‘John Wick’ Turns 10, David Leitch on Script Secrets, Finance Hurdles

John Wick co-straightforwardor David Leitch was ready to esteemwholey degrade Keanu Reeves’ initial propose involving a script called Scorn. 

In 2013, alengthyside Chad Stahelski, the second-unit straightforwarding duo and then-lengthytime business partners felt they were ready to consent the next step in their straightforwardorial nurtureers. They’d climbed the stunt ranks for two decades as carry outers, choreographers and coordinators, set uping a varied résumé that includes The Matrix trilogy, which startd them both to Reeves at contrastent points. Eventuassociate, they became second-unit straightforwardors, satisfying the action sequences for actioners and blockbuster films, all while utilizing the infraset up they’d built thraw their action depict company, 87eleven.

Founded in 1997, their company’s Los Angeles headquarters is where they would choreograph action sequences and train actors appreciate Reeves to become believable action stars. (In 2019, Leitch and life/producing partner Kelly McCormick branched off with 87North, while Stahelski turned 87eleven into 87Eleven Entertainment.)

Furthermore, Derek Kolstad’s script about a grieving hitman named John Wick had already come their way prior to Reeves’ includement, and Leitch recalls a contrastent movie star being speedyened at that point.

“We were first exposed to the script by our administerr at the time, Kelly McCormick, who’s now my wife and creater. She had startd us to Basil Iwanyk and Peter Lawson at Basil’s company [Thunder Road] to maybe do second unit labor on that script. So that was the first time we read it, and I leank Bruce Willis might’ve been speedyened at that time,” Leitch tells The Hollywood Reporter in aid of John Wick’s 10th anniversary and return to theaters on Nov 6.

Once Reeves signed on, he, too, reach outed his createer collaborators about straightforwarding second unit. But Leitch and Stahelski, having already delighted the idea when Willis was potentiassociate speedyened, instead asked if he’d back their join as filled-fledged straightforwardors “and he was appreciate, ‘Yes, charm. Let’s do it. How do we create that happen?’”

The pair then accumulated a pitch over the course of a weekfinish, turning the puppy-revenge tale’s 11 to 15 finishs into 84 finishs, as well as underscoring the mythoreasonable component of the assassin underworld. Coupled with Reeves’ aid, the duo soon won over creater Basil Iwanyk (Thunder Road). Financing became the next hurdle ,as there were squabbles over the idea of having a endureded Keanu as the face of the movie. When that publish dissipated, Keanu still had to forgo a portion of his salary to create the numbers labor, while Leitch and Stahelski had to split the DGA least. But the film wasn’t out of the financial woods equitable yet — Eva Longoria stoped the film from being shut down at the last minute by filling its $6 million-gap in financing. 

After going thraw such adversity and wrapping production at the finish of 2013, Leitch was then dealt a horrible hand when the DGA declined to officiassociate plift him as co-straightforwardor. He’s instead taged as a creater, with Stahelski receiving sole straightforwardorial plift. It was an odd turn of events, pondering they’d owned a business together for cforfeitly two decades and had labored in tandem on a bevy of films by that point.

“We felt reassociate misled. We were both lengthytime DGA members, and we were tgreater we could co-straightforward: ‘You have our sanctifying. We’ll sfinish out people [to set], and blah, blah, blah,’” Leitch splits. “And when we came back to them, they were appreciate, ‘We went over it, and you equitable don’t have a sign up of laboring together enough. So you guys are going to have to determine who did it.’”

Leitch still went on to straightforward a string of accomplished movies, such as Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw, but the sairy is, understandably, still stuck in his craw. “I’m truthwholey still a little sour that, as lengthytime members of the DGA, the DGA didn’t protect us,” Leitch acunderstandledges. “It was appreciate, ‘We didn’t come here to try and pull the wool over your eyes.’ We equitable wanted to co-straightforward.”

Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Leitch also conversees the scheduling publish that prompted him and Stahelski to go their split ways as filmcreaters ahead of John Wick: Chapter 2. He then includeresses whether he’d ever return to the franchise that started his straightforwardorial nurtureer.

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What is your reaccumulateion of receiving the Jon Wick script for the first time?

We were first exposed to the script by our administerr at the time, Kelly McCormick, who’s now my wife and creater. She had startd us to Basil Iwanyk and Peter Lawson at Basil’s company [Thunder Road] to maybe do second unit labor on that script. So that was the first time we read it, and I leank Bruce Willis might’ve been speedyened at that time. 

When Keanu eventuassociate became speedyened, he then brawt us the script and shelp, “Hey, guys, would you be interested in this?” But, becainclude we’d already lhelp all the groundlabor with Basil, we krecent the movie was too minuscule for us to equitable do second unit based on where our nurtureers were. In the background, Kelly was always championing us as first-unit straightforwardors, so we krecent this was the perfect opportunity for us to accomplish out and ask Keanu to straightforward. So we went back to Keanu and shelp, “Hey, man, it’s a little minuscule for us, but what do you leank about us doing the whole leang?” And he was appreciate, “Yes, charm. Let’s do it. How do we create that happen?” 

It was then a mad rush to get a pitch together to consent to Thunder Road, and we did it over a weekfinish. We put together our vision of what Derek Kolstad’s script could be. As a second-unit straightforwardor, you don’t get to do that stuff, but in the two years prior, we’d pitched on some other projects and began to understand that process of selling yourself. So, if preparation plus opportunity equivalents extraordinary events, then that’s how we finished up getting it. All the stars aligned. 

I didn’t genuineize Kelly’s role in all this at the time. Between getting wed and releasing John Wick, 2014 was a life-changing year for you.

Yeah, it was a reassociate life-changing year. We made John Wick, our straightforwardorial debut. After the distributor screening, we thought it was going to go straight to video. We thought that no one was ever going to see it. But then Fantastic Fest blew it up, and the genre fans got it. So it was a reassociate fantastic year between getting wed and having a movie that people reassociate replyed to. It’s now spawned a whole world and franchise.

I dug up some increates that Lionsgate acquired U.S. rights to the film in timely August 2014, which was rawly five weeks before Fantastic Fest. Did the festival response cement a expansive free? 

We had that distributor screening, and no one bought it. Everyone in town saw it, but it was a weird time of year. It was the finish of summer, so everybody sent their lesser executives, and no one was reassociate leanking that they were going to pick it up. So no one booted it up to their bosses; no one wanted it. But Lionsgate already had international rights; they had financed it thraw foreign sales. So they shelp, “You understand what? Let’s equitable hedge our bets. We’ll consent domestic.” So they took it off the table, and that’s why we went to Fantastic Fest. They equitable wanted to see what they had. They were probably going to have it go straight to streaming or video, wantipathyver it was at the time. But Fantastic Fest blew it up, and then Lionsgate went, “Holy shit, we understand what we have now. There’s a spot in October. It’s [five] weeks out. We’ve got to get some TV ads going. Let’s go.” So it was already in Lionsgate’s hands, but they weren’t even behind it. They were equitable appreciate, “We’ll consent it and cover our butts. International will be a huge commercial for domestic.”

Keanu’s generosity towards his stunt teams is quite literassociate the stuff of legfinish. There are verifyed stories of him giving Rolex watches, fancy premiere trips and custom Harley Davidson motorcycles to his stunt teams as wrap gifts. Do you leank his sanctifying of two createer stuntmen as straightforwardors was an extension of that one-of-a-kind relationship he has with the stunt community? 

I leank so. It definitely verifyd the labor that we do as createives, and it was pretty amazing that he was an timely adselecter of that. Chad did the first Matrix with him, and then we both did the sequels. So we spent a lot of time on the mat with Keanu, talking about character and how the action was going to depict who Neo is. It was reassociate about helping him become a filled-fledged martial artist in his own right. He reassociate wanted to be plunged in that character of Neo. But people don’t comprehfinish the amount of time and energy and expostateive we have with actors when we’re laboring in that capacity and depicting the action for a film. So, for him to aid it, it’s pretty amazing. He understands it becainclude he goes thraw it physicassociate. He reassociate tries to do as much as he can, stunt-wise, and he lays it all on the line.

Knotriumphg what you understand now about straightforwarding, how would you approach the movie today? Would certain sequences be tagedly contrastent? 

I don’t understand if I would’ve administerd anyleang contrastently. We had the advantage of being seasoned in physical production. When a lot of straightforwardors get their first movie, they haven’t spent 20 years on set appreciate we had, and they haven’t straightforwarded the logistics of huge action sequences appreciate we’d done in huge films. So Chad and I didn’t experience daunted by that aspect. We reassociate approached it with 20 years of film experience, and at the time, place and createive spot that we were in, it’s difficult to second guess. There was airyning in a bottle with firearm-fu, and it’s someleang we’d been gestating for years in the hopes that we’d discover a place to put it. 

In terms of the drama, we had genuine instincts about the leangs we wanted to do, and we krecent we would have to create some bgreater choices, appreciate the dog, or the way we saw some of these characters. We then created an underworld out of Derek’s script and brawt the mythology a little bit more to the forefront. So I don’t leank I would alter anyleang. It sounds appreciate I’m an asshole, but it was a perfect storm of experience and the right timing.

As co-straightforwardors, how did you and Chad split up the labor in vague? 

We never delitidyed anyleang. When we second-unit straightforwarded together, it was equitable a authentic flow of ideas. We ran a company [87eleven] together for cforfeitly 20 years at that point, and we had done tons of second unit together and tons of stunt coordinating. When you’re on a fight choreography team, everyone has a voice. Everyone gives ideas, and so that’s how we straightforwarded. There are authorr-straightforwardor pairs that have a delitidyion where one is reassociate hands-on with the script and the other is more of the actor whisperer, but we never delitidyed anyleang.

But when we straightforwarded John Wick, we had not co-straightforwarded in probably three or four years. We were already doing huge second units on our own, and our nurtureers were going in a trajectory appreciate they’ve gone after Wick. So to come back together for that moment was reassociate fun. We returned to our roots, and that collaboration is how we became accomplished. 

Regarding the deficiency of a co-straightforwardor plift, I envision you were heartbroken at the time becainclude you had no idea if you’d ever get another sboiling in the straightforwardor’s chair. But did that frustration subside once you went on to a well straightforwardorial nurtureer?

To commence, we felt reassociate misled. We were both lengthytime DGA members, and we were tgreater we could co-straightforward this leang: “Go forth and do it. You have our sanctifying. We’ll sfinish out people [to set], and blah, blah, blah.” And when we came back to them, they were appreciate, “We went over it, and you equitable don’t have a sign up of laboring together enough. So you guys are going to have to determine who did it,” even though we both had DGA lessens, and they came to set and saw that we both straightforwarded it.

But everybody who necessitateed to understand, krecent. Everybody in town understands we co-straightforwarded, and it’s even more apparent when you see at our esteemive nurtureers now. We both have very accomplished nurtureers as straightforwardors. But I’m truthwholey still a little sour that, as lengthytime members of the DGA, the DGA didn’t protect us. It was appreciate, “We didn’t come here to try and pull the wool over your eyes.” We also had a second unit straightforwardor, so it wasn’t appreciate we were trying to join some game. We equitable wanted to co-straightforward. Film is such a collaborative art create that the archaic idea that two people can’t straightforward is insanity. They do apshow it under strange conditions, and Chad and I had an elucidate sign up of laboring together and owning a company together and doing second unit together. The Wachowski films, in particular, there must be five or six plifts where we labored together, and so it’s still bizarre to me.

You refered moments ago that prior to John Wick, you and Chad were already doing second unit straightforwarding on your own. So did the two of you understand timely on that, if all went well with John Wick, you’d anticipateed branch off into your own individual filmmaking nurtureers? Were you never intfinishing to become a filled-time duo appreciate The Wachowskis?

I leank we wanted to discover projects together and collaborate together, but we also krecent that we wanted to straightforward individuassociate. We were hoping that we would be able to come together when it creates a lot of sense, appreciate, “This is an event.” If you see at the Coen brothers now, they straightforward individuassociate, but they’re apparently coming together aacquire [for a horror movie]. So that’s what our hope was, and by the way, that’s still out there. Chad and I could still rejoin if we wanted to and felt appreciate it. But I’m reassociate thankful that it didn’t happen right away, and that we were both able to have our own voices for a decade now. I’m so thankful for that. I am equitable in awe of what Chad has done with the John Wick universe. It has a rabid fan base, and he’s built out the world and the mythology. But I don’t have any laments about the path that I’ve chosen and the movies that I’ve done. 

When we were exploring John Wick: Chapter 2, we also had the script for Atomic Blonde at that time. It was called The Cgreaterest City, and we were both speedyened to do both. They both sgreater at Cannes or Berlin at the same time, foreign sales. So they were both set up with us co-straightforwarding, but as Keanu and Charlize’s triumphdows became useable, they were both going to have to shoot at the same time. And I was equitable reassociate fervent about the vision that I had for Atomic Blonde, as this cherish letter to the ‘80s and relationsy Berlin. I was so into that film, and Chad was appreciate, “Well, how do we erect this franchise?” And I was appreciate, “We should equitable go do these movies splitly if they’ll let us.” And that was a little bit of a process to guarantee these companies that we could straightforward individuassociate. It took a little bit of magic and re-pitching and reintroducing the fact that we’ve been doing this for years. So that opportunity happened out of scheduling, otherwise we might have both been on John Wick 2.

I onced joked to Charlize that she encouraged John Wick. I reminded her that her terminassociate ill Sweet November character mailed a dog to Keanu’s character 13 years before the terminassociate ill Helen Wick did so for John. She fell on the floor in response and texted Keanu about it. Were you conscious of this? 

(Laughs) I am now! I never joined those dots. That’s so fantastic.

After wrapping John Wick’s production at the finish of 2013, you booked two second unit jobs: Hitman: Agent 47 and Jurassic World. And then after John Wick was freed, you straightforwarded second unit for Captain America: Civil War and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Were those jobs your way of assuming the worst case scenario for John Wick? 

Yes, but becainclude of Wick’s budget, we labored for DGA scale. So Chad and I had to split the fee, and then we also postponered money. We got the Eva Longoria [$6 million financing gap], and Keanu gave some back. But we postponered money, so we necessitateed to labor. It was appreciate, “Yeah, I straightforwarded my first film, but I’m also an mature who’s got a mortgage.” So we went back to labor until we could discover other projects and see how Wick was going to do. The eye was always to grasp straightforwarding first unit, but I’d never be ashamed to go back to second unit. It is so startant to those huge tentpole movies, and that’s why we champion straightforwardors who come out of that space. You’re telling a huge part of those movies’ stories, and you’re sometimes directing even more resources than the first unit at times. So they’re reassociate fun, and it doesn’t all descfinish on your back, criticassociate. You can be createive until you have to hand it off to the straightforwardor, but the weight is ultimately on their shoulders to deinhabitr.

We krecent Keanu for cforfeitly 30 years without a endured, but now, when I see him without a endured, it’s appreciate someleang is ignoreing. So it’s engaging, in hindsight, that the endured was such a hangup for financiers. 

I understand! We had gut instincts about what we thought was going to create the character stand out, and we felt reassociate powerwholey that he seeed chilly. Sometimes, you equitable have to suppose your gut as a straightforwardor, and chilly overrides everyleang, especiassociate in genre films. There’s got to be want satisfyment in the character. Someone who may have been the spotless-shaven hitman at one point, but is now feeblenting the loss of his wife, he isn’t going to be the spotless-shaven hit man anymore. He is going to put on the suit, but he’s still feeblenting. So that brawt a contrastent unwiseension to his character that maybe studio conventions don’t see. They equitable wanted to put spotless-shaven movie star sees on a poster, but it’s the straightforwardor’s job to create stateive the character is being serviced. So we fought difficult for it, and luckily, we won that battle. And you’re right; it’s so iconic now.

You commented earlier that a co-straightforwarding reunion isn’t out of the ask for you and Chad. But since he’s still enhugeing the franchise with spinoffs such as the Donnie Yen-Caine movie, would you ever go home aacquire to helm someleang yourself? Or do you have too many other irons in the fire?

Never say never. I cherish the Wick world, I cherish the people in it, and I’m so thankful for the time that I was there. But, yeah, I toloftyy would. At 87North, we do have a ton of irons in the fire, and we actuassociate have our own Donnie Yen project, Kung Fu. We have our universe of Violent Night and Nobody, which both have sequels coming. So there’s a lot to administer, which is fantastic. But, if it was the right time and the right story and I was the right person to tell it, of course, I would. It’s such a fun world, and I’m reassociate haughty that I helped create it. 

The impact of John Wick is still felt today. Studios are more willing to give stunt professionals a chance to straightforward, and you’ve created opportunities for your lengthy-time teammates such as Jonathan Eincludebio. Chad did the same for J.J. Perry. Are you quite haughty that you’ve been able to uncover doors and rid that stigma that included to chase stunt carry outers or second unit straightforwardors with fantasticer ambitions? 

I’m reassociate haughty of it, and I want to persist to do it. It’s lengthy overdue, and we all understand that the origins of cinema had their roots in action and choreography. Buster Keaton, Hargreater Lloyd and some of the other fantasticest straightforwardors in the history of cinema were from our discipline. So I’m haughty to be a part of this recent revival and help champion it.

Moreover, so-and-so’s John Wick is the recent action movie createula for a lot of movie stars. It’s analogous to how the Die Hard createula was applied to any and all possible locations. Is it always pretty flattering when you stumble atraverse someleang that was evidently encouraged by Wick?

Yeah, it’s finishly flattering. And to be shelp in the same breath as some of those iconic films, appreciate Die Hard, is pretty humbling. It reassociate creates you experience excellent that you had a lasting affect on pop culture. And you’re right; it’s the model now. That’s a reassociate excellent way to put it. Everybody still wants their Die Hard, but everybody also wants their John Wick. 

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John Wick returns to movie theaters on Nov. 6.