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Dwayne Johnson on Race to Witch Mountain
By Fred Topel | Images property of Walt Disney Pictures
Race to Witch Mountain
Dwayne Johnson has been a man of action since before he became a movie action hero, wrestling as The Rock in the WWE. Now with 10 movies under his belt, he knows how he wants to see and he has a say in how movies like his upcoming Race to Witch Mountain turn out.
Dwayne Johnson Races to Witch Mountain
"There are two movies in particular that I think raised the bar, in terms of the action," said Johnson. "The last Bourne movie, the whole Bourne series by the way and the last Bond movie, for example, really raised the bar in contemporary action and how it’s shot in a very energetic way, but still a very real way. I think that resonates with a lot of people. In terms of how I pick projects, in general, it’s just anything that I’m drawn to, and a good story. Good material is hard to come by. Everybody can attest to that. For me, personally, I look for a character that I can relate, and if the character can have a little bit of humor to him and have heart as well. That’s important to me, with the exception of Doom. That was the only one that didn’t."
In Race to Witch Mountain, Johnson's character is not immediately a kick as hero. "He doesn’t suddenly become a great action hero. He’s struggled to stay on the right path for a long time and he’s frankly not very happy with his life. With a lot of great movies, it’s always about the collisions of worlds that happen, whether it’s great comedies or action comedies or whatever it is. In this, it’s a phenomenal collision that takes place between this guy, who’s your everyday guy, and he gets involved with these two teenagers who have these supernatural powers. Throughout the course of the story, he learns to trust them and wants to help them. What I really enjoyed about it is that, even though he struggles to stay on the right path and he’s done a lot of things that he shouldn’t have done and gotten in trouble a lot, but he has one great opportunity to do something great and really achieve greatness, at a level that he would never, ever dream of. He gets a chance to save the world. He has that type of responsibility and he accepts it and he embraces it. He doesn’t know if he’s going to succeed or not, but it’s his intent to embrace it and move forward with it."
Protecting a couple of alien kids is a big hassle too. "Immediately, within 10 minutes, as soon as they get in my cab, everything goes to hell in a handbag, and the race begins, essentially. With the action, [director] Andy [Fickman] wanted to create action that resonated with people and that we didn’t have to rely on CGI effects, in terms of creating the CGI villain or a CGI monster. So, we had a great monster that those guys over at ADI created, which is really badass and real. A lot of times, particularly with our movie, it shows. It has that texture of reality. When I get hit, I get punched in the face and the thing punches me and I fly across the room, it hurts because Andy’s got me on wires. Therein lies a great challenge, when we talk about action. How can we compete, if you will, on that level, in terms of our action sequences? There’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned ass-kicking, either giving one or taking one, in movies. It’s great when you have CGI monsters and you can fight them. That’s wonderful. I think there’s also something great and real and appealing about one-on-one combat."
In addition to knowing his action, Johnson also knows a little bit about Witch Mountain. He's not making the remake/sequel in a vacuum. "My little girl who’s six loves the original, and that was even before Andy came to me with the idea, so it was a very easy decision to make. I love Andy. We worked together on The Game Plan and I didn’t want to pass it up. Carla [Gugino] came on board, with a company that I think embodies a lot of wonderful elements, especially with a movie like this, where you can combine and infuse great action with great adventure, great family values, great humor, contemporary action, contemporary humor and with a touch of fantasy too."
Doing his first round of Witch Mountain press at Comic-Con reminded Johnson of his earlier convention days. "I’ve been able to come to conventions for a long time now, with Comic Con being the biggest and the one that carries the most passion, and there’s been nothing strange. We were talking about it earlier, when we were on the plane coming over here about what sets Comic Con apart from all the other conventions, and it all came down to passion. It’s not a stuffy convention. People travel thousands of miles, and hundreds of thousands of people come here, and they’re passionate about movies and passionate about comic books and passionate about whether they’re wearing something or whether they’re trying to be something or whether they want to meet somebody. It’s all about passion, so I can always appreciate that. So, for me, it’s not so much weird. Plus, I can appreciate all the great costumes that I see. I’ve never seen so many Jokers in my life. It’s just been great."
Race to Witch Mountain opens to theaters on March 13th, 2009
For more movie info, go the Race to Witch Mountain
Movie Page.
Fred Topel
Sources: Images property of Walt Disney Pictures
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