“Get up, Keanu!”
At the surprise North American premiere of “John Wick: Chapter 4” Monday at the South by Southwest Film and TV Festival, a wailing cry erupted from the audience. The marquee outside Austin’s Paramount Theater may have read Baba Yaga ahead of the show, but the packed, frenzied crowd knew everything they wanted to see.
Director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves were on hand with the film, another action-packed, fist-flying, gun-wielding epic set in the world of the High Table. And the man at the center of it all loved him too.
“Thank you for this experience. You guys are amazing,” Reeves told the audience after the show.
Everyone cheered as the story moved from New York to the deserts of the Middle East, from Berlin to Paris. Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne and Lance Reddick all reprise their roles from the previous films. Newcomers are Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama, Shamier Anderson, Clancy Brown and Scott Adkins.
Yen’s character of Caine, a blind assassin, seemed to be a particular crowd pleaser.
While the John Wick franchise is known for its over-the-top action, the story is always rooted in an unexpected melancholy. The new film’s almost three hours of running time leaves enough room to take a deep breath and think, despite the many, many headshots.
When asked about his favorite scene in the movie, Reeves chose a quiet character moment near the end, where Wick reminisces about his late wife.
“After eight years in this role… it was really special,” said Reeves. “And also just do the movie after a few years, come back to see Ian McShane and Laurence [Fishburne] and working with this man again” – he said, pointing to Stahelski – “it’s almost like the beginning, like the alpha and the omega and everything in between.”
Stahleski added, “For me it was the first day Keanu came on set. He put the suit back on and it was the first time we’ve been together in three years. So that was pretty special.”
Another question about a specific effect in a spectacular sequence of shot mapping the geography of a house overhead was simply, “Why isn’t that deadly?”
Stahleski said, “We have a really good stunt team and a really good visual effects team.”
Reeves added, “And months of planning. And sports.”
Stahelski commented, “Lots of training. More than shooting.”
One question had to do with the momentum behind the ending – fear not, no spoilers here. Reeves said that throughout the development process they asked themselves, “What was the why?”
“It can’t just be, ‘Let’s do another one,'” Reeves added. ‘There’s a reason. He must have a why.”
Many of the audience’s questions simply confirmed Reeve’s longevity as a star and the deep connection he has with his fans.
Other projects in the John Wick universe are in production, including a hotel-themed TV series The Continental and a movie called Ballerina starring Ana de Armas.
When asked if John Wick would appear on the show, Stahelski declined with a maybe, while Reeves said no. Reeves added that he will make a cameo in “Ballerina.”
A question for Reeves was simply, “Are you aging?”
“Yeah man, I’m getting old,” Reeves said. “It happens dude.”
Source: LA Times