Summary

In an interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Ballerina director Len Wiseman reflects on delving deeper into the backstory of The Chancellor and his cult.

Norman Reedus discusses challenging stunts from The Boondock Saints to The Walking Dead to the John Wick Universe.

Wiseman also talks about a five-hour version of the film, exploring the expansive backstories crafted for the characters.

The John Wick universe has expanded yet again. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, taking place between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4, deepens the lore behind the Ruska Roma with Eve Macarro, played by Ana de Armas, as she begins her training and seeks to avenge her father’s murder, all while under the protection of familiar characters including Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick). Taking a seat in the director’s chair is Len Wiseman, who brings multiple decades of experience in the genre to Ballerina to provide an action-packed John Wick new addition. Joining the cast after being inspired by Keanu Reeves’ role as the titular character for the films is Norman Reedus, portraying the mysterious Daniel Pine. In an interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Wisemen and Reedus take the opportunity to discuss how the film establishes and explores deeper aspects of the universe’s characters. Wisemen reveals how in-depth he gets with character backstories as part of his directing process, indicating all of his material could provide a much longer film. Reedus, meanwhile, discusses the action of the film, and reflects on what stunts in his career have demanded the most from him.
Finding the Perfect Version of ‘Ballerina’ for the Screen

“Every project goes through so many iterations.”

PERRI NEMIROFF: Len, I always love hearing about how projects evolve from script to screen. Can you single out the biggest difference between the first draft of this screenplay you saw and the final film everyone’s going to see on the big screen? LEN WISEMAN: Oh, man, as you know, every project goes through so many iterations. I’d say one of the things that was very present in the original, original draft that I read was The Chancellor’s tribe. I leaned even more into that it operates more like a cult than other assassin tribes that you’ve seen in the universe so far. I’d say that part of it, the Alps location, all of that, the setting. There’s so much. I very much develop and create a lot of my own action ideas, so that will inform the changes in the script. Then, when I brought Ana onboard and we dive into it, we then get really into conversations and ideas and nuances that build things out. But, as you know, a movie changes so often from script, then shooting, editing. It’s like really, truly three moments of a movie telling you what it wants to be.

Image via Lionsgate

I’m glad you upped the cult aspect of the movie. I have a couple of questions about that that we’ll get to later on. First, Norman, I always love hearing about an actor’s “aha moment” when finding a character, so I was wondering, did you have that with Daniel, something you did either in prep or on set that made you stop and say to yourself, “I really get who this guy is now?” NORMAN REEDUS: I sort of created a backstory with Len. His father is a certain person of a certain stature; he must have grown up in this world with sort of a silver spoon in his mouth, but with that life comes loss, comes secrecy. It comes with all the things that he didn’t want his daughter to have. So, he’s gotten to a point where he’s willing to fight everybody to protect her. So as a protective father, he’s hit the wall. They sort of have similar stories, Eve and Daniel, in that they’re willing to fight everybody now. Her for one reason, him for a totally different reason. An “aha moment?” Maybe meeting Ana [de Armas] for the first time, because you kind of know as an actor if you’re going to get on with the person right off the bat. And also, the actress who played my little girl.

Image via Lionsgate

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“They were two government operatives who met in Africa, maybe…”

I’ll lean into the fights briefly. Norman, I know you are very skilled in the stunts department. Of all of your past film and TV projects, can you tell me which stunt sequence was the most challenging you’ve ever done, and then tell me how it compares to the material that you did for the Continental Prague sequence? REEDUS: Jeez. Wow! WISEMAN: I’m curious. REEDUS: The Boondock Saints, hanging upside down with my ankle wrapped to Sean [Patrick Flannery]’s ankle, twisting around in a circle, shooting people. That was a long day. WISEMAN: Was that just old-school, tie-you-up-and-string-you-up, or were you in a harness with a wire? REEDUS: Yeah. Harness, wire, wire, and then our ankles tied to the ceiling, twisting us, which, the blood goes to your head. You kind of lose consciousness. It’s a real drag. The Walking Dead, I’ve had a billion. It’s a different fighting style than this. The Walking Dead is sloppy fights. You know what I mean? They’re very choreographed, as well, but not like this. This is extended fights for cinema, so it’s a much different fighting style. It’s completely opposite, actually. They’re both fun!
Crafting a Backstory for The Chancellor

“If I could have the five-hour version of the movie, I would, and explore all of that.”

I’ve got to leave you in a minute, so I’ll go back to my questions about The Chancellor and the cult. I’m such a big nerd for backstory, and I was so fascinated by the layout of that village and how he operated. Did you come up with any backstory details that we don’t see or hear directly in the movie, but we can feel informing how he operates and how you set up that particular location? WISEMAN: Oh, yeah. There are so many scenes when I’m doing that that are in my head that I wish were on screen. I create a whole backstory in terms of what I’m picturing of who this guy is, how they operate. If I could have the five-hour version of the movie, I would, and explore all of that. There were moments I was just talking to Norman about. We’re familiar with the world of having the tattoos as a marker; it was really specific that I wanted their marking to be more of a brand. It’s more of a crude marking. At one point, and I really wish we got to it, there was a scene where The Chancellor is sitting at a fire, I think when he’s talking to The Director, and we’ve got this fire poker that he’s playing with, and then when we reverse, we see that it’s the actual branding staff, which just gives an ugliness to branding these kids at a young age, which also laid into a bit of a backstory that I have in my own mind about why Norman just made the choice to disconnect. So, I’ve got the movie I’m making, and then the expanded version of the movie that is in my head while I’m directing. Ballerina releases in theaters on June 6.

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