Director Paul Feig, Simu Liu, John Cena and Awkwafina attend the 'Jackpot!' premiere screening at the TCL Chinese Theatre on August 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – For director Paul Feig, the comedy “Jackpot” is the “lost Jackie Chan film,” a reference to the work of famed Hong Kong actor and martial artist Jackie Chan.
“His (Jackie Chan's) characters are always typically guys who don't want to be in a situation, who don't want to get into a situation that's out of their control, who try to get out of it, who aren't aggressive, who just try to fight their way out of something,” Feig said.
“And it checked all the boxes for me. His films are really entertaining but also dangerous and artistic. So that's what I wanted,” he added.
“Jackpot” is an action-comedy from Amazon-MGM Studios that stars Awkwafina and John Cena as characters Katie and Noel in a dystopian Los Angeles, where “Grand Lottery” winners can be legally murdered before the sun goes down by someone who wants to claim the multi-billion dollar jackpot.
The film opens in U.S. theaters on Thursday.
Helping to bring the action-packed story to life was Cena, who is also a wrestler, being able to perform some of the stunts himself.
“I don't want to take away the credit of our stunt team or my incredibly talented stuntman Spencer Thomas, but the action in 'Jackpot' makes use of a lot of the skills I can bring to the table as a coordinator,” Cena told Reuters.
“It's a move where you throw your opponent with a big punch and you do a lot of that in WWE, and I've done a lot of stunt driving as well, which I love,” the Suicide Squad actor added.
While his previous experience came in handy while filming “Jackpot,” Cena didn't have time to bond with co-star Awkwafina before filming began.
“We didn't have time to build a rapport before filming, but we developed a great rapport during filming,” Cena said.
Similarly, Awkwafina found it fulfilling to get to know Cena while making the film.
“It was a pleasure working with John Cena. He's one of the most professional people I've ever worked with,” the Crazy Rich Asians actor said.
