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Interview: ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ director Jake Kasdan

Published

6 years ago

December 22, 2017

Jake Kasdan is sensitive to the strong emotional feelings that people hold towards the films they grew up watching. As the son of legendary filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, Jake watched his father construct the original Star Wars trilogy alongside George Lucas. An accomplished filmmaker in his own right, Jake’s latest film is Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a loose remake of 1995’s Jumanji, which starred the late Robin Williams. “I think I first saw Jumanji when it was released on home video, and I enjoyed it very much,” says Kasdan. “What I liked about that film, and still like, is how it mixed genres. It’s a children’s adventure film, which is funny and scary at different points, and that was the tone I wanted to bring to this film.”

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle tells the story of four teenagers who discover a vintage video game while cleaning out their high school’s basement. After playing the game, the quartet is sucked into the game’s wilderness setting, trapped in the body of the avatars they selected when they began playing the game. Headlining the avatars is The Rock, AKA Dwayne Johnson, who plays Dr. Smolder Bravestone. Jack Black plays Professor Shelly Oberon, and Kevin Hart plays Franklin “Moose” Finbar. Recently, I had the chance to speak to Kasdan about his approach to remaking a beloved classic.

DG: How would you describe the relationship between this film and the 1995 film?

JK: This film continues with the game from the first film but not the characters from the first film, so, in that sense, it’s more of a sequel than a remake. What would the game be like today? That was the approach we took in terms of updating the first film and expanding on the story from the first film. The game is more challenging in this film; it’s more difficult, and it’s evolved. This Jumanji seeks out kids, teenagers, and it has a reason for doing this, which is that it wants to show kids, show the players of the game, how to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. This film continues with the game from the first film but not the characters. That being said, this film contains all of the elements that people loved, that I loved, in the first film, and I think it’s a fitting tribute to the original film and to Robin Williams.

DG: What did Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and The Rock bring to this film, to their characters, that maybe you weren’t expecting?

JK: They have such distinctive personalities, and we actually wrote the characters for them after I joined the project. We almost had to change this when it looked like The Rock wasn’t going to be able to do the film because of a scheduling conflict. Luckily, the other film that The Rock was committed to starring in was pushed back, so we were able to build the main character around Dwayne. We wanted Kevin and Jack to be alongside Dwayne very badly, and when we knew we had all three of them, we built the characters around them, and everything just fell into place after that.

DG: How did the three of them work together?

JK: They improvised dialogue at times, which was great because they all know themselves as actors, know their personas, so well, and they’re very comfortable in their own skin.

DG: As this is described as being an adventure-comedy film, how do you make an action-adventure film funny and vice-versa?

JK: You approach those elements entirely separately. When we were shooting the comedic scenes, I was making a comedy film, and it was the same with the action-adventure scenes. I wanted those scenes to be intense and frightening. When you’re working with The Rock, who’s probably the biggest action film star in the world right now, you have to create action sequences that are worthy of his physical presence, because that’s what people expect. When The Rock is fighting a creature in this film, there has to be a sense of danger.

DG: What was the biggest challenge you faced during the filming?

JK: We filmed primarily in Hawaii, in a rain forest, and being in an actual location, experiencing the raw physicality that’s inherent when you’re standing in an authentic location, established a strong sense of reality for the cast and crew. Because of that, it was much easier to work with the digital effects than it would have been if we’d created the entire world digitally. We spent several months making the film, and I think I knew on the first day, seeing the actors on location, seeing them in their costumes, that this was going to turn out well.

DG: Besides the film’s box office performance, how do you hope that people will respond to this film?

JK: I want people to react to this film the same way I did when I was a kid and saw so many films that made a big impression on me. I want this to be the kind of film that today’s kids will remember, years later, when they look back at the films they grew up with.

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Movies

‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt

Published

10 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.

In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.

This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.

Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.

“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”

The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”

The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.

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Movies

‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time

Published

12 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Timothy Rawles

It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?

It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.

^{Fede Alvarez and Ridley Scott}

Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.

Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.

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The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.

It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.

_{Alien Romulus}

^{Alien (1979)}

The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.

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Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween

Published

13 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Cameron McFarland

Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.

The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.

This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.

This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.

“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”

But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.

This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.