Back in Action director Seth Gordon spoke to ComingSoon about the new Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz Netflix movie. The Horrible Bosses director discussed the film’s opening plane scene, shared a spin-off idea, and more. It is now streaming.
“Years after giving up life as CIA spies to start a family, Emily and Matt find themselves dragged back into the world of espionage when their cover is blown,” says the logline for Seth Gordon’s latest movie.
Tyler Treese: I wanted to ask about the opening scene, which is on a plane. It really starts the movie off with a bang and introduces the characters so well. How key was it really knowing that execution? Because it really gets viewers locked in from the get-go.
Seth Gordon: Well, thank you. That’s a compliment, and some of the notes I got from the studio, like a year ago would make you think it might not even be in the movie [laughs].
There’s a lot of visual effects in that sequence. So, it took a long time to evolve and build to that point. It was originally written as a train sequence that we were gonna shoot in Italy, but then I got the note from the studio, like, pretty late in the game. Two weeks before we’re gonna start shooting — “No train, think of something else.”
So I pulled that out in the craziest of ways. Just like staying up all night trying to come up with something that was at a level where it could hook you. And I’m really glad you say that. It did. Where after we’ve established that these characters are connected and they’re gonna have a kid, then we put ’em into this crazy situation. So I love that it worked for you.
Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz have worked together twice before, so they already had that chemistry locked in. How much does that help you when you don’t have to worry about the talent meshing?
It’s massive. I mean, that’s such a big deal to not have to start at sort of ground zero on anything with their, with their chemistry. And I feel like that is very authentic to their real friendship, the way they come across in this movie. I feel like in the other movies they’ve been in, they didn’t actually get the opportunity to play like that. They were enemies obviously in Any Given Sunday at a point.
In this one, I feel like we got to show this other side of how they connect with each other. And I loved it. Every day was this joy and journey. [It was] also me trying to adjust scenes so that we could give them the room to operate like that. Because there’s half the movie where it’s like action, throw a punch, cut [laughs]/ Where we’re doing that all the time.
We talked about ’em like eddies in a river. Where they can vibe in a scene or a space and riff and play because I feel like it’s kind of magic when they do. You don’t see that kind of chemistry very often, and it’s something really special about it. And I think it’s because they’ve been friends for so long and because like they both just have it.
There are a lot of great set pieces in this, but it’s also just fun seeing them on screen together. They really have a spark like you mentioned. Jamie is so funny, and you have a funny script here, but I swear he could read anything and just any line of dialogue and just make it funny. Can you speak to his eye of comedy? Because there’s nobody else like him.
He’s a comic genius. I think it actually starts with him being a musical genius and just like his ear, which is I think connected to how he’s a mimic and can do anybody’s voice. I’m terrified of the time when he’s gonna pull out one of me. [laughs]
But he’s just incredible. And I guess I was just hoping to showcase that whenever I possibly could. And you’re right, you could give him the phone book. He could kill it with just that. And there were times where even like there’s this scene in the kitchen where he’s saying Russian things, right? Phrases in Russian because because the daughter witnessed him talking to air conditioning guy.
I was just off camera going like, “Dasia. Sputnik,” right? And he would say the exact same thing I just said, but it was hilarious. You know what I mean? He would just take it and put a little spin on it. A little turn. It’s just having the touch. I don’t know, really. Like, it’s just amazing to be around. It’s just genius at work.
You’ve got so many stars in this film, such a great cast. But who really stole the movie for me, it was the character of Nigel played by Jamie Demetriou. He’s just so funny in this. How is it getting to use him throughout?
He’s my son’s favorite character too. And all his friends. Nigel is a super late addition to the movie. Like, we had the Ginny character who is actually inspired by my mother-in-law. And Nigel was just…
It was like a lightning bolt struck me and I was like, “we need to have this other kind of dynamo in that in environment who is like… Well, like in chess. He’s like the horse. His moves are just unexpected and different from everybody else. And I had seen Jamie Demetriou in Fleabag years ago, and he just stuck with me because he was so good. And it’s like every choice felt pure and true and real. And he and I really connected over King of Kong. He was a big fan of King of Kong.
I guess I skipped a part, which is I wrote a part for him before I met him and without asking [laughs], which is Nigel, and then like, miraculously, we got him to be in the movie, and he was perfect for it. I don’t know who else could have played that, honestly. He just killed it and talked about a mile a minute, tons of ideas. If I tried to write every single thing down that he said, the script room [would be] so long. I would’ve gotten studio notes, whatever.
But he was at every single breath, like innovating, adding just in the funniest ways, like every little thing. So I was just blessed to have him. I don’t know what a way to say it.
Yeah, he’s great. I would totally follow Nigel in his own spy movie in the future. He’s just so funny.
Yes. Spinoff, I don’t even know. And hopefully with Glenn [Close], too. I think they would kill it. I’d watch that for sure.
You recently directed the first two episodes of The Night Agent, which became the biggest thing on Netflix. How satisfying was it kicking it off with Shawn Ryan?
Oh, he’s a killer. Like Shawn Ryan’s unbelievable, so talented. Just an assassin. Like I had read the spec pilot that he wrote before we took it to Netflix. I was totally hooked, and I think it’s actually really cool that Netflix allowed us to cast it with some discoveries. So it’s not like packed full of people everyone knows already and it proved itself ’cause they were so good, you know? And the next season’s next week. I’m excited for people to see that. It’s cool.
Thanks to Seth Gordon for taking the time to talk about Back in Action.
