With the John Wick spin off, ‘Ballerina’ now in cinemas director Len Wiseman has spoken about several of the action set pieces most notable of which is the flamethrower v flamethrower sequence.
Wiseman said, ‘The grenade sequence means a lot because it was the first action sequence that I wrote up a while ago. (Laughs.) When we were developing the script from stage one, I asked, “What if there was a snowball fight with grenades? What would that be like?” The process of shooting it was a fun one to design. There were a lot of trap doors for our stunt players to go through before the pyrotechnics went off, and that allowed us to stay in the one shot with Ana. So it was just something that I had not seen before……. ……There’s only so many weapons available to create an action sequence, and having an actual gunfight with flamethrowers has never been seen on-screen. If you’re pitching an action sequence to a studio and you want to put together a rip reel or an example for them to watch, it’s a good thing when you can’t find examples or references. That’s when you know you’re onto something unique.
So just how did live flamethrowers on a contained set not burn the set down and do the same to cast and crew? Wiseman explained….. We worked with the best stunt team around in 87eleven, so it was a really safe set. And there were very limited visual effects. It’s essentially a practical sequence despite some enhancements. So it was controlled, but it absolutely was dangerous, especially being inside with both of those flamethrowers going off at the same time……I’ve done action sequences with helicopters, and helicopters at close range are terrifying on set. They sound terrifying. If you get on a helicopter, it feels dangerous, especially when it’s doing stunts that are coming in low to your cameras and everything. The flamethrowers have that same effect, and I’ve never utilized a weapon that had that much of a dangerous vibe about it. But it’s unlike anything that I’ve seen, and that’s the goal of every sequence.
related feature : Mark Dacascos making Keanu Reeves laugh in John Wick 3…….
related feature : Scott Adkins talks fear of heights, stunts & injuries in his new action film, ‘Take Cover’
source:THR
