Paul Feig is putting his own comedic twist on . The Bridesmaids director helms Jackpot!, a new action-comedy from Prime Video that stars Awkwafina (Katie) and John Cena (Noel). Like how The Purge gives American citizens freedom to commit any crime on one day per year, Jackpot! allows Californians to murder Los Angeles’s daily lottery winner in order to claim their multi-million dollar prize. Katie accidentally enrolls in the lottery and ends up winning the prize, and consequently is forced to evade money-hungry and bloodthirsty Los Angeleans. Noel, a freelance lottery protection agent, enlists himself to keep Katie safe in exchange for a percentage of her winnings.
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Paul Feig Details Jackpot!’s Action-Comedy Inspiration
Jackpot! had been in development since March 2023, originally under the title Grand Theft Lotto. Even though the original title is inspired by Grand Theft Auto, Feig told ComicBook that he was not influenced by that iconic video game franchise when designing Jackpot!‘s action setpieces.
“To me, it was much more inspired by Jackie Chan movies, and Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton silent comedies, The Three Stooges and all those kinds of things. Warner Brothers cartoons,” Feig explained. “I just wanted it to have this madness about it, but at the same time wanted it to be grounded in as much reality as you can have in an insane situation, so it’s not like people suddenly have the gift of flight or anything. This is down and dirty, like Hong Kong kind of action.”
The comedy side of Jackpot! emerges thanks to Awkwafina and Cena’s dynamic. Despite her fortune awaiting her, Katie wants no part of the lottery, and Noel similarly is not interested in bloodshed.
“The main character doesn’t want to be in the fight. That’s where the comedy for me comes from. That panic of like, ‘Just let me out of here! Let me out! I’ll defend myself any way I can to let this end,’” Feig continued. “Then yet on top of that there’s John Cena, who isn’t coming in like Rambo, but he’s coming in like a nice guy who wants to protect her but doesn’t want to hurt anybody at the same time. It just makes it really fun and good spirited in a way that I always want my movies to be, good-natured at the end of the day.”
Jackpot! arrives on Prime Video on Thursday, August 15th.
