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“There’s no way Brad Pitt is in this movie,” they recalled thinking the day before he was set to shoot his cameo.
The cast and crew making “The Lost City” certainly had their work cut out for them when they got set up in the Dominican Republic to shoot the action-adventure film starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum.
And while Sandra’s hairdresser helped secure a cameo from Brad Pitt — the actors agreed to bit parts in each of their upcoming films, with Bullock appearing in “Bullet Train” later this year — the “Lost City” directors Adam and Aaron Nee had a hard time believing he’d actually show up for filming.
“Right out of the gate we were like, ‘No way we’re going to get Brad Pitt to be in this movie,’ so we talked about a lot of people,” Adam told Reporter Door ahead of the film’s release, when asked if anyone else was considered for the small role of Jack Trainer, Bullock’s would-be rescuer in the film.
“Then when it started to become real, we were on set — he started shooting like week three — the day before we’re not believing he’s going to be there,” Adam continued. “There’s no way Brad Pitt is in this movie. And then he showed up, he was so game and we blew up cars behind him on Day 1 to initiate him.”
Pitt’s scene was actually a pretty tricky one to film, thanks to the explosive stunt work involved, explained Aaron.
“For Brad’s first day, we have him and Channing pushing Sandra Bullock in a wheelbarrow with two cars exploding behind them,” he recalled. “We got one shot at it, the sun is going down, we knew that if we get this shot, everybody will go, ‘Great shot’ and if we don’t, our career is over.”
Thankfully, they nailed it, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing on set — especially while filming at the extensive jungle base camp for villain Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe). It’s here where Bullock’s character is initially held captive, leading to the aforementioned rescue attempt from Tatum and Pitt.
“I gotta tell you, this is some insider information, but when we were shooting Fairfax’s camp, it was so hot and the camp is so big and so the bathrooms are on either side of the thing,” explained Adam. “And this happened to be when half the crew got an amoeba so it was really tough times of people running to and fro to survive on set. I think that was a good symbol of working in the jungle on a big movie.”
That’s something Bullock also opened up to Reporter Door about, saying they “had an epidemic” on set. “Hundreds of our crew, we all went down with some parasite — then there were IVs out of our arms and we almost lost our first AD,” she explained. “He was in the hospital, other people were in the hospital. We became very careful.”
While the set was careful when it came to health, stars Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Patti Harrison and Oscar Nunez told Reporter Door they were given a lot of freedom when it came to bringing their characters to life. Randolph and Harrison are part of the publicity team for Bullock’s author in the film, while Nunez joins the fray mid-way through as Da’Vine attempts to track down her kidnapped client.
Though they may be supporting players, they all get moments to shine — and, according to the trio, the directors were “open to improv” on set.
“It was cool. The Nees are really funny, they both have great senses of humor, they’re both like really witty,” said Harrison. “So it was really fun and there was a lot of opportunities to discuss if we had any joke ideas.”
“It was a very nice environment. They created a nice environment, it was very friendly,” added Nunez.
And, should this first movie be a success — and fingers crossed it is — the three are all down to return for a sequel. In fact, Bullock recently stated she’d put an end to her sequel ban should the right script come along for a “Lost City” sequel — something which was news to their ears.
“We got a job, y’all!” exclaimed Joy, while Harrison added, “When she said that, did she say, I promise?”
“I don’t know where they would go, but I love so much seeing this cast together that it would be a delight to see them together again,” said Aaron Nee, as his brother added, “It’s one of those things that the chemistry Channing and Sandy have together, I feel like we could throw them in any crazy situation, any crazy environment and they would make gold out of it.”
And though they were all pumped about the idea of another film, they weren’t exactly on the same page when it comes to where it should take place.
“Europe,” said Nunez, who threw out Rome, Paris and Madrid as potential locations. Joy, meanwhile, suggested Brazil and Thailand, before Harrison deadpanned, “I think maybe Columbus, Ohio.”
Let’s hope it’s not the latter.
“The Lost City” hits theaters March 24, 2022.
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