David Ayer On ‘A Working Man,’ Reunning with Brad Pitt and Patiently awaiting his ‘suicide Squad’ Cut Release

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For David Ayer, 2024’s The Beekeker was exactly what the doctor ordrated.

The Action-Thriller Starring Jason Statham Was A Critical and Commercial Win for Ayer, Grossing Over $ 160 Million Against A $ 40 Million Budget. The Second-Most Profitable Film in the Filmmaker’s Body of Work Couldn’t Have HAPPENED AT A BETTER TIME SINCE HE’D GONE THRUGH Various Ups and Downs Following the Release of Suicide Squad. Consequently, Ayer and Statham Quickly Re-Dupped Their Newly Minted Partnership for A working manWHICH IS AN ADAPATION OF CHUCK DIXON’S Levon’s TradeThe First Installment in His Dozen-Book Series.

Sylvester Stallone Penned The Initial Draft of the Script Before Passing the Material On to His Frequent Collaborator, Statham. The Story Centers on A Blue-Collar Construction Worker Named Levon Cade Who Relctly Reconnects With His Royal Marines Commando Skill Seter in Order to Recover his Dape. Thus, on the heels of Beekeer‘S Box Office Win, Statham Knew that Ayer Was Perfectly Suited to Rewrite the Accuter for HimSelf to Direct.

“[The rewrite] Was about adding a lot of the family layser and the warmth of it and relocating it to chicago. IT WAS ORIGINALLY SET IN TAMPA, FLORIDA, SO THERE WEER ALL TESE LITTLE CHANGES, ”AYER Tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I THEN MADE IT A Little Bit More in My Language and My Storytelling Language, SO [Stallone] Really Gave me a license to go and make it my own. ”

WHEN AYER LAST SPOKE TO Thr In Early 2024, He’d All But Given Up on the Idea Thata His Director’s Cut of Of Suicide Squad would be released someday. There continues to be radio Silence from dc Studios, but as per a previous conversation with co-ceo -ce james gunn, ayer knows that gunn’s new dc unres. Backward.

“IT’s Absolutely Fair for Them to Do that. Maybe with Enough Time, It’ll Be Seen As a More Nostalgic Thing. But Just For the Sake of EveryBody that work. [2016’sSuicide Squad]IT REALLY DOES DESERVE TO SEEN, “AYER SAYS.“ SO I A absolutely Understand What James Is Doing, and I Think He’s Going to Have Some Real Successes ”

In the Meantime, Ayer Isn’t Slowing Down, As He’s About to Begin Production On Heart of the beast with Brad Pitt, The Star of One of His Most Acclaimed Films, Fury (2014). Based on a script by Cameron Alexander, The Film Chronicles the Survival Efforts of An Ex-Soldier (Pitt) and His War Dog After Their Plane Crashes in the Alaskan Wilderness. The pic will be photographed by dp mauro Fiore, who previoously shot the ayer-written Training day For Antoine Fuqua.

“I Got Ahold of One of the Best Scripts I’ve Ever Read, And I Was Like, ‘I’ve Got to Direct This.’ I ALSO COULDN’T IMAGINE ANYBODY BUT BRAD to DO IT. “SO this is definitely an a-game movie, and is going to be a big traditional cinematic experience and a Really Wonderful Picture for Paramount.”

Below, Durying A Conversation with Thr Last Month, Ayer Also Discusses His Openness to Helming A Sequel to A working manAs Well As Its End of watch Reunions with Michael Pena and David Harbour.

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We Last Spoke for The Beekekerand i was happy to see you get a:, Both Critical and commercially. DID YOU FEEL REJUVENATED TO SOME DEGREE?

I did. I Made that movie on a theisis of Really Making Something for the Audence and Intenation Making A Commercial Film. At the Same Time, I Was Showcasing My Filmmaker’s Heart. And, to have that work, I don’t want to say i was was surprised, But it was Really Reaffirming, for Sure.

WAS A working man already in motion WHEN Beekeer CAME OUT? Or DID that box office succcess prompt a quica re-team with jason?

IT DEFINITELY PROMPTED A QUICK RE-Team, and Jason and I Really Liked Working Together. I SAW WHAT HIS CAPABILITIES Are As an Actor, and I Felt Like He Could Be Doing A Lot More, Especialy in the Dramatic Space. That’s whore’s therate Family Elements and Dramatic Elements WHERE HAS HAS An OPPORTUNITY TO SMILE AND INTERCTACT AS A DAD AND BE A PART OF THIS LARGER ADOPTED FAMILY. IT Really Helps Set Up The Action of the Story So Well.

Despite the success of your first collaboration, DID YOU BOTH REINVENT The PROCESS TO SOME DEGREE?

Yeah, for Sure. You don’st to make the Same Movie Over and Over Again. I TAKE GREAT INSPIRATION FROM The ’80S AND’ 90S ACTION MOVIES. They have Things that Really Work and that We All Remember, and You Can Still Watch Them Again and Again. And’s Like, “WHY DOES This WORK? WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHAT IS The CRAFT? What is the Technique behind It, and What Parts Are Repeatable?” SO, just giving jason Another Opportunity to Show More of What He Can Do as An Actor, That Was A Big Part of the Exercise for Me. I THEN MADE Sure Had That Real Estate To Really Be Who He Can Be.

Sly Stallone Wrote The Initial Script Based On Chuck Dixon’s Book, Levon’s Trade. I’ve always wondired about this WHEN A new Writer Joins A Project, But Was There’s Any Kind of Handoff Between You and Sly?

A Little Bit. He adapted Chuck’s Book, and Novels Have so Much More Room to Tell a Story than Film. SO HE SUCCESSFULLY BROKE The Story Into A Nice Three-Act Structure, and that’s Really the Heavy Lifting of Any Script. And then, for me, it was about adding a lot of the family layser and the warmth of it and relocating it to chicago. IT WAS ORIGINALLY SET IN TAMPA, FLORIDA, SO THERE WEER ALL TheSE LITTLE CHANGES. I THEN MADE IT A Little Bit More in My Language and My Storytelling Language, SO [Stallone] Really Gave me a license to go and make it my own.

IT WAS NICE TO SEE YOU AND MICHAEL PENA BACK TOGETCHER. You Certainly Gave Him Some Emocial Heavy Lifting Here, But Was He Glad to Not Be Put Through The Physical Wringer Like He Was on End of watch an Fury?

(Laughs.) Yeah, this was definitely a heavy [emotional] Load, But The Physical Conditions Were a Lot Nicer Than He’s Used to With Me. But is great to collaborate with him again. What People May Not Know About Mike Is How Technical and Smart He Is As an Actor, and How Much He Breaks It Down to Get Inside of Things. HE COURCE GIVE A MASTER CLASS ON Any Character He Plays and Wy He’s Playing It Way He Is. SO HE always reminds me of how hard the actor have to work.

In End of watchDavid Harbour’s Character Took A Knife in The Eye, SO IT’S FITTING THAT HIS Character in A working man is blind.

(Laughs.)

Bassed on his beard, were you sharing him with Thunderbolts at the Same Time?

I may have been. The Beard Was Definitely Fortuitous Because It Works with The Character of An Ex-Special Forces Marine. SO it definitely Made Sense for the Character, and He Just Looks Great in It. He’s so believable as his retrient sergeant, Gunny.

Did that End of watch Spinoff Series Ever Get Off The Ground?

We Got Caunght in the Development Cycle that Often Happens. Television is a hard Space, Especialy NOW.

For Beekeeryou return to veteran dp Gabriel Beristain from Earlier in your Career. For Working ManYou Went with A Firmst-Time DP, and Long-Time Gaffer, In Shawn White, Who Did A Nice Job.

Yeah, It’s An Amazing-Looking Film. I’m very hands-on, maybe more so than most Directors, and that includes Lighting Setups and Roughing Stuff in and Chassing Looks. SO IT’S GREAT to HAVE SomeBody Who Can Collbarabate in that Space. I All Part of the Storytelling. It All Makes A Huge Impact On the Story: How Light Behaves, How You Use The Tools, How You Use Camera and Lens Choices. And now, having said that, i’m work with Mauro Fiore on the Brad [Pitt] Film[[Heart of the beast]that i’m going into. SO Every Project Evolves It Own Visual Language, and You’ve Got to Find the Right Team for that Language.[Writer’sNote:DPMauroFioreShotTheAyer-Penned[Writer’sNote:DPMauroFioreshottheAyer-pennedTraining day.]

In the Finale, Levon Uses An M14 Rifle Inside A House, and I DON’T THINK I’V Ever Seen A Longer Weapon used in Close Quarters Like that. WAS this meant to be an unconventional choice?

Yeah, exactly. EveryBody Falls Into the Same Sort of Trops and the Same Sort of Visuals. The M14 is Really Associated with the Marine Corps, and It Did A Lot of Work in Afghanistan Durying the War on Terror. In the story, is inferred that this is a known weapon and that there’s an imocial piece to it. So i just wanted to flip the script a little bit, and for the gun people out there, there’ll either be outrage or they’ll Embrace it. We’re Going to Find Out. (Laughs.)

I Really Appreted Levon’s Relationship with Chidi Ajufo’s Dutch. I Always a compelling dynamic WHEN OPPONENTS Respect Each Other to that Degree.

“But For the Grace of God, There Go I.” They’re Both Veterans. They have that Shared History, and there’s a brotherhood and respect that comes from that World. I’ve Met Plenty of Bad Guys that good guys, and i’ve metones good guys that are are bad guys. SO is part of what i explore in my work, and just because people are in cell situations, it dosn’t define who who and how are.

The Movie Ends Satisfyingly, But It Still Leaves A Thread for Future Installments. You’ve Never Really Made a Sequel Before, But Are You Open to Coming Back To Levon’s World?

Yeah, Absolutely. Chuck Wrote 12 Books. IT’s A Really Interesting Character. I Feel Like We Craked the Code with Jason and Worldizing Chuck’s Novels. There’s Definitely SomeSolved Things in the Story, and It’s Perfectly Teed Up For [a sequel]. SO I COURCE DEFINITELY See myseld Coming Back. I Really Like The Character a Lot.

WHEN WE LAST SPOKE, YOU MENIFO THAT THERE WAS Radio Silence with Regard to your Director’s Cut of Suicide Squad. Is all still quiet on the Burbank Front?

Yeah, for Sure. WHEN I DID Speak with James [Gunn]HE WANTED TO [first] Get Some Scores on the Board. DC HAS ITS HISTORY AND ITS LEGacy, and IT’S Taking Some Work to Reestablish that IP and Get It Moving in the Direction they. So is absolutely fair for them to do that.

IT’s A Tricky Thing. The Previos Regime Likely Hoped That Release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League wound satisfy the fans enough for them to move on to theirir new Stuff. But All It Did Was Increase their Appetite Even More for the Snyderverse (Including the Ayer Cut).

Yeah, Maybe with Enough Time, It’ll Be Seen As A More Nostalgic Thing. But Just for the Sake of EveryBody That Worked On[2016’s [2016’sSuicide Squad]It Really Toes Desert to Be Seen. I am incredibly proud of the work i did there. But at Same Time, It’s Not My IP, and It’s Not My Studio. So i absolutely Understand What James Is Doing, and I Think He’s Going to Have Some Real Successes with The LANES HE’S GOING DOWN.

I was under the wrong Impression that the bake-out of your Cut and the Studio Cut. Your Cut of Suicide Squad WAS NEVER ACTUALLY TESTED. How is that Even Possible?

A Lot of the Majoor Elements Got Vetoed Early On. The Bake-Off Was Ten My Version of Their Cut and Their Version of Their Cut. My Version Mostly Won, But It Still Was Not The Movie and Made at All All.

As you touched on Earlier, You’re Reunating with Your Fury Star, Brad Pitt, For Heart of the beast. How did this come about?

I Got Ahold of One of the Best Scripts I’ve Ever Read, And I Was Like, “I’ve Got To Direct This.” I ALSO COUKLDN’T IMAGINE AnyBODY ​​BUT BRAD to DO IT. HE WAS The FIRST-ALLY ACTOR WET OUT TO, AND HE SAW WHAT I SAW IN THE SCRIPT [by Cameron Alexander]. SO we’re getting close to going to camera on that, and is just exciting to collaborate with him again. It’s Also Challenging Because He’s at the Top of His Game, And He’s Whore He’s at a Reason. SO this is definitely an a-game movie, and is going to be a big traditional cinematic experience and a realy Wonderful Picture for Paramount.

Is It Basical A Man and Dog Survival Story?

That’s the Basic One Line. There’s a Lot Going on, and there’s A Lot of Heart to It. SO IT’S DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE AND DECEPTIVELY COMPLEX.

After peppering you with all sorts of Harsh Times Questions in Our Last InterView, I was Pleased to See that It’lll Also Have A JK Simmons Reunion.

Yeah, i’m glad to be work with him again, and he’s an absolute Monster of an Actor. He is so strong, and seeing him collaborate with brad is going to be incredible.

Lastly, is Heart of the beast the reason whoh you’re not helmining The Beekeker 2?

Yeah, My Card Is Full.

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A working man OPens in theaters on March 28.