All that OTT platforms have been seeing in recent times is a surfeit of dark, psychological thrillers, neo-noir dramas or the occasional romantic flick. Fans of hard-core high-octane action have pretty much been left feeling bereft of their favourite content genre. That is the reason why Netflix’s new Chris Hemsworth-starrer Extraction has got action junkies all charged up and goose-fleshed, in anticipation of watching true-blue, unbridled action.
The movie, as is common knowledge, has been produced by the Russo Brothers of Avengers fame, notably, Avengers Infinity Wars and Endgame. The brothers have created and directed both movies. Also common knowledge is the fact that the movie has been written by Joe Russo, and directed by Sam Hargrave, stunts co-ordinator and stunts director at Marvel. Hence, going by past record, high-quality action sequences in Extraction is a given.
Now that the movie is headed for its premiere on Netflix in a couple of hours, here we bring you several facts about Extraction that you may not know, but you should.
Like, Extraction was a movie planned way back in 2012, with Dwayne Johnson as lead, and set in Brazil and Paraguay. The movie was then named ‘Ciudad’, and centred on a jaded mercenary who is hired by a Brazilian drug lord to rescue his daughter from kidnappers in the ultra-dangerous city of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. Ciudad was planned as a cinematic feature.
Like, when the movie finally started rolling, Chris Hemsworth had replaced Johnson, the movie was named Dhaka, not Ciudad, and it was now a Netflix Original film.
Like, Rudraksh Jaiswal had initially auditioned for another Netflix production – ‘Selection Day’. He wasn’t selected for that Netflix show, but the casting director remembered him and called him for an audition for Extraction….err, Dhaka….and the rest, as they say, is History.
Like, Sam Hargrave has shot most action scenes with what he calls ‘stunt photography’. For a 12-minute-long action sequence in the movie, involving car chases and hand-to-hand combat, Sam Hargrave shot the sequence physically strapped to the hood of a follow vehicle with a hand-held camera. Hargrave says, “I wanted a feeling of dropping the viewer into the scene. You’re brought along for the ride.” The chase then moves into a hand-to-hand combat, with both characters throwing each other off a balcony, to land onto the street below. Hargrave shot the scene by plunging down with his camera via a stunt cable, keeping up with the stunt doubles as they take the plunge. Phew!
Lastly, Sam Hargrave was once the stunts double for Chris ‘Captain America’ Evans in the Marvel movies.
Extraction premieres on Netflix today at 12:30 pm, India time. Happy watching, all you action junkies!
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