G.I. Joe Retaliation Exclusive Interview: Filmmakers & The Rock Rivet

As soon as Movie Fanatic landed in Las Vegas, we were swept over to Rave Cinemas for a sizzle reel and preview of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation trailer that we premiered earlier this week. The footage was impressive as producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers, Red) and director Jon Chu have outdone themselves with taking a lauded franchise in an entirely different direction. The casting coup was nabbing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Roadblock to lead the Joes on their next mission. As Chu called Johnson “franchise Viagra” after his work on Journey 2 and Fast Five, the helmer is hoping for the same influx of energy for his G.I. Joe.

We caught up exclusively with Di Bonaventura, Chu and Johnson here and got inside the recharged lifeblood of a franchise born decades ago that salutes our country’s soldiers and their sacrifice. Director Chu, after helming Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, was brought to the attention of producer Di Bonaventura by Paramount and was thrilled to meet with the helmer. “What he did with that Bieber movie, which could have been anything — which I thought turned into a really good movie — it was really shocking,” Di Bonaventura said.

They also had a director in Chu who had been all about G.I. Joe since childhood. “Paramount said that this guy knows the franchise inside and out.”

Johnson said his director’s desire to bring the best Joe possible was palpable. “We have a hell of a director who is so passionate about the title, the franchise, the comics, the cartoons… everything,” the actor added.

Di Bonaventura too shared a joy for everything Joe, as his father represented the real life heroes. “My dad was a G.I. He was a paratrooper in World War II and I grew up with that,” he said and smiled. “I’ve had the opportunity to make movies with the military — this is not a military movie — but it has the connotation because of it. What that stands for is an unbelievable faith in decency and willingness to sacrifice and a desire to protect the innocent. They are really great values.”

The producer had managed to put two action heroes, Johnson and Willis, in the same movie — something no one has ever been able to do before. “It was fun. It just happened. I wish we could say we were so smart that we organized it. We didn’t,” Di Bonaventura said.

GI Joe Retaliation Trailer 2

“As we began to cast the movie, you have this character named Roadblock. You go, ‘Who could play Roadblock?’ It’s kind of like, ‘Duh.’ Fortunately Dwayne was available. I had worked with Bruce on Red so I just called him up: ‘We’re interested in your playing a guy named Joe Colton, who’s the original G.I. Joe.’ He said, ‘I played with G.I. Joes!’ He immediately got it. For him, it was an opportunity to relive his own childhood.”

Joining Willis in that virtual sandbox was Chu. The gig not only is a huge jump career-wise for the director, but also in some ways a means to meet a destiny forged in childhood. “The personality of all the Joes, is always been a part of my personality. Snake Eyes was one part. I would draw him on my books at school all the time. Roadblock with his rhyming and his cooking — they all had human characteristics that I adored. The bad guys were always kick-ass too. We tried to bring all of those aspects to the movie.”

Not one to let all the testosterone get all the spotlight, it is clear Chu is taken with the talents of Adrianne Palecki in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. “I loved her work on Friday Night Lights. She’s stunning. I didn’t know how she would be with the guns when she first met with us. She came in and grabbed the guns like she was born with them in her hands,” Chu said. “She holds her own with Bruce!”

Despite the explosive brawn of the film, Johnson wants fans of G.I. Joe to know everything that was done with G.I. Joe: Retaliation was done with love.

“We pay true homage and respect to the mythology of G.I. Joe. We went to great lengths to make sure that they were happy — from the military fatigues to the design, the costumes and making sure we pay honor to it,” Johnson said. “When you have that foundation of paying homage to the mythology, then you can branch off and grow from that. The foundation has to be solid.”

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Dwayne Johnson Talks G.I. JOE: RETALIATION, Michael Bay’s PAIN AND GAIN, FAST FURIOUS 6 and HERCULES

Watch Video here: collider.com/dwayne-johnson

With director Jon M. Chu‘s G.I. Joe: Retaliation opening June 29, Paramount has been amping up the promotional campaign this past week by debuting a ton of character posters and a great looking trailer.  As a fan of the first film, I’ll admit the sequel looks even better and it’s rocking a great cast that includes Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Channing Tatum, Walton Goggins, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Elodie Yung, RZA, Ray Stevenson, and D.J. Cotrona.

Earlier today at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, I got to sit down with Dwayne Johnson for an extended interview.  We talked about how he was approached to play Roadblock, the tone of the film, how he collaborated with director Jon M. Chu before production began, his thoughts on the brand new trailer and the sizzle reel I saw last night (here’s my recap), and more.  In addition, with Johnson currently filming Michael Bay‘s Pain and Gain, we talked about the crazy story it’s based on, the style Bay is going for, and he also said that after he wraps, he’ll start shooting Fast Six in London and Berlin and then he heads to New Zealand for director Brett Ratner’s Hercules.  Hit the jump to either watch or read what he had to say.

Before getting to the video, here’s a choice quote from Johnson on the tone and what he wanted to accomplish with the G.I. Joe sequel.

“I trained my ass off for this role, wanted to become Roadblock, wanted to pay homage to the mythology of G.I. Joe, and not only that but then pay honor and respect to ourmilitary in a real way where it’s gritty and rooted and grounded and boots to the ground, and we’re not shootin’ off lasers and shit; these are real rounds.”

For more on Pain and Gain, Hercules and Fast Six, click the links.  If you missed my exclusive video interview with G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu from CinemaCon earlier today, click here.   And here’s my video blog recap after watching the 5 minute sizzle reel and new trailer.

Finally, a huge thank you to Dwayne Johnson for giving me so much time today and for always being such a great interview.  Not everyone is like this.

Dwayne Johnson

• I thank him for the photo he took of us on set
• When they approached him for the movie, was it an immediate yes.  Talks about the tone of the film and what he wanted to have happen.
• 2:10 – Did director Jon M. Chu give him an episode of the cartoon or a comic to look at before filming or was it all in the script.  Talks about how he had his own interruption of Roadblock.
• 3:15 – What was his reaction to seeing the sizzle reel and the new trailer
• 4:40 – What’s filming been like on Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain and what is he doing next.  Talks aboutFast Six filming in London and Berlin and after that he’s filming Hercules in New Zealand.

Dwayne Johnson: How you doin?

Steve: I’m doing excellent. It is a pleasure to see you sir.

Johnson: It’s a pleasure to see you too.  It’s been a long time.

I can reveal this on camera because you tweeted a photo of all of us on the set ofG.I. Joe

Johnson: You guys were badasses.

I appreciate you putting that online because that was just awesome.

Johnson: (laughs) You’re welcome.  We’re gonna get another picture right now but we’re gonna do it while we’re doing the interview.

When I see you and I see G.I. Joe, it’s like a perfect marriage.  When they approached you for this movie, were you sorta like, “Yeah I’m in”?

Johnson: I was even more than “Yeah I’m in.”  But also too, you wanna be a little bit poised with your excitement at first.  When I first heard it, the idea of starring in G.I. Joe, first of all you get a second crack at something that is—the franchise is that big, the title is that big, the first one did well [but there was] room for improvement.  We get a second crack at bat with this; I wanted to grab this by the throat and not let go.  The moment I locked in, we all agreed, I’m in.  I trained my ass off for this role, wanted to become Roadblock, wanted to pay homage to the mythology of G.I. Joe, and not only that but then pay honor and respect to our military in a real way where it’s gritty and rooted and grounded and boots to the ground, and we’re not shootin’ off lasers and shit; these are real rounds.  Excuse my language, but I’m gettin’ excited right now.  I’m gonna throw a chair in a minute (laughs).

Also, we wanted to pay homage to and elevate the fantastical side of G.I. Joewith Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow and the incredible ninjas that we have.  It was a great blend of worlds, collision of worlds, and when they came to me with the idea of starring in it it was like, there’s the throat, there’s the grab, I’m in.

When you first were talking with Jon Chu, did he give you an issue of the comic or an episode of the cartoon, or was it all in the script?

Johnson: No, but I was already familiar with the cartoons and the comics anyway, and the mythology.  We brushed up even deeper into the mythology because Jon has a great passion anyway for G.I. Joe.  And here’s what’s amazing about Jon, he credits his storytelling ability to G.I. Joe.  When he was a kid, he would set up these scenarios with his action figures, create sandpits and everything like that, go to school and come back, and they were these weeklong sagas.  It’s funny how everything comes full-circle.  The first time I sat with Jon, I said, “Just give me an idea of the tone of the movie,” that’s the only thing I wanted to know, because I had my own interpretation of Roadblock and how we were gonna pay homage to G.I. Joe and the mythology, and I said, “Just give me an idea of the tone,” and he said, “Rooted and real and bad ass.”

I just saw the sizzle reel last night and then I saw the new trailer, but the action looks really, really good.  What was your reaction seeing the footage in the trailer?

Johnson: I love that.  I love that, because as an actor you come with your interpretation, you spend a lot of time with the other actors, director, producers, studio exec—you know this, you know how the business is, you spend a lot of time with a lot of people.  You lay your scenes down, then you have to put in a lot of trust into the director and the editing process afterwards.  So when I saw the trailer—the same one that you saw, the most recent one—I loved it.  I thought we looked strong, I thought we looked dominant, I thought the CGI looked fantastic, and I thought a viable story was being told in that.  And I also thought that there was just a great collision of worlds, of real rooted military with the fantastical side of our amazing ninjas.  Not only that, but also making sure that whoever you connect with as a fan, whatever character of G.I. Joeyou connect with, you go home happy at the end of this movie, and that is important.

I am so excited for Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain.  I cannot put into words how excited I am to see him doing something small with you and Mark Wahlberg.  Talk a little bit about how that’s going, and what are you doing after Pain and Gain?

Johnson: Pain and Gain is going great. Pain and Gain has been Michael’s passion project for almost a decade, probably even longer.  I had a chance to read it about eight years ago when he gave it to me, I loved it then.  He went off, he did other movies, I did other movies too. Full-circle it came right back around, it was time to make this movie and it is coming along great; we’re kickin’ ass down there in Miami.  What’s interesting is when you read Pain and Gain, you read it and you think, “There’s no way this happened.  The absurdity of this, there’s no way that these men kidnapped this man, there’s no way that these murders happened, there’s no way that all this happened.”  And it happened.

Not only did it happen, but these guys are still on death row.  So they’re still around and they’re still telling their stories and it’s amazing.  And then, when you start shooting these scenes and you’re bringing these scenes to life and you’re bringing these characters to life, and as an actor you’re reliving these moments.  You walk away at the end of the day and you go, “Fuck, this really happened.”  I’ve known Michael for some time, I’ve never worked with him and this is our first movie together.

Stylistically what he’s gonna be able to do with this movie, take the spirit of what he’s been able to do in a lot of his action movies—stylistically even with Transformers and then just in terms of characters that you care about from the movie The Rock or Armageddon and you blend all that together and you put it in a smaller movie like this, it’s percolating into something I think that is just gonna be really interesting to a lot of people.

And what I’m doing after that, I’m getting ready to shoot Fast 6.  I think we’re going over to London to shoot that and maybe Berlin, and then after that it’s on to New Zealand and I’m playing Hercules, and I can’t wait.