Paul Feig has made some of the funniest comedies in recent memories with hits like Bridesmaids, Spy and The Heat, working with some of the best comedic actresses in the business like Kristen Wiig, Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Emma Thompson, Maya Rudolph, and Rose Byrne, while also discovering that some of Hollywood’s biggest names are secretly hilarious with Jason Statham and Chris Hemsworth. For his latest film, he is teaming up with John Cena and Awkwafina for an action packed comedy, Jackpot!, which finds Cena and Awkwafina as participants in a deadly lottery fighting for their lives. And it’s a pairing of talents that promises one hilarious and action packed time for viewers.
Synopsis:
In the near future, a ‘Grand Lottery’ has been newly established in California - the catch: kill the winner before sundown to legally claim their multi-billion dollar jackpot. When Katie Kim (Awkwafina) moves to Los Angeles, she mistakenly finds herself with the winning ticket. Desperate to survive the hordes of jackpot hunters, she reluctantly joins forces with amateur lottery protection agent Noel Cassidy (John Cena) who will do everything in his power to get her to sundown in exchange for a piece of her prize. However, Noel must face off with his slick rival Louis Lewis (Simu Liu), who also seeks to collect Katie’s commission at all costs. JACKPOT! is directed by Paul Feig and written by Rob Yescombe.
We got to join a chat modeated by actor Murray Hill and stars John Cena, Awkwafina,
Simu Liu and director Paul Feig
MURRAY: -- big day. Im Murray Hill. I play Johnny Grand in the brand-new film that's coming out this August called 'Jackpot'. Please put your hands together for that staff and crew.
PAUL: Yeah.
MURRAY: We are live.
AWKWAFINA: Hey.
PAUL: Murray Hill, everybody.
SIMU: Ya.
MURRAY: Right. So, welcome to cast of Jackpot. How's everybody doing?
PAUL: We're good. We're good, Murray. It's good to see you, my friend.
AWKWAFINA: Yeah, good to see you, Murray.
MURRAY: Yeah, I can tell by that enthusiasm, you meant it.
AWKWAFINA: [laugh]
MURRAY: But as dressed up, as big as this movie is, therenare a lot of big personalities in this movie. A lot of on the screen today. So, Paul, this movie is absolutely bananas. It's outrageous. It's the summer comedy we desperately need.
PAUL: Yeah.
MURRAY: So, what inspired you to take on this film, and is there anything this film is like other films?
PAUL: Well, I mean, I was sent this script. It was called Grand Theft Lotto when I first got it. And I thought, "That sounds so stupid, I'm not going to read the script," and put it on top of the pile. [laugh] and it was only days later that my producing partner, the great Laura Fischer, called me up and said, "You should read the script. It's really funny." And so, I picked it up, read it, and I got 40 pages into the hundred pages of it and said, "I have to do this movie." Just, to me, it was just too much fun. It's the Jackie Chan movie I always wanted to make. It's an action comedy. I love that from my movie Spy and The Heat. And it was just a chance to really make a very fun, silly, but also kind of emotional story about somebody in over their head.
All right, beautiful. Now, Johnny, this role seems right up your alley given your WWE legacy and comedy acting roles. Now, how was it for you to mix comedy and action in this one?
JOHN: Oh, that's indicative of my life. It's just a bunch of comedy and action. So, it's just another day at the office.
MURRAY: And muscles.
MURRAY: So Awkwafina, you know, I happen to be on set on a lot of these very physical, demanding stunts that you do. There's a lot of physicality in your role. Can you talk about the preparation that you had to do all these stunts and all this physical work?
AWKWAFINA: Oh, man. Well, it did kick off my fitness journey, for sure. [laugh] I will say. That opening. That opening sequence. 'Cause, you know, Simu and I were in a action movie, obviously, in one in which he had to train extensively. And for that one, I definitely did not train. I was just like going to, like, the [overlap].
SIMU: Yeah, you were hanging out.
AWKWAFINA: Yeah, I was going like Westfield. I was like hanging out. [laugh] But for this one, like, I felt like, you know, it was important for me to work with the team, who was amazing, and my amazing stunt double, Kiera.
And also working with John too. Like, I really appreciated the way that John kinda like handles action scenes and is very, like, about safety and stuff. So, I felt, like, very, very safe. Like, when doing scenes, like, as a group, right? But yeah, it was all to kick off my fitness journey. So, I have MyFitnessPal and stuff on my iPhone now.
SIMU: You killed it too. You looked great out there. You did a lot of your own stunts. You really just nailed a lot of the physicality and the action. I love watching it. Your [stick?].
MURRAY: Did you like playing the bad guy and did you have to do, you know, did you have to do some training for that?
SIMU: I mean, is he a bad guy or is he really just like a really solid entrepreneur with --
AWKWAFINA: Okay.
PAUL: Very ambitious.
SIMU: A very ambitious guy. Solid business practice. I mean, when you're introduced to Louis Lewis, I mean, he's just like, he's kind of a boss, you know? He's everything that Noel, John's character, wants to be, or wanted to be. You know, and whereas, you know, Noel is kind of this, kind of amateur, like, kind of insurance salesman, you know, ambulance-chasing, you know, giant.
JOHN: Obvious 10.
MURRAY: Now, did any of you, John, did you do your own stunts for this film?
JOHN: So, I think Nora said it best. My concern is always safety. But I always want to do as much of the activity as possible. And what I loved about a lot of the action in this film is it's comical, but it's also realistic. There's a scene in a strip mall where you go through like a karate studio, a yoga studio, et cetera, et cetera, where what I loved about Paul's creativity, and I think I'm speaking for Paul here, but when he says it's the Jackie Chan movie that I wanted to film, when you look at the way Jackie tells a story, he'll choreograph a fight when he gets on set.
So, he'll see the audio guy, or a bottle of water, or a loose chair, and he'll incorporate all those things into the action. I thought the stunt team did an incredible job of incorporating various things you'd find in a karate dojo. The individuals that you're fighting with. And then we get into the yoga studio. And all that yields itself to comedy as well. In situations where things were safe, I was definitely happy to do it. But man, oh, man, I'm not gonna sit here and say that I'm not grateful for my stunt double, Spencer Thomas.
Cause when safety is a concern, all it takes, you know, you lose one of your testicles and you find out you only got two more? And you're like, [laugh] man, safety is now my prime concern. So, I'll do whatever is asked of me, but when they want the stunt double to come in, Spencer's my guy.
PAUL: Save the balls. That's what we say. Save the balls.
JOHN: Yeah. I only got two left.
SIMU: You're just down to two, huh?
AWKWAFINA: Great, awesome.
SIMU: Wow. That's rough.
AWKWAFINA: Thank you for sharing.
MURRAY: John, the math's not mathing. And what about you, Simu?
SIMU: I would say yeah, probably like 90 to 95 percent.
JOHN: Yeah, Simu's a lot braver than me. Simu did mostly [overlap].
SIMU: I think, you know, my movements were a lot more kinda straightforward. I think there was a couple of falls and things that, you know, I had an amazing stunt double, Will, who stepped in. But do you remember when I sent a stunt guy to the hospital?
PAUL: Well, let's shout out to you, James Young --
AWKWAFINA: James Young, yeah.
PAUL: -- and his team because when we met with James, he had just come off of doing a lot of serious stunt work --
AWKWAFINA: Right.
PAUL: -- and he was so happy when I told him what we wanted to do with this.
AWKWAFINA: Right.
PAUL: He and I are both Jackie Chan fanatics, and we love Warner Brothers cartoons and --
SIMU: Yes.
PAUL: -- old, you know, Buster Keaton and all that. So, we piled it all in, [laugh] left nothing on the table. So, tell me how you went about getting this entire wild cast together. Well, when I do comedy, I've got people that I work with who I know are what I call "money in the bank -- "
AWKWAFINA: Mm.
PAUL: -- who can literally show up; they have one line that's just like, "Oh, they went over there." And I know they're gonna come in and make it into something else. We had the amazing Holmes, who was our Uber driver and Holmes and Taylor Ortega and Seann had all been in a show that I produced called Welcome to Flatch that was on Fox for two seasons, before we got cancelled. Thanks, Fox. And it was like a farm team for me of these new, up and coming comedy people.
AWKWAFINA: And they were amazing. They were so funny.
PAUL: All so funny.
AWKWAFINA: Michael Hitchcock.
PAUL: Oh, Mike Hitchcock, you know, the legend that is Michael Hitchcock.
MURRAY: What are you looking forward to the audiences to enjoy while they're watching Jackpot! this summer?
PAUL: Well, I'll jump in just because my goal with this movie and with this cast was to make just the most fun movie that people have seen in a long time. I think, you know, there's lots of fun things out there, but there haven't been that many things recently that are just dedicated to letting you laugh --
AWKWAFINA: Right.
PAUL: -- and just have a crazy, good time. But there's still the heart and emotion in there. But I just couldn't be prouder of this movie, and I think it's kind of exactly what we need right now especially in the middle of August. [laugh] So August 15th, I hope everybody shows up and just has the best time.
AWKWAFINA: Man, I'm looking forward to people just kind of, like, enjoying it. I think that it is kind of, like, there's a lot of things that play. I think there's a lot of messages in it that kinda go beyond just the kind of like a broader action-comedy kind of world. There are things. There's a lot of heart. There's a lot of emotion. I think that also it's a style within its own of fighting. Like, James Young, the way the choreography, the way, you it's shot. It's so elegantly kinda cut together. I mean, its own language of specific kind of physical comedy world, that, yeah, I hope people just enjoy.
JOHN: Nora was great. I think you can put yourself in the best place when you create an environment to bring the best out of those around you. And, man, Nora, we had great conversations on set,
still whenever we get a chance to catch up, it's like we never missed a beat. And I think that --
AWKWAFINA: Yeah.
JOHN: -- from my perspective, that makes me relaxed. It makes me swing big. It makes me take chances. I knew that I could have, what do they call it, creative necessity on set, and everything is fine.
And you just created an environment where I wasn't ashamed to be me. And I think, hopefully, I tried to do the same thing for you. Simu, you as well, and Paul, with you as a director. Just we all have talents, strengths, and gifts, and I think when we get to flex those muscles and learn a little bit on the way, we can put together something good.
MURRAY: But John, Simu, Awkwafina, Paul, it has been a pleasure. I am excited for everybody to see this movie. I personally need to laugh, and I think it's about time we start making comedies that are comedic.
PAUL: Here! Here!
AWKWAFINA: There you go.
JOHN: Indeed.
MURRAY: Showbiz. All right.
PAUL: I can get behind that.
MURRAY: Congratulations everybody. We'll see you on the screen!
PAUL: Thanks, everybody.
AWKWAFINA: Thanks, Murray!
'JACKPOT' arrives on Prime Video Canada on Thursday, August 15, 2024
(Poster/Photo/Video credit: Prime Video Canada)
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