Christmas came early in Berlin, Germany with the global premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures and Amazon MGM Studios’ newest picture, ‘Red One.’ The film follows Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), head of Santa’s security team E.L.F., on his quest to rescue Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) from his nefarious kidnapper. He must team up with con artist and level 4 naughty lister, Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), to save Christmas.
Johnson, Evans and Simmons sat down to discuss this festive action comedy in a global press conference from Berlin, hours after the film’s premiere. They were joined by fellow cast members Lucy Liu (Zoe), Bonnie Hunt (Mrs. Claus), Kiernan Shipka (Gryla), Kristofer Hivju (Krampus), Director Jake Kasdan, Executive Producer Ainsley Morgan, Producers Hiram Garcia and Melvin Mar, and Writer Chris Morgan.
Kasdan started the press conference by describing the thought process behind Red One’s unique premise. “That was absolutely one of the most exciting aspects of this movie was looking at a way to tell Santa’s story that we never had quite seen before. You’ve seen him a certain way your whole life, and we thought ‘What if you can pull back the curtain and see what he’s really like?”
Garcia elaborated, “Our hope was to tell a story that inspired people to turn Christmas on its head but also create the definitive Santa Claus.” He continued, “There’s been so many good Santa Clauses but to find one that took the connection with the audience to the next level and brought a coolness out to Santa. I feel like we did that with J.K.”
Evans chimed in on Red One’s balance as a holiday and action film. “I think it provides a lot of fun, there’s such great Christmas folklore, not just the stories we all grew up with, but internationally. When you hear about some of these creatures, stories and mythology; it almost begs for some sort of action-adventure movie.”
Christmas is a time for friends and family, and to reflect on and practice virtues like kindness, tolerance, humility and goodwill towards everybody. Johnson shares that Red One appropriately seized the opportunity to include many heartfelt moments, with one in particular concerning everybody’s inner child.
“There’s so much heart in this movie, that’s often an overstatement about storytelling in Hollywood, but it’s true,” Johnson exclaimed. “One of my favourite parts of the movie is where J.K. as Santa Claus reminds me [Callum] that it’s our job to see the best of people… to look beyond if they are on the naughty list, to look beyond it and look at the kid in everybody.”
Evans echoed Johnson’s sentiments; “That’s what the movie does a great job of, tapping into the heart and the humanity that you are supposed to feel during the holidays. That it is goodwill towards men, it is about remembering priorities and certainty for the folks looking for forgiveness; offering them a second chance.”
After all, there’s a childlike innocence in every person, and doesn’t everybody deserve an opportunity for betterment, especially during Christmas?
‘Red One’ is in Cinemas Now!
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