Whyve you made a second one?
Theres all the fiduciary reasons for the studio.
For me, on a personal level, we were very fortunate.
The first movie did really well.
Honestly, I love working with Keanu and I love the crew that we had.
John Wickwe had no money, we had no time.
It was literally a fight to the finish, so it became very personal.
All these other projects felt a little diminished next to creating your own world.
I love working with Keanu, I love working in this world, I love my stunt team.
Keanu said Ill only do it with you and I said well Ill only do it with you.
That was just the attitude we went in with.
Was there a script, were there story ideas?
We had a bunch of notebooks with action design and set pieces.
Keanu had some character thoughts.
It was show up at the meeting and dump out your sack of notes and start going though it.
It was an arduous four months before we even had a script that we were willing to entertain.
When we walked into this Derek had ideas, we had ideas.
So it was a very collaborative process.
I dont think the script was ever written; we wrote scenes, we wrote acts.
It was a very slow and arduous process but it was very fun.
So in answer to your question, I think between Derek, Keanu and myself it was very collaborative.
And, this should be about fate.
Derek goes How about this thing called a marker?
Everyone kind of co-authored everyones ideas.
And probably a pretty good reason to do number 3.
The process is very, very involved.
Thats why its so personal and so you feel like youre fighting for your film and not somebody elses.
So, fight construction.
Your fights are really good.
I spent a lot of time on them.
Could you explain to me how you break them down?
Most stunt teams do the choreography.
Thats great but youve got to remember why it works.
They dont do enough analysis.
The moves are irrelevant, you’re able to choreograph the most elaborate fight.
you’ve got the option to do Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon choreography, but thats Michelle Yeoh.
The best way to fake being good is to be good.
Theres no way around it.
When you see Steve McQueen ride a motorcycle its cause he could fucking ride a motorcycle.
When you see Keanu sliding a car, thats Keanu sliding a car.
That is not something you’re free to learn on the day.
Thats 20 years of his life spent racing motorcycles and drifting cars and rally sports.
When you see him do judo its cause he spent a phenomenal amount of time doing it.
When you see that video of him shooting, that is not normal.
That is competitive shooting level.
He is not faking it.
So we go with that.
Thered be so many fucking edits and shorts because youre trying to hide things.
We all sit and watch Keanu do the routine and were like fuck, thats great!
Basically, I just cant step on my own dick.
Some directors scout a location once or twice.
Ill do it ten times and live there on my days off.
I dont let anybody sleep on my crew.
We go there over and over.
I bring Keanu over weeks early just to see the set.
Some actors who walk onto a set, they go Ah, Ive never seen the set before.
Keanu, he knows every pebble on the ground by that point.
So its making a commitment, making a decision.
Shooting a certain way, and then reverse engineering the whole lot.
The better Keanu gets in training, the better the choreography gets.
If I choreograph the whole thing first and then worry about training later, it doesnt work.
But well do it two weeks later.
Youre never gonna get there.
Then itll be, double, double, double, double.
And then guess how youve gotta shoot?
Youve got to shoot to hide your face instead of shooting a creative choice.
Keanus good, if I chose to shoot the whole thing as a wide master I could.
So the edits are my choice, theyre not because I have to.
Its because I choose a better angle, I choose a momentum building spot to cut.
Like, this action sequence sucks, how do I get it through?
Ive gotta get fast cuts.
Well, this bit wasnt timed right so the camera guy wasnt here so Ive gotta cut here.
I think most action movies today deal with fixing or hiding more than they do with creative choice.
And again, I think thats from misunderstanding the method behind good action.
Does that process make it more difficult to cast?
They did not spend eight hours in the gym a day.
They did not do their own stunts.
Im gonna call bullshit.
Cause Im the guy thats usually training them.
And no one can just walk off the street.
If I trained you for an hour you wouldnt walk for the next three days.
So you have to build up into that.
No one just goes into the gym for eight hours a day.
Keanu would build up.
Wed do a little jiu-jitsu, a little judo, a little driving.
So wed build up to five or six hours a day.
Shooting alone was four hours.
Just doing 2000 rounds.
And I have the video, I can prove it.
I can show Keanu doing it.
Cause its in the movie.
Theres no face replacement.
When you see Keanu throw guys, thats Keanu doing Judo.
So if thats the going thing of they do their…, prove it.
And its also a directors job to pay attention.
James Cameron does it great.
Spielberg does it great.
Fincher does it great.
Guy Richie inSnatchdoes it great.
I think Shane Black does a great job.
They tie the story into action.
The Wachowskis shoot their own action, they dont pan it off.
And finding a cast member thats going to endure that, cause theyre human beings.
And sometimes thats not what they want to do.
When it comes to choreographing action, what works in real life doesnt always translate to screen.
Do you feel a commitment to what works or what looks good on screen?
It depends on the movie, the project.
On this we want practical tactical, we call it.
If you didnt know anything about jiu-jitsu, it would make sense to you.
Thats why we like the throws.
Its very simple to see.
If I just do a death touch on you, that probably wouldnt make sense.
So we attempt to do the bigger moves that you get.
Pencil in the ear, I think you get, that could be bad.
Shot to the head, you get that.
Any of the throws, the tie-ups, or when he puts the knife in the heart.
Thats we we keep stabbing in the heart.
So we give a shot to ride the line that it made sense, practically.
you’re free to get into the grimmer nature of martial arts, this is what its for.
We tried to hold true to more combative martial arts, but in a fun aesthetic way.
Youve got to walk the line.
Is there anything you could tell me aboutHighlander?
Were still in early development.
So the trick is to, again, try not to trip over myself.
Dont over plot it.
And then reinvent the sword fight like we did with guns.
Thats the goal for that.
Again, were leaving it up to the audience.
If it did come about wed love to be a part of it.
I think its super cool, super fun, so hopefully itll work out.
And what is your favourite Jason Statham film?
Ive done seven Jason Statham movies!
Do I get to choose one that I was in?
Honestly, with Jason, I like the movieSafe, which is a movie we choreographed.
Chad Stahelski, thank you very much!
John Wick Chapter 2is in UK cinemas now.
