing as you are at football, I want you to take all your pads off, including your helmet and then go play the game. See how long you last.’ But no, I don’t wish I were playing.

"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" is released and distributed by United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp.