Action director for John Wick spinoff 'The Continental' reveals behind-the-scenes secrets
"We were a little more dirty, gritty, visceral with things, not as polished," Larnell Stovall said
Larnell Stovall is an impressive action and stunt professional, having worked on movies like One Night In Miami and shows like Titans, but most recently he took on the role of action director for the John Wick spinoff series The Continental: From the World of John Wick (on Prime Video in Canada).
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The show's three episodes were released to very mixed reviews, including but not limited to the controversial involvement of Mel Gibson as the show's villain.
The Continental: From the World of John Wick is set in the 1970s and is a sort of origin story to understand how New York's Continental hotel, the assassin-friendly establishment from the John Wick film franchise, came to be.
Throughout the series, Stovall took a stylized approach to the action in the show.
"The thing I had to keep in mind was, you have to rein in the reality of the modern day versus the '70s style, which is what we were," Stovall explained to Yahoo Canada.
"The Continental being in the '70s, we found our voice, we found our style and how we wanted to present things. We were a little more dirty, gritty, visceral with things, not as polished, not as crisp and clean as the John Wick world. ... The '70s versus the modern day style, a little cheesiness to it at times too, whether it was how people kick, how people stood, how they dress as well. How do we fight in bell bottoms and sometimes tight jackets."
'Within the first 10 minutes, that can determine if the audience will stay'
In terms of being able to find that style and use the action sequences as a critical part of the story, Stovall stressed that it starts with the script and directors.
"It starts with the script because the script sets the tone, it sets the atmosphere, it sets the location as well," Stovall said. "Then it gives nice examples, a sense of what he or she envisions of how it should be executed."
"Such as, hey let's do this to stairwell sequence in Episode 1. Do your thing, but let's keep it under a minute. We don't want to stay too long. We want that to be crisp and get in and out. Just give me tension."
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In terms of the first episode, Stovall and episode director Albert Hughes knew they had a short period of time to really appeal to the audience with the expected action for a John Wick prequel series.
"We knew within the first 10 minutes, that can determine if the audience will stay," Stovall said.
"It's kind of like being given a little candy. But now let's say, OK here's the vegetables later, because now here's the story. [Ben Robson] was amazing, I've got to give him his props. He came in, I believe maybe three and a half weeks to train, to learn that sequence and then perform it."
But some critical moments in the series also came down to a little movie magic, particularly an important moment in the first episode of the series.
"Episode One, when Frankie [Robson], Winston [Colin Woodell] and Yen [Nhung Kate] are running up the steps trying to get away from the assassins, ... the whole idea was when they get up there that Frankie was going to hide, and then it was going to be an ambush and Winston was going to be the bait," Stovall explained. "That hallway wasn't very dark. So we couldn't hide Ben who's six-foot-four, that's a tall person to try to hide."
"So on a day, ... I had to pretend that when he shot upstairs, one of the bullets might have hit him. So when the assassins come up, I had him laying on the ground pretending that he was dead. So if you look at it, it's really quick, but the assassins check him. ... But then we see Frankie rise in the background. So it's like the old bait and switch thing, but it came across so well it looked planned. But that actually happened minutes before shooting."
When it came to what appealed to Stovall about working on The Continental, he said it was part challenge, part working on something with the reputation of the John Wick franchise.
"Four movies in, billion dollar franchise, huge fan base," Stovall said. "I like a challenge at the end of the day."
"Let's make sure we give the audience something memorable. But then also, let's make sure we give them something different. ... You don't want to be so complicated you don't know what's being presented in front of you. ... Because if you can just watch what the character's going through, you feel present, you feel involved and you remember what happened."
How to watch 'The Continental: From the World of John Wick'
All three episodes of The Continental: From the World of John Wick are available to stream on Prime Video in Canada, and on Peacock in the U.S.
