» L7 Interview: Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone talks about rounding up Hollywood’s greatest hard men for ultimate action movie The Expendables. Words: Glen Ferris
You’ve got to hand it to Sylvester Stallone. Not only is he still kicking ass and taking names at the age of 64 but for his latest film, he’s hit upon a brilliantly simple idea. The Expendables sees a band of mercenaries heading off on a mission to South America to topple an evil dictator and all of the major parts are played by the most iconic action stars ever to (quite literally) hit the big screen. Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Bruce Willis and even the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, all make an appearance in the film that has got movie fans chomping at the bit.
On first impression, this appears to be a big, bombastic action movie, but there does seem to be a moral message about redemption bubbling under the surface. Would you agree?
Sure. In this movie, or in Rocky or Rambo, it’s always about some mission – in Rambo, it was about the Burmese War and in Rocky it’s all about having some kind of recognition in your life – but I think the main theme in all those films is about redeeming your soul. Mercenaries, by and large, are cold-blooded killers; as Mickey Rourke says in his scene, ‘Don’t be like me, I did that and I have no soul left’. So what these guys, these mercenaries, do is go back to save just one person, not for money but for themselves, to save themselves. So it has a kind of spiritual signifier.
The most notable aspect of The Expendables is the phenomenal cast. Was it tough getting these hard men together for one film?
It took a lot of work. Even after five or six months I was still trying to get Arnold and Bruce together for that one scene. In total it took about seven or eight months. It took a while because the script kept changing [at one point Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, Forest Whitaker and Sir Ben Kingsley were all attached to the project but were dropped when the script went in a different direction]. I was just looking for tough guys, I wanted to get the toughest guys I could find and guys who could act too – finding that kind of cast takes a while.
“I’ve been making action films for 30 years but this one was the toughest. It was… hellacious”
Were you ever concerned that having so many tough guys in one film would spark a battle of egos?
Each of them are stars in their own right and need to be served equally. But I have to say they all came to the table and put their egos aside. Everyone was on board to give 100 per cent to the role. They made my job easy.
The film harks back to the explosive blockbusters of the ‘80s, all the stunts are real and there are virtually no CG effects. Was it a tough film to make?
I’ll tell you, it was far and away the toughest action film I’ve ever made. I’ve been making action films for 30 years and some really hard ones but this one was the toughest. It was grueling, the heat, the amount of constant battering of the bodies, the realism, it was… hellacious.
At the age of 64, you’re still making intense action movies. What drives you to keep fighting, shooting and blowing stuff up?
Usually at my age you’re out there fly-fishing somewhere in Ireland, so for me to keep on doing this and proving that it can be done I think may be inspirational for other people. If they watch this film and say, ‘You know what, that genre is still alive and if he’s still doing it then maybe I should give it a shot’. I’m trying to get the younger guys to step up and get these kind of films made because I know they want to. Hopefully if this film does well then we’ll see the new Charles Bronson and the new Clint Eastwood and we’ll start to see more physical films again.
The Expendables is in cinemas from August 20. Glen Ferris is the managing editor of www.screenrush.co.uk
