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*** 2:00 p.m. ET Power Rangers/John Wick Discussion will have updates located below ***
We’re kicking things off with a great intro as the cast comes out. First is Dean Israelite the director followed by Ludi Lin who plays the Black Ranger, Naomi Scott the Pink Ranger, RJ Cyler the Blue Ranger, Becky G the Yellow Ranger and Dacre Montgomery the Red Ranger.
MODERATOR: To Dean – What can people expect from the movie?
Dean: I grew up with the Power Rangers and I wanted to make a movie about growing up. I wanted to make this a grounded character driven origin story. One that is set on an amazing adventure. I wanted the characters to be real and relatable as they go on this adventure. I also wanted to make sure we payed respect to the franchise we love, but update it for a new audience.
MOD: To Dacre – What was it like slipping into the costume?
Dacre: Anyone can say being a superhero can bear a lot of responsibility, and I’m taking that to heart. We all put in 150% on this and we really do hope it resonates.
MOD: Who pulled the first muscle?
Lot of people pointing fingers, but everyone seems to say Becky.
MOD: What was the training like?
Becky: It was a lot on our bodies. But our stunt doubles helped us a lot in training so we could do as much as we could.
Naomi: There were a few accidents. When i was training, and for the first time I did something, I punched someone in the mouth and made them bleed. I bled too though!
RJ: That was just blood on your knuckles.
Ludi: It’s like what Becky said, our team was such a great support system and I felt like we were going to do some amazing things when we saw all the rigs.
MOD: What was your favorite move?
RJ: I love to run away. But Billy loved to run away with strategy. My favorite move to do now is this thing called an axe kick. I cant do it with these jeans on. I’ll show you with my fingers. The reason it’s my favorite because I’m already tall and it makes me feel taller. I loved that about this character. We cant fight but we can look like it!
MOD: Tell us about the zords! Which ones will we see? Dacre tell us everything.
Dacre: The zords that make an appearance in the film are amazing. We got to use flight simulators that were locked in a little pod. They’re HUGE things. It takes on the nature that the big Marvel/DC films are doing with these big epic brawls.
Dean: What was important to me was that it feels like these guys were IN the zords and driving them. We build the pods and everything. It was like being in a roller coaster for 12 hours at a time. These guys are reacting as live as possible.
Lin: We felt the physicality and I didnt realize Dean did it on purpose. But come on, controlling a huge machine for the first time SHOULD feel like that. But that last shot of the film which I had was so cool.
Dean: Ludi had the last shot of the whole movie. He’s a big tough person in all the good ways. The most emotional part of the movie is him getting down off his zord and starts crying…because it was the end of the movie. I had to walk away because I almost started crying too.
RJ: It was very emotional. It wasnt because I was emotional, it’s because I was hurting. These things dont have air bags. I left with a lot of bruises.
Becky: It’s cool because every zord moves differently. Naomi is easy because her’s was gliding, but mine kept pouncing like a tiger!
Dean: I heard Becky praying silently to herself in spanish.
Becky: I just wanted it to be over!
MOD: Tell me about working with Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa
Becky: It was incredible. I learned a lot from her. She takes full responsibility for every decision of her character. We got to collaborate and it was a lot of fun. When she was in costume, she was someone we FEARED.
MOD: We have a message from Banks!
Banks: Thanks so much for being here! Sorry I couldn’t be there, and instead of sending Goldar or putties, here is a first look at the Teaser trailer!
—- Airing the trailer —-
MOD: That’s just our first look, what else can you show us?
Dean: This is just a teaser! You’re not seeing putties, zords, etc. It’s all coming! Alpha 5, Zordon! The space ship! GOLDAR!
Crowd screaming for Green Ranger.
MOD: Fan Q&A time
Q: What is the favorite character trait for each of your characters.
Ludi: I think Zach is charged and always amped up and ready to go.
Naomi: I think Kimberly has a maturity about her which I respect.
RJ: Billy is whole hearted in every situation.
Becky: Trini is independent which is awesome. Even as an loner she owns it.
Dacre: Jason is empethetic which is what makes him want to have a relationship with the other characters.
Ludi: Dean played Alpha 5 for a while!
RJ: I thought they were going to cast him! And everyone should see Dean’s sneaker collection.
Q: What was it like when you first morphed
Dacre: Well it happened towards the end of the shoot and there was a lot of pressure leading up to it. It feels just right and when it happened it couldnt have been at a better time. It was just so right, and epic.
Ludi: I had a worry because those are some big shoes. But the coolest thing about the movie is that anyone can be a hero.
Becky: It’s so true, I feel like we grew up a lot on set.
Q: How did you build the team relationship on and off camera
Becky: Dacre really took on that leader role. He invited me in when I was cast with some great energy. We had a Whatsapp room going which was really welcoming.
Ludi: I want to encourage people to mee their friends in person because I had VERY different impressions of my cast members before joining.
Becky: Everyone thought I was going to be mean.
MOD: Can you just strike a pose together before we let you go?
—- Cast posing for a photo —-
HERE COMES JOHN WICK!
MOD: This panel will show a lot of violence, some language, and well…a lot of guns. Get ready. If that’s not your thing, maybe you should leave. Nobody is judging you to your face. Now its time to talk about how our favorite hit man is back.
Featurette shown: “We didnt kow the audience would embrace this movie. When they did, we were thrilled. We never thought we’d be doing a John Wick 2.” Reeves says it’s very comfortable to get back into the suite. He keeps gunning, keeps trying until he gets what he wants or before he shoots you in the face. Common says, he’s done a lot of action films but this one is different. It’s more calculated. The footage shows a lot of the flming as they elaborate on the shots being made. Steady cam, with lots of action. LOTS of Car-Fu in this. John isnt just a crazy assassin, he’s a great assassin.
Chad Stahleski, director comes out first. Producer Basil Iwanyk is next, screenwriter Derek Kolstad follows. Ian Mcshane is back! Out comes Common! Last but not least…KEANU!
MOD: Keanu – what’s it like coming back?
Keanu: Well we didnt think we’d get this chance but because of you, here we are. I mean look at the people on this stage. I couldn’t wait to put the suit back on.
MOD: Chat lets talk about what we can expect stuntwise.
Chad: Just like the character, we tried to build the sequences so that John is a driven force of nature. There was gun-fu, and many martial arts to mention a few.
MOD: Ian, you had john’s back and thank you.
Ian: Well John is my favorite assassin. Winston runs this hotel and you can’t do anything naughty there. He’s got some special affinity for John though so its ok.
MOD: What is your character doing this movie?
Ian: I’m still running the hotel! Everyone else is dead! I havent seen any of it, but I know I had a wonderful time filming. It’s more of the same, but more and better.
MOD: When I hear “more” I think of Common. Tell us who your character is and more.
Common: First of all, I was super excited to be a part of the John Wick movement. When i saw the first one I thought, man that is some cool sh*t. Everything I like about movies was in that first one. So when I got the call I begged them to let me in. Chad said I had to get my fighting skills up but I was ready for it. This is the hightest i’ve been when it comes to action and fighting. I really learned and enjoyed working with Keanu because he’s the champ, he’s the man and i’m reaching for that. Im not 100% a villain but there is a disagreement that leads to some stuff.
Keanu: There is a thin line between love and hate.
MOD: What brings John out of retirement?
Derek: When we did the first one, we alluded to scenes and characters that we didnt get to see. This movie takes place a week after the first one. Four days actually.
MOD: Basil, can we talk about the new dog?
Basil: The first question i got when I told people we were doing Wick 2 was “will you kill the dog again?” We kill about 80 italians in the movie and you’ll see what happens to the dog. Thats all I can say.
Ian: There will be a new heading at the end “No real Italians were hurt in the making of this film.”
MOD: Do you have something to show us?
Keanu: We have a teaser trailer for you!
—Trailer airs—
The room goes WILD. Laurence Fishborne set the room on fire.
MOD: Chad can you talk about the assassins that join and the Matrix reunion?!
Chad: We all loved the world of assassins. We love characters and character actors and so thats how we get Laurence. We worked together on the Matrix trilogy and his role was written with him in mind. Laurence bumped into Keanu and said he loved the first film. After a few emails, it happened.
MOD: Questions from the internet – will we get more backstory about his secret society?
Keanu: Yeeeeees? We learn a bit more about the world of the Continental. Common is a part of that world. Ian’s role gets a little more international. We go to Rome and get introduced to a new layer with a group called the High Table.
—Trailer airing one more time—
