Most premieres roll out a red carpet and this one was no different except for ‘The Beast.’
Tuesday night, the Los Angeles premiere of the new Samuel L. Jackson action film had an armored presidential limousine sitting right out front. Aura Entertainment took over the Academy Museum on October 6 to celebrate Renny Harlin’s new action-thriller. When an unidentified militia launches a coup against the United States, the president has no choice but to get behind the wheel of his own limousine, unlocking the car’s classified offensive capabilities to protect a wounded Secret Service agent. It’s up to him to find his way back to his wife the FLOTUS and keep the world from falling apart.
Samuel L. Jackson, Joel Kinnaman, and Guy Burnet lead the cast, with a script from Umair Aleem. Meanwhile, Harlin, the director behind Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, is back in familiar territory explosions and all. The real star besides Jackson? The same car from the film bulletproof glass and all. Everyone lined up for photos alongside it. Very fitting considering the entire movie basically takes place inside the vehicle.
Credit: Jordan Strauss
Producer Keith Kjarval told me the production’s Spanish backdrop was essential on every level. “Spain has this wonderful, beautiful optimism to it,” he said, adding that seeing its architecture “come under duress” was part of the appeal. Financially, he credited the country’s incentives outright. “We couldn’t have made it without them.” Some may not know but Harlin wasn’t the initial director on the project. During production there was a switch. Kjarval mentions Harlin was the right fit all along. “This film was always meant for Renny,” and the two will be reteaming on Athena, a crime thriller Kjarval wrote that takes place in Athens.
Credit: Jordan Strauss
The Beast marks Jackson’s fourth film with Harlin, and he says the trust runs deep. “He gives me the freedom to create things that I like,” Jackson told me. Of course, if you’ve seen the trailer you know its standout moment. It’s Jackson giving co-star Kinnaman a crash course on how to properly deliver “motherfucker.” Naturally, we asked whether the script called for it or he improvised. “Pretty much on me,” he said, explaining that since a Black writer didn’t pen the film, he had to put the right words in his own mouth and add his own flair. Who better to teach you how to say MF than the man who made that word famous.
Credit: Jordan Strauss
Burnet, who plays the film’s antagonist, sees it differently from inside the role. “In my mind, I’m the good guy,” he laughed. His biggest takeaway from working with Jackson was learning to stay loose between takes. “He’s unpredictable. That’s the best thing you can be,” Burnet said. “And he still has it.”
If you’re a fan of action, explosions, and Jackson I’d run and check The Beast. It hits theaters October 9.
