STARBURST had the absolute pleasure of speaking with two action screen legends, who both can’t stop producing films. We spoke with them about their recent collaboration Castle Falls, their work ethic and, of course, Rocky IV’s Sico the Robot!
STARBURST: Both of you are very hardworking, and speeding up if anything! You have a combined 10 movies coming out in 2022. How do you do it, is it just work ethic?
Scott Adkins: Greedy!
Dolph Lundgren: Divorce! [Laughs]… well It’s a combination of things
SA: I love to work, man. I’ve been in the business for 20 years. For the first 10 years, it was really hard to get a job and I spent months not working. So when things kicked off for me, I just want to keep working. I love my job.
You guys have worked together a lot, this is your fourth film together. Watching Castle Falls, there is a bromance going on. Do you enjoy working together?
DL: Ummm no, we love working together
SA: [Laughs] He had to think about it…
DL: Part of the whole concept is, I knew Scott was easy to work with, and he’s a great fighter and he can help with the fights. I had such a tough schedule, 17 days to do a feature in Alabama. Some of that comes across on screen, I like the fact we don’t start out as friends, we start as enemies, so there is an arc to it.
Did you also direct the fight scenes as well?
DL: Scott handled most of the fight scenes and I supervised. Scott choreographed with his operator and edited the fight scenes as well, so he was in there.
Did you have any influences as a director, there was a little Steven Soderbergh feel, with the split scenes, and even some Tarantino, with people’s names appearing on screen?
DL: No, you’re right, there are some directors I really like, and you pick things up from films you like. I’m trying to do character-driven action movies now, like this one. I guess Clint Eastwood is someone I looked up to, he keeps things simple and his movies are entertaining and fun, but with a lot of depth. He manages to do both. For instance in Unforgiven when he rides into town and Morgan Freeman is dead, and it hits you, fuck! This is serious shit! He walks into the bar and goes; ‘who’s the fella that owns this shit hole?’ And then he blows away the bartender and you have to smile at that. That’s the one thing I want to do next time, mix the action and drama. It’s difficult. My favourite part is working with the actors and their characters.
What were your influences for this film, it has some similarities with the French parkour film District 13, in terms of fighting on a building, about to be blown up?
SA: I’ve seen that film but I don’t think that influenced it. The first thing that I thought of when I read the script was Trespass made in the ‘90s. There are a lot of influences but wrapped up in a different way.
DL: As a director, you also try things out. I’m not directing Aquaman for Warner Brothers, where they expect to make a billion dollars or you’ve fucked it up. So I can use split-screen, try things out, no one is going to argue. There is a certain freedom to making these kinds of movies. It’s not fun to do Aquaman, it’s interesting but there’s a lot of pressure from above. I don’t know how James Wan [Aquaman’s director] does it.
Is it right you have a fifth film coming out together? [Scott and Dolph looked confused] Section Eight?
SA: Oh yeah! [Smiles] forgot about that
DL: I filmed my section separately so I didn’t know about it. Who do you play Scott?
SA: [Laughs] I am… I can’t think at the moment. The assassin at the end [covering his mouth, as he doesn’t want to give away the ending].
[The film about a former soldier being recruited by a shadowy government agency, is out next year]
Is it right Scott, that you are going to be in John Wick 4?
SA: Yes, filmed that in Berlin last summer. I’m a big fan of all the John Wick movies and Chad Stahelski, the director. I first met him on The Expendables 2 actually, those films are great, I am a big fan, so it’s a great honour to be involved.
Well, we can’t wait for that one. Dolph, the most important question for you is – how did you feel about Paulie’s robot being cut out of the Rocky IV director’s cut? [The odd robot butler known as Sico, was jettisoned from Stallone’s recent new cut]
DL: Oh shit, I thought he was going to cut out Brigitte Nielsen, but he kept her in! [Eruption of laughter from all involved]
Castle Falls will be available in cinemas, on-demand, and digital on December 3 rd in the US and December 20th for digital in the UK, as well as Blu-ray/DVD on January 10th.
