Chris Pratt is a star of Marvel and Jurassic World, but he still craves something new.
Pratt said that he heard people complaining about these things in a recent interview. “I felt compelled to try something new.”
This is when Zach Dean’s script, “The Tomorrow War,” was handed to him. It will debut on Amazon Prime Video Friday. It was not based on a comic or a toy. It didn’t have a “brand” or a sticker that was a bestseller.
It was originally called “Ghost Draft” and featured a dark, emotional sci-fi action story about a group of people who are drafted to fight 30 years into the future against aliens. Skydance, the production company, was already aboard.
They needed a name and Pratt is in a unique position in Hollywood, where his involvement can help a movie get off the ground. He agreed to play Dan Forester, a father and scientist who is drafted into the dangerous mission. Pratt decided to become an executive producer, which meant he was able to participate in casting, script notes, and other creative decisions.
They had to address a problem immediately: Ghost Draft was too dark.
Director Chris McKay stated that “It was Children of Men’, and then some,”
Pratt said, “It made Children of Men’ seem like a comedy,”
They would need to be more optimistic if they are going to raise more than $20 million in order to make the theater and attract families to it.
McKay, a McKay alum who also directed “The LEGO Batman Movie,” has cast actors like “Veep”‘s Sam Richardson and “Mr. Mary Lynn Rajskub, The Birthday Boys’ Mike Mitchell are supporting roles. He called them “comedy generators”.
McKay stated that he likes movies like “Aliens” because they have suspense and action but also people who are having real human reactions. He also mentioned McKay’s love for humor, whether it’s character-based or situational.
There’s also the drama of the family dynamics with an estranged dad (J.K. Simmons), and a loving family, (Betty Gilpin & Ryan Kiera Armstrong), he’s leaving behind. McKay’s live-action directorial debut was a dream come true for him.
“I was a genre child. John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg and George Miller were my heroes growing up. Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron were my idols. He said that those movies made him want to become a filmmaker. “(This) is a film that has the same scale as what I loved as a child.
Pratt and he were able to do it all, including their “Star Wars” in Tunisia moment. They shot on location on oil rigs, glaciers, and not primarily in studios in front of green screen. They were also the first to place a crane onto a glacier in Iceland. This was just feet from an extremely dangerous cliff with a drop of 3,000 feet. They hope that it will give the film a different feel from something created entirely on the computer.
It’s not unusual for a streaming service to seem a bit epic. Paramount Pictures was planning to release “The Tomorrow War” as a major theatrical release, until the end of production. It was, however, sold to Amazon in a deal valued at $200 million. McKay stated that great care was taken to ensure the sound mix and color were as theatrical as possible. McKay is happy that Amazon subscribers around the globe will be able to access it immediately on Friday.
After spending much of last season in London shooting “Jurassic World: Dominion”, Pratt is now back in Los Angeles with Katherine Schwarzenegger and their 10-month-old daughter. He’s proud to have been able to contribute to films he desires to see made.
He said, “I feel a bit more like it’s my baby in some way than I do with other films.”
“Every role I was offered was because someone said yes to me for so long. Now, I find myself in a rare position where I can say yes to a role. That is very cool. While I don’t know when or how long it will last, I will continue to do what I love. This is exactly what I wanted to do. It’s huge and it’s commercial. Pratt said that it was fun and moving. We want to make a big impact and want people to believe that this movie is the best they have ever seen. That’s exactly what we did.