The Road House Remake Used Pillow Fights To Make The Punches Look Brutal
02 -03-2024
Amazon Prime Video will release a remake this year of "Road House", starring Jake Gyllenhaal (in place of Patrick Swayze, who died in 2008). Doug Liman will change the movie in several different ways with his new version. Gyllenhaal will play Dalton as an ex-UFC fight. It remains to be determined if he will rip his throat. It sounds as if the film makers have also stepped up the ante on the action front. What's the secret? How? By using, um, fancy high-tech pillows fights.
Garrett Warren revealed in Total Film magazine's latest issue that he used a technique first employed on James Cameron's Avatar. The CGI used to create the digital environment in "Avatar" meant that he did not have to use this technique much. It became known by various names, including "Garrett Shot," "multiple passes," and "alphabet shots." It is a series of stages that begins by filming a fake fight in which actors are trading punches with purely acting reactions. Warren explained the next step:
The next step is to remove one player from the equation and place a pad in their position. "Hit the pad as hard you can," is what you tell that person. "And that person hits the pad with their full force -- it looks amazing."
It's like a pillow fight with a tiara.
Next, the attacker is removed and the victim brought back. This step, according to Warren, allows the person on the receiving side of the hit to react as though the blow was real.
Then, you take that person out and swap. "Don't react," you say to that person. Don't try to sell the punch. Be ready to be the person you are. You take this square, very soft pad and throw it at the person. Then you hit them. Anyone -- girl, boy, child. This is a pillow fight, so it doesn't really matter. The face will look as if a UFC wrestler is being hit and trying to maintain their composure. It's wild."
Next, the last steps are taken. Liman, Warren and crew then filmed a slow motion take of the stars fighting at slowed down speeds. Gyllenhaal compared it to "when you were a child". Then, a "clean shot" is taken to capture the landscape. All the layers of these different shots are then stitched into one. After removing the red rectangle pad, you will have a composite shot of all that has been filmed.
Filmmakers have been using composite shots for years. Michael Keaton, for instance, played multiple versions of himself on "Multiplicity." This is an inventive method of using multiple shots to create a convincing fight scene.
This is a groundbreaking innovation
Liman is a master of action films, as he has directed such hits as Matt Damon’s “The Bourne Identity” and sci-fi classic "Edge of Tomorrow." Warren was not sure if the director wanted to use the same technique in all the fight scenes of the film, but it ended up being used.
I thought, "OK, let's do this trick twice or three times." Doug, no. Doug was determined to get it done. Shots were not cut. The fights in this film are unlike any other fights ever filmed on screen. "This is something revolutionary."
The remake does sound as if Liman, and his team, put a great deal of effort into it to make sure that the film stood out from its predecessor, and not just matched up with its original. It's been messy in the background. Liman was very determined to get the movie released in theatres. He even wrote an open letter, which Deadline published, criticizing Amazon for refusing to release it. Liman won't be attending the premiere of the film at SXSW, in Austin, Texas. R. Lance Hill filed a lawsuit recently alleging, amongst other things, Amazon's use of AI in order to duplicate actors' voices last year during the Screen Actors Guild Strike.
The new film also stars Conor McGregor, UFC fighter, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Lukas Gagge, Lukas Magnussen, Lukas Magnussen, Lukas Magnussen, Lukas Magnussen, Lukas Magnussen, Conor McGregor, Lukas Magnussen, Lukas Magnussen, Lukas Magnussen, Lukas Magnussen, Billy Magnussen, Lukas Magnussen, Luka
Prime Video will premiere "Road House", on March 21st, 2024.