'Jackpot!' star Simu Liu's accidental hit in John Cena, Awkwafina film sent someone to the hospital
"I couldn't really see where I was kicking," Liu said
John Cena, Awkwafina and Simu Liu star in the new Prime Video action comedy Jackpot!, directed by Paul Feig. But Canadian actor Liu might have taken the stunts a little too far while filming movie.
In a press conference ahead of the film's release, the movie's director and stars spoke about the action sequences in the movie, with Liu estimating he did the majority of his stunts as his character, Louis Lewis. He also revealed that one accidental hit on set resulted in a stunt person going to the hospital.
"It was a scene where I was supposed to do a back kick and I couldn't really see where I was kicking, and so, in this one take, I think wires get crossed, something happened, and I just felt so, so bad," Liu said. "He's OK. He was a trooper."
For Cena, who's an action comedy veteran now, and incredible beloved in the space, while he tries to do as many stunts as he can, safety is "always" a concern for him.
"I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm not grateful for my stunt double, Spencer Thomas, because when safety is a concern, all it takes, you know, you lose one of your testicles and you find out you only got two more. And then you're like, 'Man, safety is now my prime concern,'" Cena said. "So, I'll do whatever is asked of me, but when they want the stunt double to come in, Spencer's my guy."
What is 'Jackpot!' about?
Jackpot! takes us to California where a multibillion-dollar Grand Lottery has been created in the state. The catch is that once someone wins, anyone who kills the winner before sundown gets their prize money.
Awkwafina plays Katie, an aspiring actor in Los Angeles who gets the winning ticket and is suddenly swarmed by people trying to kill her for the money. Facing significant pressure Katie reluctantly agrees to get help from Noel (Cena), an "amateur jackpot protector" who will fight off Katie's attackers, for a cut of the money.
When Katie and Noel find themselves trapped, they have to enlist the help of Noel's rival Louis Lewis (Liu), the wealthy, and egotistical, head of a protection agency.
Watch Jackpot! on Prime Video with a free trial, then $9.99/month
'The Jackie Chan movie I always wanted to make'
With Feig being an absolute movie and TV legend, particularly in creating and directing comedies, he almost didn't take the reins to direct Jackpot!
"When I was sent this script, it was called 'Grand Theft Lotto' ... and I thought, 'That sounds so stupid, I'm not going to read the script,' and put it on top of the pile," Feig said. "And it was only days later that my producing partner, the great Laura Fischer, called me up and said, 'You should read the script. It's really funny.' And so I picked it up, read it, and I got 40 pages into the 100 pages of it and said, 'I have to do this movie.'"
"It was just too much fun. It's the Jackie Chan movie I always wanted to make. It's an action comedy. I love that from my movie Spy and The Heat, and it was just a chance to really make a very fun, silly, but also kind of emotional story about somebody in over their head."
Speaking to Feig's Jackie Chan reference, Cena said that connection is very much present in the construction of the action and stunt-heavy moments.
"What I loved about a lot of the action in this film is it's comical, but it's also realistic," Cena said.
"There's a scene in a strip mall where you go through like a karate studio, a yoga studio, ... what I loved about Paul's creativity, and I think I'm speaking for Paul here, but when he says, 'It's the Jackie Chan movie that I wanted to film,' when you look at the way Jackie tells a story, he'll choreograph a fight when he gets on set. So, he'll see the audio guy, or a bottle of water, or a loose chair, and he'll incorporate all those things into the action. I thought the stunt team did an incredible job of incorporating various things you'd find in a karate dojo. The individuals that you're fighting with. And then we get into the yoga studio and all that yields itself to comedy as well."
In terms of Feig's overall goal working on Jackpot! it was really just to make a film where people can laugh with "the most fun movie that people have seen in a long time."
"There's lots of fun things out there, but there haven't been that many things recently that are just dedicated to letting you laugh ... and just have a crazy, good time," he said. "But there's still the heart and emotion in there."
