“Your world creation is visual. I want the audience from pretty much right off the bat to know you’re in a different reality, so you’re going to see some weird stuff. You’re going to see dogs and horses and gun-fu and karate and ninjas on motorcycles” said ‘John Wick’ director Chad Stahelski as he discusses crafting the visual palate of the third installment in the Keanu Reeves-led action series “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.”
The ‘John Wick’ series has introduced audiences to such a distinct world that only seems to expand with each entry. Stahelski and cinematographer Dan Lausten challenged themselves to perfect the look of ‘John Wick’ by leaning heavily into lighting techniques so audiences can lose themselves in the environment created. Stahelski states, “…we want you to almost reach into the screen and feel the colors and taste them and smell them and be very very involved with the look of the film, and I think that’s what kind of separates us just from – we’re not actually trying to be rough and tumble and super serious.”
While his world building techniques— for which Stahelski attributes his success to working with The Wachowskis and love of international cinema—and striking visuals continue to entrance audiences in, the ‘Wick’ director and his stunt team know viewers want to see jaw-dropping action spectacle.
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‘Parabellum’s’ most challenging set piece no only involves the series’ intricate choreography but features an incredible amount of moving parts that range from tracking shots to the use of dogs. “It took us nearly a year to bring that sequence to life. Finding the animals that had the physical and mental aptitude that we wanted, the personalities that we needed to bond the stunt team, the camera team, the rest of the crew, and our cast,” stated Stahelski.
He then went on to discuss specifically Halle Berry’s intense 5-month training with the dogs, whom she would spend 3 hours a day, 5-6 days a week with. In so doing, when we see Berry commanding the dogs on screen, it is, in fact, her giving the orders.
That’s only a small taste of how Chad Stahelski broke down the magic of ‘John Wick 3.’ During our conversation we discussed Stahelski’s inspiration for crafting unique action sequences, what the future holds for John moving forward with the series (“John Wick 4?”), the status of his upcoming “Highlander” reboot and Ed Brubaker’s “Kill or Be Killed” live-action adaptation, recent “Matrix 4” comments, and much more.
You can listen to the entirety of my interview with Chad Stahelski below along with my full review of “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” (note: the audio isn’t our best compared to past interviews, but we still think it’s worth the listen). ‘John Wick: Chapter 3’ opens in theaters Friday, May 17.
https://soundcloud.com/the-playlist-podcast/chad-stahelski-interview-john-wick-3
