The Meg is the modern day Jaws times a thousand!
An underwater research facility conducts a mission to dive deeper than anyone has ever been to discover new marine life. They never intended to find a twenty two meter long prehistoric shark, thought to be extinct called Megalodon! The massive creature attacks a deep sea submersible leaving it disabled and the crew trapped. It is up to expert diver, Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) to rescue the team before the Meg attacks again or they run out of air. This film will have you on the edge of your seats the entire time! The Knockturnal was able to sit and speak with the cast as we got an exclusive behind the scenes look at what went into creating this giant blockbuster film. Check out the interviews below with stars from the cast, Page Kennedy, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose and Li Bingbing!
The Knockturnal: Do you guys feel like you’re experts now? Do you feel like you actually know what to do in a shark attack?
Ruby Rose: I feel like I know more of what to do in a shark attack, definitely.
Rainn Wilson: Um no, I have no idea what to do in a giant prehistoric shark attack but I’ve learned from doing interviews with the lovely, talented and brilliant Ruby Rose that when a shark is coming at you, you just lie there still like a piece of kelp. You just play dead in the water and then the shark is like, oh I don’t want to eat that and swims off somewhere else.
The Knockturnal: I thought you were supposed to bop it on the nose?
Ruby Rose: Yeah if it comes at you, you can surprise it by hitting it on the nose. Mick Fanning, a friend of mine surfing did that quite recently and notoriously.
Rainn Wilson: What if you yelled at it? What if you just yelled the shit out of it!
Ruby Rose: I feel like that’s a bad idea.
Rainn Wilson: Do sharks have ears?
Ruby Rose: Well they hear but on that sonar level I think, not like ears like human ears. That would be so weird! Imagine the size of the Meg’s ear if it had an actual human ear.
Rainn Wilson: Do fish have ears? I’ve never seen a fish ear.
Ruby Rose: I don’t think so.
The Knockturnal: Is there anyone you would actually jump into shark infested waters to save?
Ruby Rose: My mum, for sure. She actually has done that for me before. It wasn’t the sharks it was the rip, but she has saved my life in the water before.
Rainn Wilson: Same, I would save her mom.
The Knockturnal: Ruby your character Jaxx in this film is pretty badass, she’s confident, edgy which is similar to a lot of roles you’ve played. So, is that how you are in real life, is that who you are?
Ruby Rose: I feel like my characters are always cooler than me. They always seem to be so chill about everything like if it’s zombies, no big deal. If it’s a giant shark, no big deal whereas I’m not quite like that. That’s why I like being an actor, I get to play people much cooler than me. But every character is also different and Jaxx is an engineer and I loved how she has clearly dedicated her life to studying marine life and wanting to do research on these beautiful creatures, that was really fascinating for me.
The Knockturnal: Rainn, I hear a lucky fan might be able to watch the movie and hang out with you, how is that possible?
Rainn Wilson: Yeah, there’s an auction on Charitybuzz and the highest bidder, unfortunately it’s gonna be a rich person. The highest bidder is going to be able to go to the premiere with me and my family and grab a bite afterwards and all proceeds go to a non-profit that I started with my wife called Lide in Haiti.
The Knockturnal: Alright Page so I feel like we have to clarify, can you actually swim, because your character couldn’t swim that well?
Page Kennedy: Right, well yes, I can swim. I definitely can swim. If you drop me in some water, I will not react the way DJ did.
The Knockturnal: So, although you can swim, you still had training for the movie. What was that like?
Page Kennedy: The training was awesome, and I needed it because although I can swim, I wasn’t as comfortable as the movie made me. I’m also really afraid of heights and it was cool to have this training because I jumped off one meter, I dove off one meter, I jumped off three meters and they convinced me to jump off five meters even though I didn’t want to, it took five minutes. I put it on the internet if you want to see me terrified jumping off of five meters, I actually did it. I’m very proud of myself that I did.
The Knockturnal: I gotta say that I actually already saw the video, so I knew that you were afraid of heights. So, I have to ask, would you rather swim in shark infested waters or skydive without a guide?
Page Kennedy: What kind of sharks?
The Knockturnal: Any sharks, hammer sharks, all of them!
Page Kennedy: You’re just giving me anxiety right now! Because I’m so deathly afraid of heights, I could not imagine jumping out of an airplane. I think I would rather swim with sharks because it’s possible that they don’t want me. I could never jump out of an airplane. It won’t stop, my heart is still fluttering. Thank you for that question!
The Knockturnal: Your fans know how much you love your cat, is it Radon? So, would you jump into shark infested waters to save your cat?
Page Kennedy: I got another cat too, her name is Revine. So, Radon I love you brother, but I got another one to help me out, to get through the mourning process. I’m not jumping in. What you want me to do, you want us both to die, you want me and Radon to be gone? C’mon man, who gone take care of Revine? She gotta have her little box changed! What am I supposed to do?
The Knockturnal: Page this is an exciting time for you because not only is the movie being released but your album is coming out, so how does this all feel?
Page Kennedy: It feels amazing! Same Page Different Story comes out the same day as the movie and I have a song on there called, The Audition: The Meg and it tells in detail through my whole journey of getting the audition because it’s a very interesting story. I feel like everybody should definitely check it out!
The Knockturnal: Your toughest critics actually got to see this film and those are your kids, so what did they think about it?
Page Kennedy: They loved it, they loved it. They thought it was great and I’m happy that they thought so. That would’ve sucked if they hated it or me, but they loved it.
The Knockturnal: You were saying on your Instagram that people like to flex for the gram so is there anything you flex about on the gram?
Page Kennedy: These bars! Just these bars!
The Knockturnal: You’re no stranger to action films, what draws you into roles like this?
Li Bingbing: They found me to do this because Warner Brothers thought this role is very suitable for me and for me it’s such a new experience. I’ve never done a movie in the water and I want to try something new. It’s so exciting.
The Knockturnal: I heard you had a near death experience on set in the water?
Li Bingbing: It was just an exaggeration. It was so hot I almost died, I’m so hungry I almost died but the scene I shot in the shark cage in the water, under the water was really hard actually. It was like six meters down there, so deep, you can’t even walk there. The wave there was really strong, so I have an expert who dives with me and sends me into the cage, into this small shark cage.
The Knockturnal: Do you feel comfortable with small spaces?
Li Bingbing: No, really no. That scene is so horrible, they have to lock the cage, if not the cage would open. So, I have to stand, the door is at the bottom of the cage, so I have to lock the cage and I can stand on the [floor].
The Knockturnal: Other than working with water, you were also working with an amazing co star Jason Statham, so how was that?
Li Bingbing: He is so perfect. He’s such a nice guy, very warm. He’s so considerate and so supportive.
The Knockturnal: What kinds of roles are you looking to pursue in the future?
Li Bingbing: At my age, I want to perform a role with more story, more experience of life so we can share more things with the audience.