By This week’s Christmas-themed action-comedy “Red One” seems like the kind of forgettable four-quadrant tentpole that would normally launch on a streamer these days.
However the title made headlines a little over six months ago with a piece at The Wrap going into alleged on-set problems that led to the title becoming a $250 million budgeted runaway production.
The piece claimed the film’s star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was chronically late, showing up as much as eight hours late to set and forcing the crew to shoot around him on some days.
Additionally he reportedly “made a habit of peeing in a water bottle to save time, upsetting crew members.” Now, in a GQ cover story promoting the film, Johnson addressed the claims which he doesn’t deny but does indicate they were overexaggerated.
On the using bottles as makeshift urinals, he says: “Yeah, that happens…I’ve said a thousand times: ‘Hey, I’m here. Come and ask me. And I’ll tell you the truth.’”
On his lateness to sets: “Yeah, that happens too. But not that amount, by the way. That was a bananas amount. That’s crazy. Ridiculous.” Johnson adds that the controversy is “bulls—-“.
The film’s director Jake Kasdan defended Johnson saying the actor “never missed a day of work ever” and says:
“He has a lot going on. He can be late sometimes, but such is Hollywood – that’s the case with everybody. Honestly, I’ve made three big movies with him. I’ve never seen him be anything but great to every single person on the set.”
Co-star Chris Evans also spoke about Johnson’s tardiness and defends the actor:
“In terms of the guy that I saw, compared to some of the things I’ve seen on other movies with other actors who are not only not conscious of other people’s time and efforts, but they’re unpredictable?
I found Dwayne to be – we all know exactly what he’s going to do when he’s going to do it…It’s not like he’s late unexpectedly, and I wouldn’t even call it late. He comes in slightly later on certain mornings, but it’s part of the plan. It’s worked into the schedules and everyone knows it, so he shows up when he’s scheduled to show up.”
“Red One” opened in select markets last weekend and pulled in a tepid $26 million from those 75 countries where it opened. It hits U.S. cinemas this Friday where it’s expected to land somewhere in the $20 million range domestically.
The post Dwayne Johnson On “Red One” Controversy appeared first on Dark Horizons.
