Red One is a must-see action-comedy event that delivers a fresh twist on Christmas for the holiday season. Directed by Jake Kasdan, he teams up with Dwayne Johnson again from the blockbuster Jumanji movies and creates this multigenerational global spectacle with stars such as Chris Evans teaming up in a high stakes adventure packed with adrenaline and attitude.
The film follows Santa’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) team up with a notorious hacker (Chris Evans) after Santa Claus gets kidnapped.
The cast and crew attended a global press conference where they speak about their roles and making a Christmas film for all generations.
On making Santa Claus accessible for the next generation, director Jake Kasdan says “One of the most exciting aspects of this movie was looking at a way that we could tell Santa’s story that we’ve never quite seen before, right? You’ve seen him a certain way your whole life, and we always thought that the great, exciting idea for this was “What if you could sort of pull back the curtain and see what he’s really like?” And so all of those aspects of (Red One) came to form from that seed of an idea.”
You’d think that creating that balance of an action film and a Christmas film would be hard right? Well, Chris Evans said “Luckily, it’s not only me that has to figure that out. We have a whole team of people who are trying to crack that code. There’s such great Christmas lore, folklore, not just the stories we all grew up with, but internationally. When you hear (about) some of these creatures and stories and mythology, it almost begs for some sort of action adventure movie. It’s not quite as hard as you think.”
Dwayne Johnson further adds “I agree. I also feel that it all really starts with the material. Of course, coming out of Hiram’s brain, and then Chris Morgan cracking it, and Jake coming in and putting it together on the page. The material itself lent itself to a big action scale, which you typically don’t see in a Christmas movie. All of these actors are all incredibly talented, and they all came in loving Christmas and perfect for their particular role. On top of that, I think you sprinkle in that something that Jake inherently does in his films. I’ve had the privilege of working with him three times now. The two Jumanji movies and now Red One. It’s heart. There’s so much heart in this movie. And that can so often be an overstatement in storytelling in Hollywood, but it’s true. One of my favourite parts of the movie is where Santa Clause reminds my character that it’s our job to see the best in people. Look beyond if they’re on the naughty list. Look beyond that and see the kid in everybody. As Chris was saying, it really wasn’t that hard.”
With yuletide joy, catch Red One in UK cinemas from 6th November 2024
