‘Ballerina’: Ana de Armas faces Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick’ spinoff
Ana de Armas plays a dancer-turned-assassin on a mission of revenge and Keanu Reeves makes an appearance as John Wick in the action movie “Ballerina.”
“Dogs, gym, John Wick.”
This is a pretty normal day in the life of Chad Stahelski, which is “all good” with the “John Wick” director, one of the creative honchos of the action-movie franchise.
Fans get a view inside that world like never before with the new documentary “Wick Is Pain” (available to buy May 9 via Apple TV, Amazon and other on-demand platforms). In it, star Keanu Reeves and Stahelski take the audience on a candid journey through “Wick” mythology, the films’ physical toll on Reeves, and the tumultuous period when the original 2014 flick almost turned into a “complete catastrophe.”
“Wick Is Pain” showcases the franchise’s tight-knit community and familial atmosphere, but also is honest about the difficult times. Stahelski, for example, discusses how he separated from his then-wife, stunt coordinator Heidi Moneymaker, when making the first “John Wick” (they later divorced) and also butted heads with uncredited co-director David Leitch.
Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY’s movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox
“There’s really not a job we’ve ever been on that hasn’t had some kind of confrontational element, but that doesn’t make it bad,” Stahelski says. “And that’s the whole thing with ‘Wick Is Pain’: It’s the pain we choose. Like, yeah, it’s going to be tough, but the tough is what makes it great.”
Reeves and Stahelski chat about the best “Wick Is Pain” revelations:
Keanu Reeves starred with a stuffed beagle in the crucial ‘John Wick’ scene
Arguably, the most important moment of the first “John Wick” isn’t an explosive bit of “gun fu” or even Reeves being cool as the feared hitman. It’s where Wick tearfully holds his murdered puppy – a gift from his beloved late wife (Bridget Moynahan) – before going after the culprits with an unholy vengeance.
“Wick Is Pain” explains how filmmakers fought to include the scene and also how they crafted it, from a close-up of the blood trail to showing Wick’s anguish. “To have that moment of grief was really fun for me to play,” Reeves recalls.
Stahelski explains there was “a little bit of concern” about how it would work. “Keanu in pajamas all bloodied up, you have a not-very-convincing stuffed animal, and it’s supposed to be literally the transformative scene of the movie,” the director says. “No one thought it was going to be that emotional,” and he felt better when realizing “it’s not going to be funny in a bad way. This is going to be heartbreaking. And we’re like, ‘OK, we’re good. Let’s go kill some people.’ ”
The unsung hero of the ‘John Wick’ franchise? Eva Longoria
Some of the most harrowing moments in “Wick Is Pain” come as filmmakers work to finish the indie original movie. All the studios say no to distributing it – Lionsgate ultimately came around – and when financing falls apart at the last minute, they have to find $6 million. Producer Basil Iwanyk finally comes through 36 hours before deadline with some cash from Eva Longoria.
“To be brutally honest, I didn’t know,” says Stahelski, who, alongside Leitch, found out about their savior 24 hours before going to meet her. “It was a bit of a shock to us. We’re like, ‘So sorry, we would’ve sent you a basket of cookies or something.’ She’s been a friend and a producer ever since.”
Adds Reeves: “Thank you, Eva. Again.”
Why are those ‘John Wick’ stunt scenes so cool? The plug guns and trained pooches help
The documentary leans into the action and stunts of the “John Wick” movies in every way. It begins with Stahelski going back to his origins as a double for Brandon Lee in “The Crow” and later showcases various stunt people who’ve been on the business end of Wick’s weaponry in the movies. “Wick Is Pain” also details innovations that have propelled the franchise, like the extensive use of “plug guns” in close combat scenes for safety and practicality starting in “John Wick: Chapter 2,” and deep dives into how they pulled off sequences such as the attack dogs in the third movie (and how they kept stray cats safe from those pooches).
“There are certain elements where action is really a cornerstone of storytelling,” says Reeves, who finds it “very cool” that there’s finally going to be an Academy Award for best stunt design beginning in 2028.
While “we’ve done pretty good without one,” Stahelski agrees with Reeves’ perspective. “I mean, I think we’re kind of the last ones” to get Oscar love, he adds with a laugh. “So if that has a synergistic effect to bring more attention to moviemaking as a whole, that’s pretty awesome.”
When John Wick is in pain, so is Keanu Reeves
“Wick Is Pain” earns its name by following Reeves through the action scenes that everyone loves – and the aftermath where the 60-year-old actor has to take a minute following a grueling fight or stunt. “When you see Keanu in pain on screen, it’s probably for real,” his “Wick” stunt double Jackson Spidell says in the documentary.
With a fifth “John Wick” in development, Reeves is still wrapping his head around what that might entail. After 2023’s “John Wick: Chapter 4” (where our hero seemingly died), “I didn’t go to the gym for over a year,” the actor reveals. “In terms of the future of John Wick, the book isn’t closed on that chapter, but it’s definitely a chapter that is needing some time to think about.”
Stahelski is also “still basking in the glory of finishing No. 4,” he says. But it’s “been fun to dip our toe back into other stories,” including upcoming projects like an animated prequel and the TV series “John Wick: Under the High Table” – in addition to the upcoming spinoff “Ballerina” (in theaters June 6) starring Ana de Armas. “We’ll kind of use (those) as a little bit of a sketchbook to try out some of our ideas and see where we go.”
