Based on the way they all played and joked around during the film’s press junket, it kind of sounds like nobody had more fun with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare than the Ministry — or at least the actors who played them. The cast clearly enjoyed the production of the film, and seem to have bonded quickly while on set. Speaking with members of the cast in support of the movie, ComicBook.com asked about the process, and star Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) credited the direction of Guy Ritchie with helping to build bonds between the cast from the very first day on set.
According to Golding, the improvisational nature of Ritchie’s sets, combined with his decision to put the whole cast together in one of their earliest scenes, built an almost instant camraderie.
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“Our first day on set, actually, we were all in the same room at the same time,” Golding said. “So in that sense, it’s really great. Sometimes you get onto a project and you do a scene with him, you do a scene with him. But from the get-go, the energy, the creativity, the flow was there. And I think that really is down to Guy’s way of filming, and directing. We’re all kind of in the same pot. Half of us don’t know really, exactly what we’re doing, because his style is very much seeing the environment, seeing who he has in front of him, creating the dialogue. He understands what the script is, but the magic really happens there and then.”
Here’s the official synopsis for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare:
Based upon recently declassified files of the British War Department and inspired by true events, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is an action-comedy that tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials including author Ian Fleming. The top-secret combat unit, composed of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, goes on a daring mission against the Nazis using entirely unconventional and utterly “ungentlemanly” fighting techniques. Ultimately their audacious approach changed the course of the war and laid the foundation for the British SAS and modern Black Ops warfare.
Directed and co-written for the screen by Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, The Gentlemen, Wrath of Man), and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun: Maverick, Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare stars Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, Mission: Impossible – Fallout), Eiza González (Baby Driver), Alan Ritchson (TV’s Reacher), Alex Pettyfer (In Time), Hero Fiennes Tiffin (After series), Babs Olusamokun (Dune), Henrique Zaga (Beyond the Universe), Til Schweiger (Inglourious Basterds), with Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) and Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride).
Lionsgate presents, in association with Black Bear, a Jerry Bruckheimer Films / Toff Guy production. Screenplay by Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson and Arash Amel & Guy Ritchie. Directed by Guy Ritchie.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is in theaters now.
