Triple Threat: Director Jesse V. Johnson Mini Interview From Well GO USA
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
What was your initial strategy for working with such legendary martial arts masters?
Upon being offered the opportunity to direct a film starring the combined force of world famous action stars Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Tiger Chen, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Michael Bisping and Jeeja Yanin, I set to work spending day and night developing how to best showcase their individual talents whilst still maintaining the feeling of a cohesive and exciting action film.
What was your concept for having all of these new action stars in one movie? Where did your inspiration come from?
I needed to show that each had a unique voice as an actor, and also their own devastatingly effective screen fighting style. I looked at classic ensemble movies, The Magnificent Seven, Seven Samurai, The Dirty Dozen, as well as recent works such as the Fast and the Furious films, amongst others. I discovered ways to uniquely move the story forwards using each character’s story beats, so that we didn’t repeat ourselves, whilst keeping the story-telling fresh and exciting, viewed from the character’s diverse vantage point.
What makes Triple Threat stand out from previous Asian-inspired action films?
I was lucky enough to have assembled a world-class action team, with performers, coordinators and choreographers from several different countries, each specializing in their own discipline, with the ability to ensure that we were creating thrilling new and original sequences. We also encouraged our cast to get involved during the rehearsal period to further craft their own character and action-sequences around their particular gifts. This was instrumental in the very personal feel the story and action in Triple Threat maintains.
THE CAST OF TRIPLE THREAT
The casting for Triple Threat was completed by casting director, Mike Leeder. Triple Threat is an adrenaline-fueled action film that brings together the three biggest Asian action stars in one thrilling movie. “We are so excited to bring the superstars of the ground-breaking action films Ong Bak, The Raid and Man Of Tai Chi together in a “triple threat” package. This is the first time all three stars will be in a film together and we’re ecstatic to be a vital part of the Triple Threat team,” said Ying Ye, a producer on the film and Managing Director of Easternlight, Arclight Films’ specialty arm which showcases Asian cinema with the largest film library of any non Asian-based indie film label
