Hit Man Director Richard Linklater Reveals How Much of Netflix Movie Is a True Story

Hit Man is based on the true story of Gary Johnson.

By Jamie Jirak

Hit Man is now playing in select theaters before the film heads to Netflix this weekend. The new film was directed by Richard Linklater (The Before Trilogy, Dazed and Confused) and stars Glenn Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Twisters) as Gary Johnson, a hitman who enters into a romantic entanglement with a potential client (played by Andor's Adria Arjona), only to find out that the romance could be more dangerous than any job he's ever taken on. Powell co-wrote the film with Linklater, and the script is based on a true story that was first told in a Texas Monthly article by writer Skip Hollandsworth (Bernie). ComicBook recently had the chance to ask Linklater how the real-life Gary Johnson influenced his direction and narrative choice.  

"Oh, that's a good question. You know, I got to know him a little bit," Linklater began. "I just think this movie is so much his point of view, not only of her but just kind of the world, everything. So yeah, it influenced it a lot. You know, what I knew of him personally and what we gather from his life and everything. He had that view."

"But I think he'd be bemused by this movie where we took it is far beyond his own life," he continued. "I mean, the article about him ends when he lets her off. So everything from then on is this little thrill ride we take you on. So I don't know, it's pretty funny. But yeah, we're all here for him in a way, you know."

You can check out our interview with Richard Linklater at the top of the page.

What Is Glenn Powell's Next Film?

Hit Man isn't the only project Powell has coming out this summer. The actor is starring in Twisters, the long-awaited sequel to the 1996 classic. You can read the description below:

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"Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Cooper, a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. She is lured back to the open plains by her friend, Javi (Golden Globe nominee Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. There, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens (Powell), the charming and reckless social-media superstar who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew, the more dangerous the better. As storm season intensifies, terrifying phenomena never seen before are unleashed, and Kate, Tyler, and their competing teams find themselves squarely in the paths of multiple storm systems converging over central Oklahoma in the fight of their lives."

Hit Man comes to Netflix on June 7th. Twisters is set to land in theaters on July 19th.  

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