Sylvester 'Sly' Stallone, Jason Statham & Dolph Lundgren discuss the making of Action Blockbuster 'The Expendables'
Q: At the screening last week there was a massive round of applause before the film even started, and as each star name appeared there were whoops of joy. To what extent does that level of excitement and expectation bring extra challenges or responsibilities to do something really special with The Expendables?
Sly Stallone: It’s a lot of pressure because sometimes you come to a film and you know you’ve got a major turkey and it’s not even Thanksgiving. It’s bad. This time this is the other end of it, where there’s a great expectancy and you think, geez, I didn’t expect this when we started making this. You begin to say is this going to live up to its idea? It’s kind of complex. You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
Jason Statham: [Level of expectation and responsibility] It’s all on Sly, I’m afraid. That’s why you chose to work with people that know what they are doing. A lot of the time we don’t get such a luxury in that choice…
Sly Stallone: Then you better go with Christopher Nolan, pal… I’m just guessing my way through this…
Dolph Lundgren: I’m afraid of saying anything here [chuckles]. It’s like fighting in the world championships, instead of the regional championships in sports, I guess. This movie is like the world class, the best of all times, and you just feel you want to live up to it.
Q: [To Stallone and Lundgren] How would you compare your screen relationship now, compared to 25 years ago in Rocky IV. Is there the same dynamic there?
Sly Stallone: That’s a good question. I’ve never trained harder for Rocky IV than the other Rockys. Dolph’s thing was brutal. He was a world-class athlete, so we got to know each other pretty well. Then times change. We go through ups and downs, marriages and things. Meeting this time, it’s really a pleasure because of all the actors I’ve worked with, he’s remained the most grounded and humble. Believe me that can change a lot. It’s rough. It’s very competitive. But it has changed, plus I’m dying to kick his brains in because he really beat me up badly in that movie [Rocky]. I mean I look at him now and go, what was I thinking? This guy’s a monster. In the first film it was really great. I’d just seen this fight with Marvin Hagler who was defending for the title and [he] went crazy in the first round. He and Tommy Hearns were going at it. I said, Dolph, I saw this fight and I want you to try and knock me out, just for the first 30 seconds and I’ll do my best to protect [myself] – I know I can slip it. He put me in the hospital - four days. That’s 30 seconds, so you don’t think I have a grudge? And it’s still not over – that’s why I shot you…
Q: Dolph, do you like to comment any further?
Dolph Lundgren: No, I’ll just get another beating if I say anything…
Q: With all the testosterone with the male cast, did you have an all-female crew to balance it out?
Sly Stallone: You don’t – you just like, fake it. You guys are very aggressive, every one of them. The worst thing you want to do… Let’s say Jason does an action beat and he’s very physical – you’ll see in the documentary, he does his hands [in] and [they] were in ice and he’s leaping onto baked ground, over and over. He keeps wanting to do it, and I say, stop, stop, stop. Then the next fella who has to do his stunt goes, Jason was rather good. I’m going to kill this guy… So, it keeps building in competitiveness – that’s why you have such a physical, testosterone movie because men are just naturally competitive and they want to keep upping the ante. I don’t know if there were any women around – if they were they were tougher than the guys. You had to be tougher in this show.
