By Danielle Broadway
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – For director Paul Feig, the comedy film “Jackpot” is what he calls “the Lost Jackie Chan movie,” referring to the work of the famous Hong Kong actor and martial artist.
“His (Jackie Chan’s) characters are always classically somebody who didn’t want to be in the situation, in over their head, trying to get out of it, not being aggressive, just trying to fight their way out of something,” said Feig.
“And that just checked every box for me. And his movies are really funny too, but they also have danger and art. So, there it was,” he added.
“Jackpot” is an Amazon MGM Studios action-comedy starring Awkwafina and John Cena as their characters Katie and Noel work together in a dystopian Los Angeles where a “Grand Lottery” winner can be legally murdered before sundown by someone wishing to claim their multibillion-dollar jackpot.
The movie arrives in U.S. theaters on Thursday.
One thing that helped bring the action-packed story to life was Cena, who is also a wrestler, being able to do some of his own stunts.
“I’m not taking anything away from our stunt team or my tremendously talented double, Spencer Thomas, but the action in ‘Jackpot’ was a lot of the skills that I can offer a coordinator,” Cena told Reuters.
“This one was throwing big haymakers and tossing people around, and a lot of the stuff I do on WWE as well as a lot of stunt driving, which I love driving, too,” “The Suicide Squad” actor added.
While his previous experience came in handy when filming “Jackpot,” there was no time for Cena to bond with co-lead Awkwafina before they began shooting.
“We did not have time to build rapport before filming, but we actually ended up building great rapport while we filmed,” Cena said.
Similarly, Awkwafina found that getting to know Cena while creating the movie was fulfilling.
“I loved working with John Cena. He’s really one of the most professional guys I’ve ever worked with,” the “Crazy Rich Asians” actor said.
(Reporting by Danielle Broadway and Rollo Ross; Editing by Mary Milliken and Jonathan Oatis)
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