AMAZON
Photo Credit: MGM / Amazon Studios
Road House stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Dalton, an ex-UFC fighter trying to escape his dark past and his penchant for violence, in this adrenaline-fueled actioner. Dalton is barely scraping by on the reputation that still precedes him when he is spotted by Frankie (Jessica Williams), owner of a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. She hires him to be her new bouncer in hopes of stopping a violent gang, working for crime boss Brandt (Billy Magnussen), from destroying her beloved bar. Even five to one, Brandt’s crew is no match for Dalton’s skills. But the stakes get higher with the arrival of ruthless gun-for-hire, Knox (Conor McGregor). As the brutal brawls and bloodshed escalate, the tropical Keys prove more dangerous than anything Dalton ever faced in the Octagon.
The film also stars Daniela Melchior as Ellie, a local doctor who has an immediate connection with Dalton.
Rounding out the main cast are Joaquim de Almeida, as the corrupt Sheriff of Glass Key; JD Pardo, Arturo Castro, Beau Knapp and Catfish Jean, respectively, as Dell, Moe, Vince and Clyde, members of Brandt’s crew; B.K. Cannon as Laura, the roadhouse bartender; newcomer Hannah Lanier, as a local who befriends Dalton; and Lukas Gage and Dominique Columbus as Dalton’s fellow bouncers, Billy and Reef.
Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) directed Road House from a screenplay by Anthony Bagarozzi & Charles Mondry, story by Bagarozzi & Mondry and David Lee Henry; based on the motion picture Road House screenplay by Henry and Hilary Henkin.
Joel Silver, who produced the original Road House, returned to produce this action-packed reimagining of the cult favorite. JJ Hook, Alison Winter, Aaron Auch and Audie Attar served as executive producers.
The behind-the-scenes creative team was led by director of photography Henry Braham, production designer Greg Berry, editor Doc Crotzer, and costume designer Dayna Pink. Christophe Beck composed the score and Randall Poster was the music supervisor.
Amazon MGM Studios presents a Doug Liman Film, a Silver Pictures Production, Road House.
REIMAGINING A CULT CLASSIC
When director Doug Liman took the helm of the action film Road House, he was especially drawn to the character of Dalton. “I’m attracted to anti-heroes and here’s a guy who is so gentle and caring and, at the same time, so freaking lethal. He’s just a fantastic character.”
Jake Gyllenhaal was not only familiar with the first film but also had a connection to its legendary star. “I was a huge Patrick Swayze fan since I was a kid,” he relates, “and I had the honor of working with him on a film we did called Donnie Darko. We maintained a friendship for a number of years after that, and he was always so loving and so supportive. I come from the school of theatre, where you play roles that other people have played. The way Patrick defined the role and the essence of what they did was really special. We got to take that essence and reimagine it for the time we live in, so it is very different. Defying expectations is something I love to do and that, to me, is what Doug does best.”
It was Gyllenhaal’s long friendship with Liman that led to him taking on the role of Dalton. The actor affirms, “Doug and I have been friends for close to 20 year, and during that time, we’ve flirted with projects to potentially do together. We were having dinner one evening and he randomly said, ‘I just read this script for a new version of Road House,’ and before he finished his sentence, I said, ‘That sounds like a terrible idea. Let’s do it!’”
Gyllenhaal’s own first impression of the script was that it was “so much fun. I think that was the first thing Doug and I said to each other when we decided to make this movie: it has to be fun for the audience. But it also has massive scope and all the elements of action movies that I look for, with profoundly intense fight sequences. Doug is an expert at elevating these kinds of movies in a very particular way. And then you add Joel Silver into the mix.”
Joel Silver has produced some of the most successful films and blockbuster franchises in cinema history, but of all his many hits, he never imagined that 1989’s Road House would enjoy such enduring popularity. He attests, “I didn’t realize how much resonance it had, but as the years progressed, different people would tell me how much they loved that movie, so it has lived on in a big way.”
When the idea was proposed to revisit the story, Silver entrusted screenwriters Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry to re-envision Road House for contemporary audiences. Bagarozzi comments, “The original movie is something most people think of as just a romp and because of that, it’s easy to forget how truly compelling and complex the main character is. In fact, we think Patrick Swayze’s portrayal of Dalton is a major reason for its staying power over the years. We saw our job as an opportunity to explore him more and had a blast grounding that iconic figure in today’s world and telling Dalton’s story to a new generation.”
Mondry adds, “In our version of the character, he has no ego, no desire to be seen as cool. He’s sincere, caring, polite, with a deadpan sense of humor, but that isn’t to say Dalton isn’t dangerous…scary even at times. However, he tries very hard to avoid using his particular skill set. As he says at one point, it takes a lot to make him mad, but once he gets there, look out.”
“Anthony and Chuck really understand dialogue and story structure,” says Silver. “They crafted a very fun and very different version of Road House that brings the story into today in a fresh, interesting way with great characters.”
Although Silver had not previously worked with Liman, he admired the director’s films and says he was the perfect choice to take the helm of Road House. “Doug Liman is an incredibly talented director. I thought The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Edge of Tomorrow were fantastic movies. I love the way he can tell a story, and some of the action beats he created were unbelievable. The car chase in Bourne Identity just blew me away. I trust his vision; I trust his ideas. He’s everything a good director has to be.”
The admiration is mutual. “Joel is on a whole other level as a producer,” Liman notes. “I have never felt so supported in every way. He was an extraordinary partner on this journey.”
Silver was also largely responsible for something of a casting coup for the movie: getting real-life UFC champion Conor McGregor to make his acting debut as the deliciously villainous assassin, Knox. “Shout out to Joel, an OG legend of the game,” McGregor states. “People have been trying to get me on board in movies for a long time, and I’ve never jumped at it. But this one hit home. First of all, it’s in a roadhouse, a pub, and I’ve got one myself—the best damn roadhouse on the Emerald Isle of Ireland. And to work alongside Doug, Joel and Jake and all the cast and the team… I just couldn’t say no. I wanted to be part of it.”
Gyllenhaal recalls, “When Joel said, ‘I want Conor McGregor to play this role,’ I said, ‘Good luck.’ I just didn’t believe it could happen, but, sure enough, he pulled it off. Conor is a legend, and I was grateful and humbled to work with him and do fight scenes with him…and also equally terrified. We needed a character who you really felt could beat Dalton, and we got that in Conor’s performance as Knox.”
The fight sequences in Road House are pivotal to the action, and Liman’s wanted them to be as visceral as they are crowd-pleasing. “I started with the notion of, how can we reinvent the way these brawls are filmed to make them feel even more real?”
To accomplish that goal, the director turned to second unit director/stunt coordinator Garrett Warren and fight coordinator/second unit stunt coordinator Steve Brown. “I told them, ‘Let’s start from scratch and come up with a new way to shoot the fights.’
Silver remarks, “The film has sensational action, but it also has great humor, terrific performances and a beautiful exotic location. I think it has everything audiences want. It’s a movie that’s right for now.”
