‘Borderlands’ director Eli Roth can’t seem to find Kevin Hart’s off switch

PHILADELPHIA - Eli Roth is giving the inside scoop on his new star-studded film ‘Borderlands’ featuring Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Ariana Greenblatt and Philadelphia’s very own, Kevin Hart.

Roth chatted with FOX 29’s Kamryn Scrivens on what it was like to turn the Borderlands video game into a movie.

"Randy Pitchford, the game creator, really waited a long time to make the movie and, you know, they came to me to do it, and I thought it was such a great opportunity," said Roth. "My films have this sense of total insanity. They're like unhinged. You feel like a lunatic made them…and that I found in Borderlands. Like, when you're watching the game, there's just a total sense of lunacy."

Though the video game encapsulates lots of guns and violence, the film is surprisingly rated PG-13.

"Obviously the game is super violent, but I wanted to make a movie that you could take, you know, if you were nine, ten, 11 years old, like the way I was when I saw ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Fifth Element,’ you would just lose your mind for a movie like ‘Borderlands.’ It's definitely a movie that parents can take their kids to. You grab a bucket of popcorn, you turn your brain off and you just have a good time," said the director.


Roth also did not hold back while dishing on the work ethic of Philly actor and comedian Kevin Hart, who plays a seasoned mercenary on a mission named Roland.

"The guy trains like a maniac," joked Roth. "He's in such good shape, but he's never gotten to do this in a movie. He's never gotten to really kick a– and be a bada–...so you're watching Kevin do stuff you've never seen him do before."

The ‘Cabin Fever’ actor even said Cate Blanchett was shooting real fire from a flamethrower and was put up 100 feet into the air for certain stunts.

From filming his Peacock show ‘Hart to Heart’ to training, Roth also explained just how hardworking Hart is.

"I didn't know he could do it all at the same time," said Roth. "Is there an off switch?...It's like there's a Kevin Hart machine. It just turns on. He just goes into it and then turns off."

He also revealed that Hart gifted co-star Ariana Greenblatt a golf cart!

"It was just ridiculous. It was just silliness, but it was really kind of a family, family fun vibe with Kevin and with Kevin's kids and Ariana and her parents," said Roth. "Kevin is really funny, man, I love him."

‘Borderlands’ is out now in theaters.