Mel Gibson and Cole Hauser star in Panama, an edge-of-your-seat action thriller set during the political upheaval of 1989 Panama. When the U.S. is on the brink of invading Panama, a former marine (Hauser) is hired by a CIA operative (Gibson) for a top-secret arms trade mission. Alone and among the most dangerous arms dealers, Becker learns the true nature of political power.
Crank and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance helmer Mark Neveldine returns to the director's chair for the movie, and we recently asked the filmmaker some questions about the project over email.
Explaining what it was like to work with veteran actor Mel Gibson and newcomer (and Miss Universe winner) Kiara Liz, Neveldine also reflects on the experience of making this movie in the midst of the pandemic and breaks down a key action scene. You can find what he told us about his time in the Marvel Universe and his future hopes for Ghost Rider in the MCU by clicking here.
Check out the interview below and watch Panama in theaters, Digital, and On Demand on March 18.
Panama marks the first time you've stepped into the director's chair since 2015; why was this the project that led to you deciding to return to filmmaking?
Cole and I talked on the phone for a couple of hours. He wanted to do something fun and we knew we had very few days to pull this off, so we accepted the challenge. It just seemed like a super fun movie to do in Puerto Rico. I talked to Mel next and he had a bunch of ideas for the dialogue and knew we had to do this on a tight schedule, so he helped streamline some of the dialogue. Everyone was just excited to do something since most productions were shut down, so I decided to take a break from coaching hockey and dive back in. It was December 2020 during the height of covid and everything was surreal.
The U.S. invasion of Panama lasted a little over a month, but what was it about the specific period this story is set during that made it exciting to you as a filmmaker?
1989. I was in high school at the time. I love the 80’s. I thought why not make a fun 80’s action film that had some of the vibrancy from that period while dealing with a dark subject matter.
What was it like collaborating with Mel Gibson, particularly when he's an actor who has also directed?
Mel was great. He was very supportive of me and the time constraint (14-day production). He really spent time working on the dialogue and VO, and he came to enjoy the fun. He took the pressure off of us.
On the flip side, you have someone like Kiara Liz here - who is fantastic - taking on her biggest acting role yet. How does that director/performer dynamic differ with someone less experienced?
Kiara is a natural. Her audition felt authentic. And we couldn’t help but cast her. We all felt like going with a seasoned name here would take away from achieving this 1989 Panama vibe. My idea was to remove "acting," just let Kiara respond. Cole was an incredible partner for her and they used her freshness as a way for "Becker" to see this new world he was enmeshed in.
The movie features a really intense motorbike sequence and I loved the way that was filmed both from the point of view of the riders and with close up shots of the bikes themselves; can you talk us through constructing that action scene?
I knew we had no time. I wanted to get GoPro's on the bike to "feel" the adrenaline in the scene. The rest of the time, I grabbed a camera and went along for the ride. It was VERY helpful that Cole is a killer rider.
What would you say the toughest day working on this movie was? Was it as intense to make as what we see in the finished product?
Everyday. Because we did it so quickly. But I guess the first day because we had to see how crazy we really were to pull this off.
I'm guessing COVID presented its fair share of challenges in Puerto Rico too?
The testing and protocol really made this like a 10-day shoot from losing all of the hours. It wasn’t easy. But making movies never is. That doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Because man, it was fun.
There's a great line in the film that's also in the trailer: "There’s nothing more rock and roll than taking out the bad guys for the red, white and blue." It's also one that seems to say a lot about Stark, but given how the conflict played out and parallels to what's happening in the world today, what's your take on where someone like him falls in the realm of "good guy" and "bad guy"?
I decided to write that line to let people know this is the tone and take and feeling of 1989. America. RocknRoll fun. Guns, drugs, sex, and very little redemption, but you better pick a side or you’re just get rolled over.
Panama arrives in theaters, Digital, and On Demand on March 18, 2022.