With The Lost City opening in theaters tomorrow, I recently got to speak with directors Adam and Aaron Nee about making the fun action-comedy starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Daniel Radcliffe. During the interview, the brothers talked about what it was like making their first big Hollywood movie, why Tatum and Bullock are so great to work with and always willing to go the extra mile, how they didn’t think Brad Pitt was actually going to be in the movie even when they were told he had committed to the role, what it was like directing him, and more. In addition, with the Nee brothers now working on the live-action Masters of the Universe movie for Netflix starring Kyle Allen as He-Man, they teased what fans can look forward to:
“There’s some stuff we can’t talk about in terms of the approach, but it’s all happening, it’s all moving in the right direction. But in terms of approach it’s like… We just want to make a 'Masters [of the Universe]' that feels the way it did to us when we were kids. It’s this “empowerment” that you get from the fantasy of it, but also colorful, vibrant, fun and irreverent. Like you can’t have characters like Snout Spout and Ram Man without having some jokes in there. So we just want to make a really fun ‘Masters of the Universe’ film.”
Based on a story idea by Seth Gordon, The Lost City follows the story of romance author Loretta Sage (Bullock), who is kidnapped while on a book tour by an eccentric billionaire (Radcliffe), who believes she has the key to finding a secret lost treasure that exists only in her books. In true Romancing the Stone fashion, her books' cover model Alan (Tatum), embarks on a tropical adventure to save her from what may be certain doom. The film also stars Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Oscar Nuñez, Patti Harrison, and Bowen Yang. The script was written by Oren Uziel, Dana Fox and Adam Nee & Aaron Nee.
Watch what they had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis.
Aaron and Adam Nee
- What did they learn making The Lost City and working with a bigger budget that they’ll take with them to their next project?
- What was it like directing Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock and seeing how great they are at physical comedy and with self-deprecating humor?
- What was their reaction when they were told Brad Pitt would be in the movie?
- What was it like directing Brad Pitt?
- How did the film possibly change in the editing room in ways they didn’t expect?
- What can they tease about directing the upcoming live-action Masters of the Universe movie?
Here's the official synopsis:
Brilliant, but reclusive author Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) has spent her career writing about exotic places in her popular romance-adventure novels featuring handsome cover model Alan (Channing Tatum), who has dedicated his life to embodying the hero character, “Dash.” While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) who hopes that she can lead him to the ancient lost city’s treasure from her latest story. Wanting to prove that he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, Alan sets off to rescue her. Thrust into an epic jungle adventure, the unlikely pair will need to work together to survive the elements and find the ancient treasure before it’s lost forever.