In the near future, a ‘Grand Lottery’ has been newly established in California – the catch: kill the winner before sundown to legally claim their multi-billion dollar jackpot. When Katie Kim (Awkwafina) moves to Los Angeles, she mistakenly finds herself with the winning ticket. Desperate to survive the hordes of jackpot hunters, she reluctantly joins forces with amateur lottery protection agent Noel Cassidy (John Cena) who will do everything in his power to get her to sundown in exchange for a piece of her prize. However, Noel must face off with his slick rival Louis Lewis (Simu Liu), who also seeks to collect Katie’s commission at all costs.
Directed by Paul Feig, the comedic genius behind such hits as Bridesmaids, Spy and A Simple Favour, Jackpot! is a gleeful action comedy that takes the notion of winning at any cost to dangerous extremes.
As the film arrives on Prime Video, Peter Gray was invited to the global press conference to hear Paul and his principal cast discuss the making of their wild film, like who performed their own stunts, and why Paul originally said no to directing.
Paul, what was the inspiration behind taking this film on for you?
Paul Feig: When I was first sent the script it was called “Grand Theft Lotto”, and I thought “That sounds so stupid, I’m not going to read that script,” and I put it on top of the pile. It was only days later that my producing partner, the great Laura Fischer, called me up and said, “You should read the script. It’s really funny.” And so, I picked it up, read it, and I got 40 pages into the hundred pages of it and said, “I have to do this movie.”
Just, to me, it was just too much fun. It’s the Jackie Chan movie I always wanted to make. It’s an action-comedy. I love that from my movies Spy and The Heat. And it was just a chance to really make a very fun, silly, but also kind of emotional story about somebody in over their head.
Awkwafina, what was Paul’s pitch to you?
Awkwafina: Well, it was actually the opposite, because I was kind of attached to the movie, and we were looking for a director. When Paul was interested, I was so happy. Obviously I’m a huge fan of everything he has done since Freaks and Geeks. I’m friends with him too, so we wanted to find an opportunity to work together.
What was your first discussion about the film?
Paul Feig: Oh, we had dinner. We were both really on the same page, I have to say.
Awkwafina: Page 40 (laughs).
Paul Feig: Yeah, page 40. I never read past that, by the way (laughs). No, I mean, we both wanted to make sure that it felt real and grounded. It’s always dangerous when you do a story about an actor because it can get very…it’s hard for an audience to invest. (Being an actor) seems more fun than a real, what they consider to be a “real job.” It is a real job.
Simu Liu: Not really. Let’s be real.
Paul Feig: We wanted to make sure that her goals were relatable. And I think we did that.
John, this role seems right up your alley, given your WWE legacy and comedy acting roles.
John Cena: Oh, that’s so indicative of my life. It’s just a bunch of comedy and action. It’s just another day at the office. I don’t think there’s anybody better to play an amateur protection agency (agent) than me.
And Awkwafina, this film requires some physical, demanding stunts from you. Can you talk about the preparation that you had to do for such physical work?
Awkwafina: Oh, man, well, it did kick off my fitness journey, for sure (laughs). I will say, that opening sequence? Cause, you know, Simu and I were in an action movie, obviously, one in which he had to train extensively. For (Shang-Chi) I definitely did not train. I was just…
Simu Liu: Yeah, you were hanging out.
Awkwafina: Yeah, I was going to Westfield, I was hanging out (laughs). But for this one, I felt like it was important for me to work with the team, who were amazing, and my amazing stunt double, Kiera (O’Connor). And also working with John too. I really appreciated the way that John handles action scenes and is very about safety. I felt very, very safe. But yeah, it was all to kick off my fitness journey. I have MyFitnessPal on my iPhone now.
Simu Liu: You killed it too. You looked great out there. You did a lot of your own stunts. You really nailed a lot of the physicality and action. I loved watching it.
Awkwafina: Same. Yours did too. Thank you.
Paul Feig: You guys got to fight.
You kicked ass!
Paul Feig: Oh, yeah. She definitely did.
You said it kicked off your fitness journey. How’s that journey now that the film has wrapped and it’s coming out?
Awkwafina: Afterwards I would wake up and train. But it’s alright. I went to Hawaii recently. I didn’t hold back, I’ll just put it that way.
Paul Feig: Did you do a triathlon or something like that?
Awkwafina: In Hawaii? No.
Paul Feig: Triathlon eating, drinking…
Awkwafina: Through that breakfast buffet, am I right? (Laughs).
Simu Liu: Let’s go!
Awkwafina: Decathlon!
Simu Liu: She’s just trying to get in as many Olympic references.
Simu, how was it for you playing the villain?
Simu Liu: I mean, is he a bad guy? Or is he really just a really solid entrepreneur with…
Paul Feig: Very ambitious.
Simu Liu: A very ambitious guy. A solid business practice. I mean, when you’re introduced to (my character), he’s kind of a boss, you know? He’s everything that John’s character wants to be, or wanted to be. Noel (John’s character) is this amateur, ambulance-chasing, insurance salesman, giant, you know?
John Cena: Obvious 10.
Simu Liu: (My character) has the money and the resources to rent out billboards. He’s got a whole compound and a whole staff working for him. If you won the Grand Lottery, who would you go with?
Awkwafina: Mind you, his agency kills people…
Simu Liu: There’s an independent investigation that’s going on. I can neither confirm or deny these rumours.
Awkwafina: We’re opening it back up. The case is being opened back up.
Paul Feig: Let’s just say, nobody rocks a three-piece suit like (Simu).
Awkwafina: Definitely not.
Well, except for you, Paul. Come on.
Paul Feig: Well, you know, and Mr. Cena.
John Cena: The three-piece white suit is tough to pull off. Simu’s the guy for that.
When it comes to the stunts, John, did you perform your own?
John Cena: My concern is always safety, but I always want to do as much of the activity as possible. And what I loved about a lot of the action in this film is it’s comical, but it’s also realistic. There’s a scene in a strip mall where you go through a karate studio, a yoga studio, et cetera, et cetera, where what I loved about Paul’s creativity, and I think I’m speaking for Paul here, but when he says it’s the Jackie Chan movie that he wanted to make, when you look at the way Jackie tells a story, he’ll choreograph a fight when he gets on set.
So, he’ll see the audio guy, a bottle of water, or a loose chair, and he’ll incorporate all those things into the action. I thought the stunt team did an incredible job of incorporating various things you’d find in a karate dojo. The individuals you’re fighting with. And then we get into the yoga studio, and all that yields itself to comedy as well.
In situations where things were safe, I was definitely happy to do it. But man, oh man, I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m not grateful for my stunt double, Spencer Thomas. When safety is a concern, all it takes, you know, you lose one of your testicles and you find out you only got two more? (Laughs) You’re like, man, safety is now my prime concern. I’ll do whatever is asked of me, but when they want the stunt double to come in, Spencer’s my guy.
Paul Feig: Save the balls. That’s what we say. Save the balls.
John Cena: Yeah, I only got two left.
Simu Liu: You’re just down to two, huh?
Awkwafina: Great, awesome. Thank you for sharing.
Simu Liu: Wow. That’s rough.
The math’s not mathing. Three balls? Or is it four balls with a stunt double?
Simu Liu: He’s just built different, all right? Built literally different. He’s got a third nut.
And you, Simu?
John Cena: Simu’s a lot braver than me. Simu did mostly his own.
Simu Liu: Yeah, about 90 percent. I think my movements were a lot more straightforward. There were a couple of falls and things. I had an amazing stunt double, Will (Tang), who stepped in.
John Cena: Don’t let that smooth son of a bitch fool you. He’s an athlete. He’s totally gifted. He can do everything. He was taking the choreography and amplifying it.
Paul, you have quite the reputation for casting very talented and eclectic people in your movies. How did you go about getting this wild cast together?
Paul Feig: Well, when I do comedy, I’ve got people that I work with who I know are what I call “Money in the bank.” They can literally show up, they have one line, like “Oh, they went over there.” And I know they’re going to come in and make it into something else.
We had the amazing Holmes, who was our Uber driver, and Holmes and Taylor Ortega and Seann (William Scott) had all been in a show that I produced called Welcome to Flatch that was on Fox for two seasons, before we got cancelled. Thanks, Fox. And it was like a farm team for me of these new, up and coming comedy people.
Awkwafina: They were amazing. They were so funny.
Paul Feig: All so funny.
Awkwafina: Michael Hitchcock.
Paul Feig: Oh, Mike Hitchcock. Legend that he is. And Dolly De Leon who I saw in Triangle of Sadness, who was so great. I couldn’t believe we got her. I just like to have a deep team of really talented comedy people who are going to take what we have and make it something else.
And on the mention of the cast, you have a big pop culture figure in Machine Gun Kelly. Him playing an exaggerated version of himself is something I never knew I needed to see. What was he like on set?
John Cena: He was great. I was fortunate enough to have Machine Gun Kelly play a live serenade for a WrestleMania that I was in, so I had met him before. I thought he was spectacular because he didn’t take himself too seriously. He was providing jokes. He was very open to trying jokes. He was really great to work with on set.
Awkwafina: He truly was. He was improv-ing, he was super open and warm. And funny.
Well, we’re just about to wrap up, what can audiences look forward to with Jackpot!?
Paul Feig: I’ll jump in and say my goal with this movie and this cast was to make the most fun movie that people have seen in a long time. There’s a lot of fun things out there, but this is really dedicated to just making you laugh. But there’s still heart and emotion in there. I couldn’t be prouder of this movie, and I think it’s kind of exactly what we need right now.
Jackpot! is streaming on Prime Video from August 15th, 2024.
