GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 28

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2018SUMMERM

by Edward Gross

DWAYNE
JOHNSON IS BACK
TO BACK WITH

RAMPAGE & SKYSCRAPER
DWAYNE JOHNSON HAS PROVEN HIMSELF to be a genuine man for all seasons. Last Christmas, he
shocked pretty much everyone with the success of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, while April sees him
starring in Rampage, based on the video game of the same name. Then, July will herald the release
of Skyscraper, which promises to be a unique action film that offers the actor some of his greatest
challenges to date. Producer Beau Flynn,
a frequent collaborator of Johnson's,
compares and contrasts the two films on
their way to theaters, noting that they will
give fans two very different experiences.
"Of all of Dwayne's movies, Rampage
and Skyscraper are on opposite poles," he
explains. "They are wildly different movies.
With Rampage, we set out to make a
Marvel-type monster movie, teaming Dwayne with a gorilla he saved from poachers when the gorilla
was a baby. Dwayne plays a primatologist and raised this gorilla, which gets infected, starts to mutate
and turns into a monster. What's unique here is Dwayne's character is trying to actually save the gorilla
- save the monster - versus killing it. This is about him wanting to save his friend, and with that we
wanted to make a daytime movie. A big, colorful, poppy daytime movie, not dissimilar to what Avengers
had done so wonderfully. A lot of monster movies take place at night, they're shadowed and dark, and
we really wanted to lean in and own it at daytime, which is very challenging just from a production and
visual effects point of view, because you have nowhere to hide. And there are massive set pieces. He
partners up with Naomi Harris and they have a very cool, very dynamic relationship. It's not a love story,
it's about two people who need each other.
"Skyscraper is on the other side of the spectrum," Flynn continues. "It's the most dramatic movie
Dwayne has done - at least the most dramatic kind of action movie, for sure. It's very much driven
by his quest to try and save his family, who are trapped in a 240-story building, part of which is on
fire, in Hong Kong." This is complicated by a couple of things, one of them being he's a former FBI
agent framed and on the run, and this building is
completely automated and, therefore, no one is
coming in to provide a rescue. Says Flynn, "He has no
one to call, no one who can help him. He's basically
alone there, and the whole movie takes place at
night. And what makes the character so unique for
Dwayne is that he's an amputee, his leg from the
knee down [is missing]. It's the first time there's
been an amputee lead character in a studio action

28

ISSUE 03

RAMPAGE
RELEASE DATE: April 20
DIRECTOR: Brad Peyton
STORY: The Rock handles giant apes,

wolves and crocs.
---------------------------------------------

SKYSCRAPER
RELEASE DATE: July 13
DIRECTOR: Rawson Marshall Thurber
STORY: Die Hard in a building.

movie as well, which is something we're
really proud of. We spent a lot of time with
wounded warriors and amputees. These are
extraordinary people who have never been
celebrated in movies before. Not like this. And
this guy has to overcome his limitations as
an amputee, ultimately realizing that he has
none and, as a human being, no matter what
cards you've been dealt, we ultimately have
no limitations. That's an exciting theme."
The film's premise regarding the building
ties into Flynn's own fascination with the
need for things to continually be bigger, and
the arrogance and ego that go hand-in-hand
with that sort of thinking.
"It's not dissimilar to the Titanic," he muses.
"In terms of having to build the biggest
ship, and for what? And then if, God forbid,
something goes wrong, what happens?
And the same thing with this building. It's
supposed to be an A.I. building. It's supposed
to be completely designed to not have
anything that can go wrong, but something
does go wrong."
Skyscraper reaches theaters on July 13.



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GEEK - Issue 3 2018

Contents
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - Cover1
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - Cover2
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 3
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 4
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 5
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - Contents
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 7
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 8
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 9
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 10
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 11
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 12
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 13
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 14
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 15
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 16
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 17
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 18
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 19
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 20
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 21
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GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 23
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 24
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 25
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 26
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 27
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 28
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 29
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 30
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 31
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 32
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 33
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 34
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 35
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GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 38
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GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 40
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GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 48
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 49
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - 50
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - Cover3
GEEK - Issue 3 2018 - Cover4
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