No need for a crystal ball to guess the names of the Belgian directors’ champions at the cinema box office this year. With Bad Boys Ride or Die, led by the duo Will-Smith-Martin Lawrence, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are guaranteed to attract more spectators in 2024 than all the black-yellow-red productions combined. But it is true that the budget made available to them (around 100 million dollars) is also larger than that of all Belgian films.
A situation far from stressing them out. “We had funexplains Adil, very talkative, slumped on the sofa of a Brussels palace near the Grand-Place. In Hollywood, they sometimes run on autopilot. With our culture, as we are used to filming on small budgets in Belgium, we like to break the codes a little, push the limits, shoot more nostalgic sequences in the style of Tony Scott or Michael Bay, then innovate by inspiring ourselves social networks or video games. In Hollywood, experiments are viewed with suspicion, but as we are Belgian, we were allowed to try certain things (laughing). ”
Which ones, for example?
“Will Smith and Martin Lawrence notably wore steady cameras, specifies Bilal, hat on his head and in a facetious mood. They had to direct it themselves so that we had exactly the same vision as them. In this way, the viewer was immersed in the heart of the action, like in video games. This had never been done for a Hollywood blockbuster. At first, Will Smith thought it was cool. Then very heavy (laughing). He practiced for weeks, but in the end we only had one hour to record three takes.”
Between the two Bad Boys that you filmed, there was the Oscar ceremony with the slap of Will Smith and the strike in Hollywood. Did that change the atmosphere on set?
Adil: “The studio’s confidence never disappeared and the project was not put on hold. What happened happened, but Will is still a huge star and the movie still promised to be great. We were simply told that the budget remained the same as before, which is what we expected, since Sony is always focused on efficiency. I think the fact that they gave the green light when we were pushing for this film to be made as quickly as possible shows that they trusted him 100% with this project. ”
Billall: “I felt a lot of passion on set, more than for Bad Boys for Life. We felt like a united team willing to work together from start to finish. ”
Was there a lot of improvisation in terms of humor?
Adil: “There is a real bond between Martin and Will. During rehearsals, they created a lot of comical situations. But once it was validated and a secretary had put everything down on paper, during the shoots, they faithfully respected the script, because we had little time. ”
Are they good pilots?
Billall: “Will Smith loves cars, he’s a good driver, but I’m better than him (laughing). Sometimes I had to show them what I expected of them to crash the car properly (laughing). ”
Which scene was the most complicated to shoot?
Billall: “That of helicopter combat. We wanted the viewer to viscerally feel like they were in the cabin falling. It took us months of preparation to fine-tune all the visual effects in a setting that was constantly rotating. It’s scenes like that that I want to continue to box. It was really fun ! ”
Adil: “This sequence alone took us four days. Normally, in Hollywood, it takes two to three weeks in a film like Mission: Impossible. But preparation for the special effects began in June last year and was completed in May, just before the film was due to be delivered. ”
Do you know how many cars were scrapped for this production?
Adil: “Not that much. The budget was rather limited for this part. So, when a car was not too damaged, we reused it. Above all, there were a lot of explosions. We didn’t have the means of the Marvel films, but that’s no reason why it couldn’t be completely crazy and impressive on screen, with more humor. The desire was to go off the rails, with a funky and crazy version of Bad Boys 2 but less crazy all the same (laughing). ”
Did Jerry Bruckheimer encourage you to go even further in the spectacular side?
Billall: “It’s quite the opposite. What interests him are the characters, like Mike and Marcus, Jack Sparrow or Axel Foley. He focuses on them. We must therefore justify what we want them to do. Saying it’s cool isn’t enough. If he says it’s cool, then it’s OK (laughing). ”
Adil: “Some scenes were originally bloodier. As in the old Die Hard Or The lethal Weapon. This has a real impact, the villain seems more real. But Jerry Bruckheimer thought we were going too hard. When there was too much blood, Tarantino style, he had us remove it digitally. It’s true that sometimes we exaggerated (laughing). Michael Bay’s legacy had to be honored. When we shoot Rebel, it’s very realistic, almost documentary. Here, without falling into a superhero film, we know that the universe of Marcus and Mike does not exist. You have to respect certain codes of action comedy. The public does not come to watch a drama. ”
The title of this fourth part evokes James Bond or Fast&Furiousbut the film is full of homages to Steven Spielberg…
Adil: “We are big fans of it. In the alligator farm, the goal was to try to turn a small Jurassic Park, with lots of weapons, shootings. We grew up with films from the 80s and 90s. So, for the crocodiles, we mixed special effects and animatronics. As in the first Jurassic Park. It was extraordinary to be on set with all these alligators whose eyes you could even move. It was a childhood dream. ”
Billall: “I watched a lot of the making of his films. Spielberg was working with animatronics, so we decided to follow him. In the future, we would still like to use miniature replicas and play with lenses to find the right combination of digital and old school special effects. ”
Are you ready for Bad Boys 5 ?
Billall: “We could call it Bad Boys Right for Life (laughing). In our heads, there are already some ideas, but first we need to know the results of this film. If it’s a success, there will probably be an additional installment. We’ll see if they still want us. ”
What are your other projects ?
Adil: “Filming the sequel to Gangsta. Since 2018, problems related to cocaine have grown significantly. The subject is therefore very contemporary. It feels good to be filming here again to deal with important subjects. Then we’ll see what happens in Hollywood. ”
With a superhero movie in sight?
Adil: “Who knows ? We are waiting for an email from Kevin (Feige, for a draft Spiderman, editor’s note). If he tries to contact us, he knows where we are…”
Billall: “To say that when you think about where we were ten years ago is surreal. As crazy as Bad Boys Ride or Die In fact… “
And The Mommie ?
Adil: “It’s a big dream. We’re waiting to see if Universal wants to put together a sequel. In any case, if someone calls us, we won’t say no! Transposing films like Rebel to Hollywood would be nirvana, the ultimate stage, a bit like Oppenheimer. But for that, you have to have achieved quite a bit of success. We’re not there yet. That’s the end of the road.”
