Power Rangers Reboot Movie: Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, and Ludi Lin Interview

Heres what they had to tell us…

How were you cast for this project?

Ludi:We all have very unique casting stories.

Mine started way across the world.

I was in Malaysia filming something and I once drove into Singapore to visit a friend.

Got the casting call from my manager saying you got to tape this today.

And Im sitting in the cafe right now with my friend in Singapore.

My friend goes, I know the TV studio, next door.

So Im like, Yes, Ive got this.

A TV studio its perfect.

Its a broom closet with a table lamp as lighting.

And I go, Oh, nice.

The cameras out on set.

So, we use the cell phone, and we tape the audition.

And I didnt hear back.

He goes, They loved it.

The director wants a conversation with you on Skype.

So, I went from broom closet to an online Skype session with the director.

When I got the news, I was flabbergasted.

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Naomi:For me, I was just an actor trying to get a job.

I got sent the script through and I was intrigued.

Obviously, Power Rangers, images came to mind, things came to mind.

I actually first auditioned for the Yellow Ranger, for Trini.

It kind of shows how they were looking for characteristics as opposed to ethnicity or whatever.

So, I taped, and I had a Skype with the director Dean, and I wasnt sure.

He showed me images.

He was like, Look, this is about the kids.

This is about you, taking a character and giving it depth.

And thats what was awesome for me.

And, then I won it, so woo!

RJ:I was in London at the time I got the audition, shooting another project.

And he was like, No, no, no.

This one is bigger.

Lionsgate is putting it on.

I was like, Alright.

I got a really aggressive call from my agent the next day.

He was like, Why dont we have the cell tape?

I dont got no friends named Dean or nothing like that.

And they were like, The director from Power Rangers, and I was like, Oh, crap.

I hung up the phone or the Skype.

Ludi:Yes, Dean is our friend now, the director, hes become very close to us.

I actually tested for that, and I was like, Do you remember me?

And he was like, Um, no.

I actually agree with you, and that was actually a big part of my trust in him.

Again, its about these kids.

Its about their relationships.

And it has to feel real.

Even down to the hand-held aesthetic of what it looks like, its as if youre following them around.

Its very scrappy, you know.

Same way in that movie where they kind of banter and they bounce off each other.

Thats where I was like, Oh, he knows how to bring that out.

And thats exactly what he did with us.

So, that was his priority.

His priority was us bringing out the friendship and the reality of that.

Ludi:Project Almanac was a found footage film, but a sci-fi found footage film, you know?

He has a very specific vision in mind, and we believe in it, too.

RJ:As we were filming, we watched each other as we acted, right?

So it was like, I know exactly who you are and the character.

So, its like its no certain view of each character.

Its a lot barriers that are broken in this film.

Billy is very to himself and hes quiet and hes very evasive.

He doesnt like confrontation.

But then, under that, he wants to be around other people, but hes very shy.

He has a lot of things that he thinks about, like over-thinks.

Billys very weird, and I like my weird Billy.

Because he relates to everybody, just like every other character in the movie.

You know how some people are like, Well the pink this supposed to be this.

And, its like, What?

We literally all blew up the stereotype of what each color should be.

You guys will see in the movie.

I dont want to give it all away.

Naomi:No 17-year-old is just one thing, especially in this day and age.

Kids are into all sorts of things.

And that is what this movie is.

Its a coming-of-age story.

Yes, The Popular Girl.

However, is that who she is?

You get to see the geeky side of her.

Because, when you are a 17-year-old, you are figuring out who you are.

Thats the whole point.

So, for me, as a female as well, Im not just The Popular Girl.

No, Im just a 17-year-old girl, and and shes strong, shes sassy, and shes funny.

And all of us are smart in our own ways.

That was really important, I think, for each character.

Ludi:The message is about togetherness and how that completes each others weaknesses, you know complementary characteristics.

For example, Zack the Black.

He only finds that through other friends that he meets and once they get together.

I think it was a great surprise for everybody when Bryan Cranston was announced.

How did you guys receive this news?

Naomi:We found out like everyone else.

Again, I think it feels right that Bryan Cranston is playing Zordon.

Obviously, his involvement in Power Rangers stretches back to before this movie.

Billy Cranston was named after Bryan Cranston.

Ludi:Yeah, and after his scenes, everybodys jazzed.

And it really helps that hes excited about the film, too.

And what was it like working with Elizabeth Banks?

RJ:It was like working with the perfect martina.

She challenges you, just being on screen because shes so creative in her own mind.

So, its just like everything she does is just good.

Nothing she does is a bad decision.

Im like, When will you mess up?

It just doesnt happen.

She raises the bar so much that it makes all of us really good.

It challenges us as actors, which makes us better actors.

Its like, Alright, RJ.

You know how Elizabeth isnt afraid to make a decision?

You know that really good one you had earlier?

Ludi:What you said before… Like a martini.

She kind of intoxicates you.

She frees you, in a way.

Naomi:I remember watching on screen.

I went to watch Beckys scene.

I was kind of like a support because Becky was like, Nay, can you come with me?

It was her first scene.

Did you see the image of her?

That was the scene that I watched.

She plays Rita Repulsa.

She has this wonderful mix of being funny, insane, beautiful, dangerous all at the same time.

Shes fearless and she made fearless decisions, and she made the movie better.

Can you talk about that?

RJ:Its really cool.

Even for the audition, when we got the breakdown for the characters, there was no ethnicity column.

They just wanted to see actors, you know?

Im like, No, how bout Ludis a great actor who knows what hes doing?

We all have these things that we bring to these characters.

Naomi:I think it was a conscious decision to be diverse.

However, where you disperse that diversity was not necessarily [a conscious decision].

However, it wasnt specific to the character.

It was just about the character, which I personally think was the best way to go about it.

Ludi:You see all these movies of white men saving the world all the time.

I love the diversity because, for me personally, I was born in China.

I speak fluent Mandarin.

The message is: we need to come together to create something lasting and positive.