How Jason Statham’s “encyclopedic” action knowledge propelled Beekeeper forward

Jason Statham’s new January action film The beekeeper is what it seems at first glance: a tongue-in-cheek, bee-themed action comedy in which Staths punishes any villain unlucky enough to get in his way.

It’s classic Statham stuff, but it’s a very different project for director David Ayer, best known for his dark crime thrillers like Street Kings And End of watchand for 2016 Suicide Squad. Ayer spoke to Polygon about working with Statham, his excitement about taking on a different genre project, and his favorite bee joke from a film full of them.

Polygon: What first interested you in the project?

David Ayer: I got the script, Jason was attached. And the script had an amazing character, this really interesting plot structure that just kept building. I read a lot of scripts and I know what’s going to happen before I turn the page. And this one overtook me. So I knew there was something there. And it was an opportunity to work with Jason, who I have always respected as an actor. Great actor, great action guy, I think he’s the best. So the opportunity to make a funny, soulful film around him was a given.

What was it like working with him?

What I really needed to understand is that he almost has an unspoken contract with the audience about how he plays and what he’s going to do and what he’s not going to do and how he’s going to deliver to them. I had to learn his language as an actor and then as a director do my best to bring it out and highlight it. Off duty he is completely normal and humble. He’s a normal guy and pretty calm. But then he’s a total hit on set and demands that everyone else do their best.

I actually ended up learning a lot about action. I’ve done a lot of action movies, but working with Jason Statham taught me more about action than all my other movies combined.

Like what?

He has an encyclopedic knowledge of cinematic action. So you can do a piece of fight choreo and he can tell you where he saw it in another movie 20 years ago. He knows body kinetics and the way they work in front of the camera better than anyone I’ve ever met. And so he already knows whether a shot can be sold – he knows it instinctively.

So we’ll be on set. He’ll do his thing knowing it’s not up to his standard. And he will do it [say]“We’re going again, we’re going again” and [I’m like], Yes indeed. And then you look at the monitor and it knows when it’s right without looking at the monitor, which is a really rare gift.

Photo: Daniel Smith/Amazon MGM Studios

Second unit director Jeremy Marinas is one of the absolute best. What was it like working with him? What did he bring with him?

Jeremy is a great guy. Boy from the Bay Area, just a total martial arts and karate freak. From that 87eleven school He has a visual understanding of how to get the look and choreography you need in front of the camera.

It’s a tough game now because the bar for action is so high these days. You watch a movie from 20 years ago and it’s like this: Wow, I remember that differently. The audience is so cultured and has such a cultured eye. They’re always trying to beat that. And with Jeremy you can see it. There’s lots of action. There’s a lot of fighting, there’s a lot of stunts and it’s progressive, it just gets bigger and better as time goes on.

Which action sequence was the most difficult to execute?

I would say the gas station scene. We did it early on the schedule. And in every film you kind of get to know your abilities and get better day by day as you work together. I didn’t have much time to shoot it at all. It was like this, OK, how can I creatively compress so much work into so much time? And I didn’t know if I had made it. I was actually very worried about it until I finally saw the scene edited together and it exceeded my expectations.

It’s scary sometimes. Sometimes you just suck it up, move on and hope for the best. That’s what I think people don’t understand about movies: they become their own thing. They unfold the way they will unfold, and you can’t always control that.

What I like most about the action in the film is the way it’s prop-based. There’s an old-fashioned, almost Jackie Chan feel to it, especially when Statham uses the beekeeping equipment as a weapon or in the call center sequence with the monitors and keyboards. What did the prop-based action bring to these sequences?

It’s all right there. Jason Statham plays the Beekeeper. He is not [playing] a tactical action guy who shoots a pistol. He’s more about taking advantage of the environment and always knowing where to put his hands and what to grab next and how to use the tools that are immediately available to him.

And it’s pretty fun too. It’s like, Well, we can use a stapler, or we can use the phone, we can use the chair. And Jeremy was great at setting that up. It was also represented in Kurt [Wimmer]The script is about the idea that a gun is a temporary weapon for the beekeeper and he will find something that can hurt you.

Photo: Daniel Smith/Amazon MGM Studios

They have this tragic revenge story, but it’s called The beekeeper, and there are many references to silly bees and jokes throughout the film. How would you describe the tone of the film and how did you balance these two different elements?

That was the hardest thing for me. I knew this would be my big challenge because I come from a lot of straightforward, intense and dark dramas. I wanted to make a broad film. I wanted to make a movie that grandma would see, I wanted to make a movie that young people would see, and everyone in between. I really studied a lot of films from the 80s: [Richard] Thunder, Walter Hill, [John] McTiernan. You see it in there Die Hardyou see it in there Deadly weapon, there is a place for gravitas. There is a place for a human truth that is grounded. And there is a place where you can go completely crazy.

I think that’s another element that Statham really helps with because he’s such a fun performer. A lot of people learned that from that spy, but for those of us who have always watched his action films, he’s a really funny guy. And he’s able to deliver a lot of those bee-centric one-liners in a way that few other leads really could.

That’s it. He can say anything and you’ll buy it, you know? And he has that voice. This voice is so distinctive and this presence in front of the camera. He has movie star magic. And I feel like so much of that is just missing from cinema right now. You know, that sense of fun and adventure and Hey, let’s eat popcorn and escape the world’s problems for two hours.

And it’s not just about making jokes, is it? Because there are a lot of fun action movies, but this movie integrates them better into the action, which makes it a lot more fun.

That’s the thing, it’s about everything fitting together. And you know, I had a lot of fun making a genre film. I won’t say I wasn’t afraid to go into it.

Do you have a favorite bee joke or reference in the film?

Oh man. I kind of like Anisette [Megan Le] Line “You were a busy bee” in the gas station fight because you immediately know who she is, what she stands for and that there is a relationship.

The film has a strong yellow and black color palette. Was that something you thought about when you saw the script? Oh, we want it to feel like a bee thing?

Yes, I mean, you have to have the warm honey tones, and the golden light is part of it. And here my color palette is often a bit more naturalistic. I had a new camera system, the Arri [Alexa] 35, which is simply magnificent, the most beautiful digital camera I have ever worked with. And I wanted to take advantage of it. Because the polychromatic, colorful feel of the film is definitely a function of the camera. And again, just as a filmmaker, exploring a new look, exploring a new style.

Photo: Daniel Smith/Amazon MGM Studios

I’m glad you brought up McTiernan because I think there’s certainly some of Hart Bochner’s Ellis in there Die Hard in the call center villain aesthetic and much more Wolf of Wall Street, to. What did you want to evoke in this group of people?

[Big sigh] Crypto Brothers. People with too much money, too much going on, too much self-confidence. It feels good to be a winner, but it is not good to win at the expense of others.

Action films with short, almost silly titles have been popular lately, like Gerard Butler’s Airplane in 2023. What do you think a title like this brings to a film?

I think it’s important. It gives you a container into which you can put the world. It’s so competitive these days and there are so many films. The more you can have a bit of fun with the audience, be clever with it, but it’s crucial that it makes sense for the project itself, that it’s part of the reality of the film. And I’m honestly thrilled at how many people have bought into this concept and are implementing it. And now it’s like this, Let yourself be inspired!

Regarding what you said earlier: I think people want to have fun at the cinema again, right? And it promises you something like that from the very first moment.

That’s it, man. It’s like, Just have fun. I want to go to the cinema. I don’t want to be lectured now. The world is hard. I want to forget my problems and just eat popcorn and watch people who deserve it get their asses kicked.

The beekeeper is playing in the cinema now.