One of the many films opening next summer is director Baltasar Kormákur's (The Deep, Contraband) 2 Guns. Based on the Boom! Studios Graphic Novels by Steven Grant, 2 Guns is an action flick that stars Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg as operatives from competing government bureaus who are disavowed and forced to go on the run together after a mission goes wrong. The film also stars Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, James Marsden, Fred Ward and Edward James Olmos.Recently I sat down with Kormákur for an extended video interview and he gave me an update on the project. He says he's trying to get Clinton Shorter to do the score, he's in the middle of editing (he's turning in his director's cut around Christmas) and the current cut is about 2 hours 10 minutes, trimmed down from 2 hours 25 minutes. When I asked him to describe the film, he pitched it as a pulpy comic adaptation that's "probably closer to 48 Hrs. than Bad Boys." He also told me his contract says 2 Guns will be R-rated, but he will only make it R if it makes the movie better.  He doesn't mind cutting an F-word. In addition, when I asked him to compare it to Contraband, he said 2 Guns relies less on big action, "hopefully there is more fun in the action than necessarily big explosions." Hit the jump for more.Before getting to the interview, here's the full synopsis for 2 Guns:
Academy Award® winner Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg lead an all-star cast in 2 Guns, an explosive action film that tracks two operatives from competing bureaus who are forced on the run together. But there is a big problem with their unique alliance: Neither knows that the other is an undercover federal agent.
For the past 12 months, DEA agent Bobby Trench (Washington) and U.S. naval intelligence officer Marcus Stigman (Wahlberg) have been reluctantly attached at the hip. Working undercover as members of a narcotics syndicate, each man distrusts his partner as much as the criminals they have both been tasked to take down.
When their attempt to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel and recover millions goes haywire, Trench and Stigman are suddenly disavowed by their superiors. Now that everyone wants them in jail or in the ground, the only person they can count on is the other. Unfortunately for their pursuers, when good guys spend years pretending to be bad, they pick up a few tricks along the way.
Finally, if you missed the portion of our interview covering his film The Deep (Icelandâs official Academy Award selection for Best Foreign Language Film), click here. And here's us talking about HBO's The Missionary. Look for more of my interview with Kormákur tomorrow night.
Baltasar Kormakur Time Index:
- Kormakur is in the middle of editing 2 Guns.  He pitches it as a pulpy comic adaptation.  "It's probably closer to 48 Hrs. than Bad Boys."
- 1:20 - 2 Guns has an impressive cast.  Kormakur address the balance between hiring a good cast and keeping a budget with two big stars.
- 2:20 - His contract says 2 Guns will be R-rated, but he will only make it R if it makes the movie better.  He doesn't mind cutting an F-word.
- 3:45 - 2 Guns relies less on big action than Contraband.  "Hopefully there is more fun in the action than necessarily big explosions."
- 4:40 - Talks about directing Denzel. Â "He is very specific."
- 8:00 - He will turn in the director's cut around Christmas. Â Kormakur talks the test screening process.
- 9:10 - The current cut is about 2 hours 10 minutes, trimmed down from the first cut around 2 hours 25 minutes.
- 9:50 - They are currently in negotiations with Contraband composer Clinton Shorter to do the music.