BallerStatus recently had the pleasure of attending the world premiere screening of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s upcoming blockbuster, Rampage, as well as the press conference, where we were able to chat with the cast about this larger than life film.
Directed by Brad Peyton, Rampage is loosely based on the 1980s video game of the same name by Midway Games. This action-packed movie fiercely delivers hard-hitting special effects and thrilling scene displays.
Here’s what Peyton had to say about making a movie like this: “The movie was shot really fast — it was done in 55 days, which is 20 days less than San Andreas. I was doing visual effects, the mix, the music — which is not normal. It was interesting because the end of this movie was a lot of green screens. It came together so quickly that even though I (personally) drew it all and story boarded it (myself), through the last 25 minutes of the movie, I had moments of like ‘Holy God this is bananas!’ It got so big and kept growing.”
Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan describes being in a film of this magnitude as “a dream come true.” “I mean, look, when someone calls and says, ‘Are you interested in doing a movie with Dwayne and it’s got monsters in it?’ It’s sort of like what you dream about as a little kid — even though I’m way older than him”, Jeffrey said, with a laugh.
Although one thing audiences will undoubtedly take away from this movie is having experienced one of the greatest action rides of their lives, it is truly the unbreakable bond between characters Davis Okoye (The Rock) and George, the rare albino gorilla, that successfully fuses every aspect of the film perfectly.
Johnson believed this friendship to be an integral part of the project from the very beginning. “We sat around the the table and we thought, ‘Well, we need an anchor — what’s going to anchor this movie in heart and soul,’ and that’s going to be a relationship between myself and my best friend. My best friend is a rare, gigantic, albino gorilla,” Johnson explained. “We felt like if we were going to be able to nail that anchor, we would really have a shot at making a movie that people would really want to go on a ride with, but also more importantly I think we had a shot at making a movie that kind of stood the test of time.”
Rampage hits theaters this Friday (April 13).
See the official trailer below.