David Leitch has birthed franchises like John Wick and taken others to new heights like with Deadpool, and with Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, he’s not only doing both - this is a spinoff to the street racing-turned-crime stunt series - but helping a new generation get their start. As part of the media blitz for Hobbs & Shaw, a tie-in digital-only advertisement for Brisk ice tea gave up-and-coming filmmaker Evans Alexandre the chance to make his own, canon part of the Fast & Furious world.
Screen Rant caught up with Leitch to talk about how the commercial came about, his role in mentoring Alexandre, and how the experience paralleled his own working on Hobbs & Shaw.
We’ll kick off with how the whole thing with Brisk came about and how you came to be so involved with this whole side project.
In terms of coming into the world of Fast & Furious, were there any rules on what could be done? Or any tips you gave?
Well, it was a collaboration between Universal Pictures and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and Brisk. This idea of mentoring young filmmakers as part of a bigger idea to bring attention to the project and bring attention to some of these young artists’ work. And they asked if I’d be interested in doing a mentorship in the spirit of this and I thought it was a really interesting idea to connect with young filmmakers and just give them some time and insight.
Talk a little about how the line - can of whoop-ass - can from.
The Brisk team had some ideas and the kids that were looking to win the contest had to present their ideas as well. But they had access to art department materials from the film and the idea was really pushed was this one line from the film, the “can of whoop-ass” which represents the Brisk tea and it’s a line that Hobbs says at the beginning of the movie. And that was what the theme was. You want to create your idea around a can of whoop-ass, and Evans’ idea was very interesting. He got to go through the whole filmmaking process - art department, props, special effects, Roman Reigns. Like, he had real talent there. We had some of our stunt performers and it was a huge opportunity for him.
When you were coming in, were there any strict rules on what you couldn’t do or not do in Hobbs & Shaw?
There’s a moment in the film where I’m filming the dichotomy of Hobbs and Shaw. It’s a split-screen montage at the beginning of the movie where they’re both doing identical things and Hobbs is kicking ass on one side of the frame and Shaw is kicking ass on the other side of the frame and Shaw says, “I’m a champagne problem” and the guy on the other side of the frame poses to Hobbs, “who do you think you are?” and he’s like “I’m an ice-cold can of whoop-ass”. It is a great action movie catchphrase and it also has a commercial sensibility and I think it was a good buzzword for the campaign and the project.
And, what about things that you wanted to bring to the project that you felt wouldn’t fit the world of Fast & Furious?
It’s funny, I had these conversations with Evans Alexandre, the young filmmaker, as we had our day together. The thing about coming into a franchise like this is that you have to make sure you’re true to the DNA of the world and the material. There’s eight of these that have come out before. But you also have to hold onto your integrity as an artist. It’s like finding that balance. And that’s not unlike him as a young filmmaker. He has a real interesting point of view. He’s a photographer and has a great visual style. Visuals are incredibly important to me so I try to enhance a different style into this universe, and our 87eleven style distinct action that people have grown to love from John Wick, Atomic Blonde and Deadpool… but if you look at the themes of family and if you look at the fast cars, and you look at the globetrotting. We go around the world. And that sort of cinema and scope and spectacle that you’re used to in the Fast movies, all of that’s there. So, again, it was like, him seeing me take on this movie, you can say you can keep your integrity as an artist even when you’re in a big Brisk campaign or a big movie like Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.
Next: All Hobbs & Shaw After-Credits Scenes Explained: What They Mean For Fast & Furious
There were moments in pre-production when everyone was like, “Are we going too far?” We’re a little bit nervous, but what’s really fascinating about the Fast movies is their ability to reinvent themselves and keep the audience. And I think because the core heart and soul is always there, and the family is always there, and people love these characters so much, they’re willing to go on any journey with them. And there’s only so many journeys to have. What was great about Hobbs & Shaw is we went on a sideroad with two new characters, so we could go back and meet their families, we could see their personal relationships and themes of family, but then we could have set pieces that weren’t necessarily built on street racing, they’re more on the spy world, espionage world, global stakes of viruses and all the things you’d see in a James Bond movie or Mission movie and the audience will go with it because it’s fun. Those are the things I want to… those types of inspirations I want to give the young filmmakers. You can be bold, you can make bold choices, and it’s better to be bold and go down swinging and just go middle of the road and never be seen. So you have to swing for the fences.
