#movie:john-wick-chapter-2

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'John Wick 2' Star Common Reveals Action Aspirations and Secrets of George Miller's 'Super-Dope' Justice League Movie

Common in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ (Lionsgate)

Common is a Grammy-winning rapper, an Oscar-winning soundtrack contributor, and an increasingly prolific actor. He’s also an athlete, basketball fan, and extremely quick with a sports analogy. And while it was never his intention to become an action star, the 44-year-old Chi-town native says that when he crossed over from music to movies, it was his athleticism that landed him in a steady stream of bullet-riddled thrillers. His first five films: Smokin’ Aces (2006), American Gangster (2007), Street Kings (2008), Wanted (2008), and Terminator Salvation (2009).

Turns out they were all just warm-ups for John Wick: Chapter 2, the new hit sequel that pits Common against Keanu Reeves’s titular dog avenger in the most intensive action the rapper has faced. Common plays Cassian, the bodyguard to an Italian heiress who by Act 2 will have some avenging to do of his own, and inevitably faces off against Wick for an extended round of gun-fu, knife-fighting, and stairway-flight tumbling.

Common told Yahoo Movies about entering the hyper-violent realm of John Wick, how close he came to playing Green Lantern in George Miller’s ill-fated Justice League movie, and more.

Ever since you started acting you’ve got pretty hard with action. Was that always your focus, to be an action star? No, when I started acting, I wanted to do theater. I wanted to dig into all types of films. I like drama. I like dark comedies. With Smokin’ Aces, there was some action within the story, and I think I fell into that pretty naturally because I’m athletic. I grew up playing basketball and I like physical activity and exercising. I’m coordinated so I can get it done. And I’m a competitor so that nature helped me with action. Since then each one was an experience, but when it comes to fighting and action and technique, [John Wick Chapter 2] was the highest level I’ve experienced to date.

How has your relationship with the genre changed over these films? I gained a whole new respect for action movies when I got to participate in them. I mean I had already enjoyed them, but [you see] the creativity [involved] in coming up with the sequences and choreography and techniques and new ideas. And it’s also a lot of commitment and dedication, and not easy to execute and deliver.

Were you a big fan of the first John Wick? Yeah. Watching the first one I had so much fun. I was really into it… So when I was given an opportunity to be a part of the second, I was like, “Man, I gotta do this.” And I wanted to get into that world of fighting and stunts.

Did you petition harder for this role than other movies you’ve gone out for? Well I mean any film that I go out for I’m going to give 110 percent. But I got on the phone with [director] Chad [Stahelski] to let him that I would really like to do this. And I let him know that I give my heart and soul to everything that I do. And I wanted to work with him on a level where I could not only learn but deliver at a high level as an actor who can do action and do stunts. I let him know that I want to be the Muhammad Ali of this. So I was gonna give my all, give my heart to it, and commit to it, and be a team player. But at the same time I want to be the best.

How many of your own stunts did you do on John Wick 2? I would say 90, 95 percent of what you see. We did all of the things but at certain points [stuntmen] jump in and do it. But Chad is really adamant about us doing it and being able to do it. I think each actor he chooses, he chooses someone he feels can accomplish what vision he has for the character and [that includes] how that character will be fighting. Or driving, or shooting, or working the knife. It’s like a coach choosing basketball players by position.

Keanu Reeves and Common in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ (Lionsgate)

Are you constantly staying in “action” shape, even between projects, since you’re doing so many? No, I mean I do my best to stay in good condition. But the strange part is no matter how conditioned I think I am, when I jumped into training for John Wick, it was next level… As much as I train naturally throughout the week, when it was time to get into these scenes and get into rehearsals, I had to step it up. I had to start eating healthier, get more rest. A little less drinking [laughs].

Have you gotten banged up through all this action? Nothing too bad. You hurt your bones but nothing broke. You get bruised up. It’s like a player after the game, you gotta ice up and do that stuff. But unless it’s something really bad, you don’t say it. ‘Cause there are dudes out there within the scope of our scene just doing it. You don’t complain about your arm getting bruised up.

You were also in one of the biggest action movies of last year, Suicide Squad — a movie that had its fans but also caught a lot of sharp criticism. How do you look back at that film? I mean I’m grateful I got to be a part of it. It had a really dope cast, and I love David Ayer. I wish my character didn’t get taken out that quick. He was out quick, Monster T! [laughs] But it was fun to do.

I know that movie was tweaked along the way. Were there scenes of yours left on the cutting room floor? Nah, we saw it all. They might’ve cut the scene a little bit. They changed a little bit about how he went out, but at the end of the day I was still just in that one scene.

In the midst of all these action roles you also once came really close to playing a superhero. You were cast as Green Lantern in George Miller’s Justice League movie. How close was that to happening? Yeah, I was cast and we started rehearsals for the film. I went to Australia. I tried on the outfit and everything. It was heartbreaking, but it happened.

So somebody somewhere has photos of you in the Green Lantern costume? You’re absolutely right.

What was the script like for that film? The script was super-dope. It was intricate. And knowing George Miller was going to do it, you knew it was going to have that raw edge. But it had Superman, Aquaman, it had all of the characters really involved. Each one of them had moments and you got to know them. It was a strong piece.

I know you’ve said recently you’d still be interested in playing Green Lantern/John Stewart. Think that could happen? I would love to, I’ll say that. That would be a blessing. That would be incredible to get the opportunity. But that’s up to the studio and DC and those guys to see who they feel is the right person. But it would be an incredible honor and I would be geeked for that character and that role. I would go to the highest with that role.

What do you think you’d bring to the role? I would bring the humanity of who the person is, and the heart and soul of who John Stewart is, but also the [heroic qualities]. And I definitely think I could deliver when it comes to any of the action and the fighting.

The cast of ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ share their favorite fight scenes:

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[ethanalter]

5 Movies Directed By Stuntmen

Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ (Credit: Niko Tavernise/Thunder Rpad Pictures)

Like its popular predecessor, John Wick: Chapter 2 is a symphony of bloodshed orchestrated by a director who knows his way around a fake hemoglobin-filled squib. Stunt experts Chad Stahelski and David Leitch called the shots on John Wick, the original action-packed hit starring Keanu Reeves in 2014. For Wick’s second chapter, Stahelski flew solo, as Leitch has since landed the coveted job of directing Deadpool 2.

By transitioning from stunt work to filmmaking, Stahelski and Leitch are following a proud tradition that dates all the way back to the early days of the movie business, when silent screen star Buster Keaton designed, performed, and directed the stunts in pioneering comedy classics like Our Hospitality and The General. In fact, Stahelski opens the second John Wick with an explicit callback to his forefather, Keaton. If you get a kick out of watching Reeves’ hero kicking, punching, and shooting waves of bad guys, try streaming the following five stuntmen-directed features, which also feature some rock ‘em, sock ‘em action.

Sally Field and Burt Reynolds in ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ (Photo: Everett)

Smokey and the Bandit, directed by Hal Needham (1977) An expert on cars and how to crash them, Hal Needham took pole position on the modern stuntman-to-director transition with this action-comedy favorite. After two decades of choreographing stunts in film and TV, the Tennessee-born Needham convinced his good pal, Burt Reynolds, to headline a script he had developed about a swaggering bootlegger who brings an escaped bride (Sally Field) on a cross-country beer run while Smokey, a.k.a. The Popo, a.k.a. the cops follow them at turbo-charged speeds. While their director kept his eyes trained on the lively auto action, Field and Reynolds, then a real-life couple, kept the movie on course with their easy-breezy chemistry. Needham, who passed away in 2013, would go on to helm 10 feature films over the course of his directing career — more than half of them starring Reynolds — but their first collaboration is the one that’s built to last. (Available to rent or purchase on Amazon and iTunes.)

Michelle Yeoh and Jackie Chan in ‘Police Story 3: Supercop’ (Photo: Everett)

Police Story 3: Supercop, directed by Stanley Tong (1992) Supercop is proof positive that two martial arts experts in their butt-kicking prime — in this case Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh — are better than one. And as the architect of the duo’s mayhem, Hong Kong action legend Stanley Tong drew on his years of experience designing did-you-see-that stunts, many of which he road-tested himself before making the actors follow his dizzying, bruising choreography. Released in Hong Kong in 1992, U.S. audiences didn’t get to see Supercop (via legal means anyway) until 1996, five months after Rumble in the Bronx (also directed by Tong) made Chan as big a star in America as he was in Asia. Tong and Chan re-teamed this year for Kung Fu Yoga. (Available to rent or purchase on Amazon and iTunes)

Final Destination 2, directed by David R. Ellis (2003) Serving as a stuntman on the sets of such ’80s action favorites as To Live and Die in L.A. and Lethal Weapon gifted David R. Ellis with a facility for staging action that he demonstrated to great effect when he choreographed the killer opening sequence from the second, and superior, entry in the Final Destination franchise. Don’t look for solid storytelling or memorable characters here — for that, watch Ellis’s follow-up, the supremely entertaining B-movie Cellular starring Chris Evans before he became Captain America — just enjoy the pleasure that the late director, who died suddenly in 2013, is obviously taking in building elaborate death traps that spring with clockwork precision. (Available to rent or purchase on Amazon and iTunes)

The Square, directed by Nash Edgerton (2008) Aussie Renaissance Man, Nash Edgerton, wears many hats in the film industry: he’s an actor, a writer, an editor, a director, a stuntman, and a brother to Joel Edgerton (Loving, Midnight Special), who wrote and starred in his sibling’s feature directorial debut. A taut morality noir in the tradition of A Simple Plan and The Ice Harvest, The Square follows a pair of lovers who conspire to flee together from their respective spouses, making off with a cash-filled duffel bag in the process. Needless to say, things don’t go according to plan, which is bad for the characters, but gripping for those of us watching at home. (Available to rent or purchase on Amazon and iTunes)

Dwayne Johnson in ‘Snitch’ (Photo: Summit)

Snitch, directed by Ric Roman Waugh (2013) Who would have thought that an ex-stunt guy whose credits include Leonard Part 6 and Hook would become the director to coax Dwayne Johnson into delivering his best dramatic performance to date? Ric Roman Waugh’s underseen Snitch casts the stalwart Rock as a devoted father who agrees to work undercover with the DEA in order to help his son beat a drug charge. While Waugh awards Johnson a few opportunities to flex his muscles — most notably in a climactic chase sequence that, to be honest, feels like it was tacked on at the studio’s demand — the bulk of the movie requires him to be an actor, not an action star. (Available to rent or purchase on Amazon and iTunes)

‘Snitch’: Watch a trailer:

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Keanu Reeves Brings 'John Wick: Chapter 2' Trailer to New York Comic Con

By Aaron Couch, Graeme McMillan, The Hollywood Reporter                             

Keanu Reeves proved John Wick is indeed back, and he sent New York Comic Con into a frenzy in the process.

"I really liked putting this suit back on, and getting to do what John Wick gets to do. The action, the passion. And the guy who is fighting to be free," the star said at the John Wick: Chapter 2 panel, held at Madison Square Garden.

Reeves and the cast showed off a new trailer, which starts in Rome with Wick getting fitted for a "tactical" suit. There's a Laurence Fishburne cameo, there's a dog, there's a fight with Common, who is playing an antagonist. Ruby Rose shows up looking threatening, and there is shooting a car crash, and an incredible amount of action.

Director Chad Stahelski shared an intriguing bit of news, revealing the film takes place just four days after the events of the original, the surprise 2014 hit about a hitman who comes out of retirement to avenge the death of his dog, who was the final gift from his late wife.

Screenwriter Derek Kolstad said the story looks back at a costly deal Wick made to get out of the hitman business in the first place. It involves an artifact called the Marker at boutique hotel catering to hitpersons.

"It's kind of a blood oath, said Kolstad.

Keanu Reeves (Photo: Lionsgate)

Now that Wick has resurfaced, the person who helped him get out of the game is back. The film will introduce plenty of new hitpersons, including one played by Common.

"This is the highest level I've been when it comes to fighting, action, gun-fu as we say," said Common, who added that his character isn't a straight up villain.

"We have some different points of view," Reeves added coyly.

The panel opened with a behind-the-scenes sizzle reel, that included plenty of action and this badass line from Wick: "Guns, knives, just meat and potatoes stuff. You gotta know how to make an omelet."

Lionsgate will release John Wick: Chapter 2 in theaters on Feb. 10, 2017.

Follow Heat Vision on Facebook and Twitter for the latest from NYCC, and check out all the news here.

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Keanu Reeves Is Dressed to Kill in 'John Wick: Chapter 2' Micro-Teaser

John Wick: Chapter 2 will have a big presence at this week’s New York Comic Con, where its first full-length trailer is expected to debut. Ahead of that premiere, we now have a first look at that first look: The micro-teaser (watch it above) is only about 10 seconds long, which turns out to be more than enough time to show that the sequel has the spirit of its predecessor.

Related: N.Y. Comic Con 2016 Preview: A ‘Batman’ Throwback, Harley Quinn, ‘The Great Wall,’ and More Must-See Movie-Related Panels

We learn that Keanu Reeves’s dragged-out-of-retirement assassin will be in Rome (reportedly to fight some rival killers) and that he’ll at some point get himself fitted for a brand-new designer suit to wear at a “social” event. After being told by a weapons salesman (Guardians of the Galaxy’s Peter Serafinowicz) to enjoy his party, he is seen arming himself to the teeth for what undoubtedly will be a less-than-casual evening affair.

Related: Movie Micro-Teasers: A Short History of Trailers to Promote … Longer Trailers

And … well, that’s all folks, for now. No doubt the forthcoming full promo, scheduled to debut on Saturday afternoon at NYCC, will offer quite a bit more from the film itself, as well as give some further clues about the plot of John Wick: Chapter 2, which co-stars Common, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick, and Laurence Fishburne, and is directed by Chad Stahelski (without his original co-director, David Leitch). It blasts into theaters on Feb. 10, 2017.

Watch Keanu Reeves show off his ‘John Wick’ Gun skills: 

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'John Wick 2' Photos Show Keanu Reeves's Stylish Killer, With New Puppy in Tow

Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ (Summit)

John Wick was the best action film of 2014. In fact, it might have been the best action film of the decade. IN FACT, it might be the greatest thing man has ever created. OK, maybe that last statement is going a bit far — but there are few upcoming movies that genre fans are more excited about than John Wick: Chapter 2. And as the first photos from the film make clear, Keanu Reeves’s title character will be returning to his assassin-for-hire ways alongside a new pet pooch.

Watch Keanu Reeves Show Off His ‘John Wick’ Gun Skills

This time around directed only by Chad Stahelski (who helmed the first outing with fellow former stunt coordinator David Leitch), the eagerly anticipated sequel will — according to Collider — follow Reeves’s Wick to Rome, where he squares off against numerous killers while trying to prevent a rival from taking control of his assassin’s guild. What that specifically entails remains unknown, though if the first film is any indication, it’ll no doubt involve a healthy dose of “gun-fu,” the balletic style of firearms mayhem that allowed Reeves’s hero to mow down an unbelievable number of adversaries with righteous fury.

Keanu Reeves — and his four-legged pal — in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ (Summit)

Reeves goes gunless in the John Wick: Chapter 2 photos above, but we do get confirmation he’ll be accompanied by the pit bull he acquired at the end of his last outing, and that he’ll sport some of the swanky designer threads that made him a paragon of action-movie style. The film will have a panel on Oct. 8 at New York City Comic-Con, where first-look footage and a Q&A are on the agenda; the sequel blasts into theaters on Feb. 10, 2017.

Don’t miss the Cast and Filmmakers of #JohnWick2 Saturday at New York Comic Con! More info: https://t.co/8tMELbZVlL #NYCC pic.twitter.com/gpcVDk5cPW

— New York Comic Con (@NY_Comic_Con) September 21, 2016