Well, gamers already know and love “Borderlands.” Now the popular video game is a big-budget movie with a star-studded cast. And plenty of explosions. Plus one fabulous red wig. Deco’s Alex Miranda is fresh off interviewing the director.
Reading the reviews for “Borderlands,” are not great. You might feel like crossing the border into a different movie theater.
However, director Eli Roth wants you to give this quirky adventure-comedy a chance.
We thought planet Earth was action-packed. Try planet Pandora, in the new action-adventure “Borderlands.”
This video game-turned-movie is directed by Eli Roth who, by the way, is the nicest guy. Well, he tells me Pandora has some similarities to South Florida.
Alex Miranda: “Anything that crosses over?”
Eli Roth: “There are psychos that could jump out at any moment, everyone very flashy. Very colorful. The similarities are people really like to show their color and their style on Pandora. And Miami is very, very colorful. Everyone is doing it all the time, which I really appreciate.”
But in all seriousness, nothing is more dead-serious than star Cate Blanchett’s talent.
Eli Roth: “Obviously we have that respect for her. But also, she’s very cool. She’s an amazing person. She’s a mom. She’s a real one.”
So, aspiring actors, listen up.
Alex Miranda: “Working with her, tell me about that process of being one-on-one with this icon of an actress.”
Eli Roth: “The reason she’s so relatable is because when you talk to her, she’s like, ‘What do you want? Let’s do it. Let’s find the scene.’ She does the work. She wants to make it great. And she wants to be directed.”
Cate leads this all-star cast, including, but not limited to, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart and Jack Black.
But if you were surprised Cate took on such a quirky action role, Eli tells me, that was kind of the idea!
Eli Roth: “I want to see her as a badass. I want to see her like Clint Eastwood as the ‘Man With No Name.’ I want to see Cate as Kurt Russell in ‘Escape From New York.’ Snake Plissken. She said, ‘[inaudible] is my favorite movie.’ Like, we bonded over ‘Evil Dead’ and ‘Escape From New York.’ So there is that side of her that loves these genre movies.”
The Academy Award winner plays Lilith, an infamous outlaw who returns to her home planet to fight alien monsters with an unlikely team of heroes. Together, they’re looking for a missing girl, played by Ariana Greenblatt, with unimaginable power. Kind of like the cast itself.
Eli Roth: “I mean, she’s literally twirling guns. And then in between scenes is twirling batons.”
Alex Miranda: “And a lot of the action is practical, which is kind of a trend, and you’re helping that move forward, right? Tell me about that, are actual, favorite actors are really doing a lot of what we see on camera.”
Eli Roth: “You want to make sure they’re safe, and we obviously had stunt doubles, so if there’s anything too risky, they weren’t doing it, but they all trained. Cate really trained with a gun twirling. Kevin really trained with Navy Seals learning how to fight. And then Cate and Ariana, they want to be on the wires jumping when the truck pile is collapsing. It was spectacular when you have actors who are that game and wanna go for it.”
“Borderlands” crash-landed on planet Earth on Thursday, Aug. 8.
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