SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. But what about the arm that hefts the automatic weapon? Apparently -- and not shockingly -- that involves a lot more fun.
So reports Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar for The Queen, but is now mowing people down in the action comedy Red opposite big-screen tough guy Bruce Willis.
If Mirren's presence in Red sounds unexpected, that's the idea. Or as the playful 65-year-old actress says, running down the list of reasons why she took the role: "Not The Queen, Bruce Willis, evening dress, machine-gun "¦"
In the movie, Mirren stars as a retired CIA operative who finds herself -- alongside other agency retirees Willis, John Malkovich and Morgan Freeman -- targeted for assassination.
Clearly, as action romps go, the cast is decidedly high-end -- a point not lost on Willis, speaking to journalists at this summer's Comic-Con International.
"There was no way I could have imagined the richness of what a film could be that has a huge cast of characters in it when all those characters are played by actors you know and love and are already a fan of "¦ I was excited all the time. 'What? Who's in it? Oh.' Just exciting. One thing that's going to be talked about a lot more is just the phenomenon of having this many actors and this many movie stars who told a great story, an ambitious story, that's fun and funny and has action in it."
Also unusual? That there's not a Zac Efron or Justin Timberlake in the lot. But what the cast lacks in youth appeal, Mirren says, they make up for in gravitas.
"I would just say that as an older person, you bring a different energy to the piece and maybe it's the energy of wisdom and the energy of experience," she says. "I think that is the story of the movie as well. I think there is relevance among us."
Directing is Robert Schwentke, whose resume includes Flightplan and The Time Traveler's Wife. More than managing the cast, he was also tasked with juggling the story's shifts between humour and violence.
"The director has to hold the tone. We have six or seven tones in this movie," says producer Lorenzo DiBonaventura. "One person has to really hold onto that. When Bruce first decided to do the movie, we had conversations about that. Robert is not known for his comedy "¦ It was amazing when we saw the film put together that we were able to hold all those tones and it made sense."
Compared to that, Mirren says, the demands on her were relatively minor. "Shooting a gun was all I had to learn really."
Young ‘Red’ star old schooled
In Red, 38-year-old Karl Urban is the resident whippersnapper.
"This film explores that whole concept of old school techniques versus new school techniques," says the New Zealander, last seen as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in 2009's Star Trek.
The characters played by Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren "represent the way things used to be done. I play a character who's of the new breed of the CIA. You get to see those two different schools of thought go head to head."
His conclusion? "There's definitely something to be said for old school. Old school is cool school."
Cool, especially, he says, because Red gave him the opportunity to go toe-to-toe -- and fist-to-fist- with the Die Hard superstar.
"The most fun I've had in years was having the opportunity to throw Mr. Bruce Willis across the room and watch him smash into furniture so well," he says.
"This was a dream project in many ways. First off, the people involved. It is very, very rare that you get the opportunity to work on a project with so many extraordinarily talented people. Then in addition, it was the way the script was written: it's a character-driven film."
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