Scott Eastwood as “Joe” in the action crime thriller ‘Alarum’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Opening in theaters, on demand and digital on January 17th is the new action thriller ‘Alarum’, which was directed by Michael Polish (‘The Astronaut Farmer’), and stars Scott Eastwood (‘Suicide Squad’, ‘Fast X’), Sylvester Stallone (‘Rocky’, ‘Cop Land’), Willa Fitzgerald (‘Reacher’), and Mike Colter (‘Plane’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Scott Eastwood about his work on ‘Alarum’, his first reaction to the screenplay, his character’s marriage, working with Mike Colter and their characters’ unlikely alliance, what he learned from working with the legendary Sylvester Stallone, and collaborating with the stunt team on the action sequences, as well as the future of the ‘Fast & Furious‘ franchise.
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Scott Eastwood as “Joe” in the action crime thriller ‘Alarum’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction this screenplay, your character, and exploring the spy world?
Scott Eastwood: Well, to be honest, I really liked the writing. I think Stallone gravitated to the writing. The way that the characters spoke it reminded me of old movies from the ’80s or ’90s. Just the writing was interesting. I will say though, this movie was supposed to take place on a tropical island and at a tropical resort. We were going to make it at the end of 2023, and I don’t know if you remember, but the economy was tight and the film market was tight, and so trying to get it made for the right budget to go and do it was a huge feat. So, the thing got switched last second to make it in a state that would give us some tax rebate and we could go and make it. So, it wasn’t exactly the way it was written, but we made it work and we changed it to Eastern Europe.
MF: Michael Caine has said publically that he picks projects based on where they are filming. Is that something you do as well, and how disappointed were you when the production changed locations?
SE: Oh yeah. Big time. I like warm movies. I think this movie would’ve been interesting, hot, sweaty, and sexy, but it is what it is. If you want to make a movie, sometimes you got to just roll with the punches.
MF: In a lot of ways, ‘Alarum’ is a love story. Can you talk about that, the dynamics of Joe’s marriage to Laura, and working with Willa Fitzgerald?
SE: It’s about their complicated relationship, right? You marry a spy and things are going to get complicated. She’s great. By the way, she’s super physical. I think she was a dancer, so she has a real control over her body. She’s just great. She’s a cool person. She’s fun.
Willa Fitzgerald as “Lara” in the action crime thriller ‘Alarum’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Did you know Sylvester Stallone before working with him on this movie?
SE: I believe we’d met in passing many years ago, but he was on my list. He was on the rolling list of guys I really want to work with.
MF: What did you learn from working with him?
SE: He’s an action icon and getting to work with a guy like that, with an iconography of that kind of body of work, it’s cool. He’s a legend, so just getting to work with him is good enough for me.
MF: In addition to being a legendary actor, Stallone is also a very accomplished writer and director. Do you see that side of his brain working while he is acting on set?
SE: So, people ask what kind of questions I asked him, and they were less fanfare questions and more writing and understanding material questions because he has such a good grasp of material and what makes good material versus mediocre material. You really can (see that in his work). I was telling people that the reason that his show (‘Tulsa King’) I think is so successful is because he really understands his character and his iconography, who he is, what age he is, how he should play that guy that he plays, and he makes it light, hard and fun. I think because he writes on those shows that they’re very interesting because of that.
(L to R) Scott Eastwood as “Joe” and Sylvester Stallone as “Chester” in the action crime thriller ‘Alarum’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Have you seen your process as an actor change because of working with Stallone?
SE: I think every chance you work on a film is a good learning experience. Right? Do you pick up something? Do you pick up the way a director does something, the way an actor approaches material? There’s always learning experiences.
MF: Can you talk about the relationship between Joe and Chester? Was Chester a mentor to Joe at one point?
SE: Yeah, a former mentor, they did missions together, and then the spy world is full of betrayal, which I love. You never know who is going to betray who, so I thought that was interesting.
MF: Can you talk about the unlikely alliance that Joe makes with Mike Colter’s character?
SE: I mean look, they make an alliance I think, out of necessity. Not because they wanted to, but they got to do it. They need to stick together.
Mike Colter as “Orlin” in the action crime thriller ‘Alarum’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Joe has a military background, and you have appeared in other movies where your character has a similar background and you’ve prepared for those roles with weapons and military training. Since you’ve done that training in the past for other movies, do you go through that training again for each role, or does that training stay with you from movie to movie?
SE: A lot of that stuff sort of sticks once you know it. I’ve gone through a few immersion training programs, especially with weapons and close-quarter combat training and stuff that’s stuck in my mind. It’s like once you ride a bike you know how to do it. You might need to brush up if you’re going to do a scene that’s dynamic, you might want to brush up like the day before work with somebody again just to refresh, but it comes back quick.
MF: Can you talk about the action sequences and working on those with the stunt team? Was there any sequence that you found particularly difficult to execute?
SE: I think it’s just always making it look good and that’s the challenge. We had a very short schedule. This movie was made in a tough economical time, so we had a very short schedule and to try to get the action to look cool and make sure it was believable and good is always tough when you have less time to do it. When you have more time to do it, you have a longer schedule, you can dial it in, you can shoot it from a lot of different angles, you have more time to tell that story and make it look cool. The pressure cooker is on the stunt guys, on the stunt team, on my stunt double, and on me. All those things we’re running and gunning and we’re trying to make it look good.
MF: Do you like working like that, or are you more comfortable on a bigger movie where there is more time and money to get the action sequences right?
SE: Yeah, there’s a fine line. I think you get on the ‘Fast & Furious’ sometimes and they become so disconnected from the action because you have a full second unit that could be as big as most first-unit movies and I think I like it somewhere in between. I like typically a 40-day schedule to 45-day schedule for a movie. I think it gives you enough time, but also keeps the actors connected to the action, which I think makes it look better and more realistic sometimes.
(Clockwise, from left) Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Han (Sung Kang), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), Dom (Vin Diesel), Little Brian (Leo Abelo Perry), Abuelita (Rita Moreno), Mia (Jordana Brewster), Tej (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, back to camera) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson, back to camera) in ‘Fast X,’ directed by Louis Leterrier.
MF: Finally, what has it been like for you to join the ‘Fast & Furious’ family and are you excited to start shooting ‘Fast X: Part 2’?
SE: It’s always a great time getting to work with Vin (Diesel), Tyrese (Gibson), Ludacris and all the foes, including Jason (Momoa). It’s always fun because it is like a big family and so it’s fun to jump in and get your rounds in the ring.
“One hell of a vacation.”
After the CIA discovers the whereabouts of two rogue spies, who have not only gone off-grid but have become husband and wife, all hell is unleashed on their winter… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘Alarum’?
Two spies (Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald) go rogue so that they can get married, but their remote cabin comes under attack from various intelligence agencies, each looking for a stolen hard drive.
Who is in the cast of ‘Alarum’?
- Sylvester Stallone as Agent Chester
- Scott Eastwood as Agent Joe Travers
- Willa Fitzgerald as Agent Laura
- Mike Colter as Orlin
- Ísis Valverde as Bridgette
- D. W. Moffett as Director Burbridge
(L to R) Sylvester Stallone as “Chester,” Willa Fitzgerald as “Lara” and Scott Eastwood as “Joe” in the action crime thriller ‘Alarum’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
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