“I take a lot of influence from that”: Jason Statham’s Meg 2 Director Hails Steven Spielberg’s $476M Movie as Inspiration That Became First Hollywood Blockbuster
Jason Statham is one of those actors in Holywood who very well fits into the category of old-school-tough guy of the entertainment world. With an acting career that spans over a period of three decades, the British actor has been a prominent face in the billion-dollar action-drama franchise Fast And Furious.
Jason Statham’s Meg 2 is already creating waves with great VFX and breathtaking views of the mammoth aquatic creature. The plot of the Ben Wheatly-directed action-adventure movie deals with a research team that dives deep into the darkest depths of the ocean only to meet their unexpected fate when they are attacked by the gigantic aquatic creature.
Jason Statham’s Meg 2 Director Was Inspired By Steven Spielberg
During an interview with a media outlet, Ben Wheatly, the director of Jason Statham’s Meg 2 spoke about his movie and the inspiration behind it. He mentioned that his love for monster movies has made him watch Jaws almost every year. While talking about what inspired him to direct Meg 2, the director said-
“A lifetime of watching monster movies. It comes from, I think, being a kid and watching [Ray] Harryhausen’s stuff; watching Jason and the Argonauts and Sinbad and all those movies. I remember watching Jaws as a kid on TV, and that blew my mind.”
He further continued-
“In fact, I’ve probably watched Jaws every year since and always see new things in it. It’s not just the greatest shark film of all time, but one the greatest films of all time. So, I take a lot of influence from that. And then I really love the kind of 70s Godzilla stuff, then Shin Godzilla, and the current influence of legendary Godzilla movies. It’s all that stuff.”
Meg 2: The Trench features one of the largest and pre-historic sharks which is thought to have been extinct attacking a group of researchers who deep dive for an exploration project.
Meg 2 Director Ben Wheatly On Working With Jason Statham
Jason Statham’s Meg 2 is a sequel to the 2018 released Meg. The Fast and Furious actor has been associated with the franchise as Jonas Taylor a deep sea diver, who specializes in rescue. During an interview with Screenrant, director Ben Wheatly was asked about working with Jason Statham. The actor was also on board with the production team of the movie. He said-
“Yeah, exactly. He’s across the script. He’s across every aspect of the Jonas character. He’s also incredibly juiced into an understanding of action cinema, his own iconic image, and what makes a hero. What makes an audience love a movie and love an action film? So it’s great to have that kind of wealth of experience and intelligence on your side. It’s a wealth of knowledge.”
He further added-
“So, we’d work very closely on all that. It’s a big negotiation on set all the time, but it’s only because there’s so many voices who want to make the film as good as it can be. It’s the same with Wu Jing. He comes from that Chinese cinema background where they’re big talkers on set and all up for throwing a script away and doing something completely different. So there’s a lot of that kind of thing. But all in the service of making a better movie.”
The star-studded cast of Meg 2: The Trench includes- Jason Statham, Able Wanamakok, Sienna Guillory, Wu Jing, and Cliff Curtis.
Meg 2: The Trench is currently running in theatres across the world.
Source: ScreenRant
