Little interested in the human race, Adam Clay only cares about his bees. Misanthropic and doesn’t like talking about his past, Clay only has one friend: Mme Parker. A retired widow, she lets him occupy her barn. After a computer fraud targeting his benefactor has disastrous consequences, Clay returns to service as an assassin for an ultra-secret agency: the “Beekeepers”. In The Beekeeper (The Guardian), the bandits with ties are used to cracking down with impunity against the most vulnerable, so they just have to watch out. Especially since it is Jason Statham who plays the vengeful beekeeper. Exclusively, director David Ayer looks back on the shooting of a film that he hopes will be the first in a saga.
You should know that screenwriter Kurt Wimmer (Salt) was inspired by the tragedy of one of his aunts who lost everything to fraudsters.
“When I got the script, I thought, ‘Oh, this is a Jason Statham action movie.’ But then I started reading and there was this very real emotional anchor about injustice: it was a very powerful thread for the story,” recalls David Ayer.
“Unfortunately, injustice is something universal; it is something that we are all able to recognize having witnessed it or having experienced it. When we launched the project, several members of the team came to tell me a story about a loved one who had been scammed: a parent, a grandparent, a friend… Everyone is exposed to this type of crime. . In short, I found it to be an original and human entry point into an action story. »
And when it comes to action stories, David Ayer knows a thing or two. A school dropout, he was a house painter, then enlisted in the American Navy, where he became a submarine sonar technician: an experience which inspired the screenplay of U-571, with Matthew McConaughey. He then wrote the scripts for police dramas dark blue (Dark blue), with Kurt Russell, and Training Day (Training day), which earned Denzel Washington an Oscar.
In the same register, he carried out End of Watch (The force of order), with Jake Gyllenhaal. As a director also, he has given in the superhero film, with Ssuicide squad (The Suicide Squad), put together against his will and which he disavowed. We also owe him the excellent war drama Furywith Brad Pitt.
So many films which, for the most part, have a serious, even serious side. Serious, The Beekeeper is, but with a fully assumed “popcorn” dimension.
“The action film is a genre that leaves a lot of room for creativity. That said, between you and me, I admit that I really had fun with this film. And that was new to me. I have previously done these very intense projects, often linked to trauma… But here, I was working in a space that was more fun, more open, more aimed at the general public; something that everyone can enjoy. »
Star Statham
This unprecedented level of enjoyment of the work is also attributable to the film’s star, Jason Statham. A former diving champion and martial arts expert, Statham has, for more than twenty years, been a regular at this type of muscular production full of skillfully choreographed fights: see The Transporter (The carrier), Crank(Crinqué), The Mechanic (The mechanic), Safe (Safe and sound)…
“Jason is a star. And a star has an indefinable charisma. A star has a particular presence that the camera detects and magnifies. A movie star, she knows angles and axes and knows how to hold herself, how to move, how to use her light, how to take advantage of the lens… You can’t teach that. »
David Ayer, who has already worked with Hollywood’s elite, admits that he was initially nervous when meeting Jason Statham. Using an equestrian analogy, the director explains:
“It’s like a horse race: you have this super fast, super powerful horse that can do a lot of things. So I ask myself: “Am I able to guide him?”, “Am I able to provide him with the space required for this to work?” But quickly, I completely trusted Jason, and he completely trusted me in return, and from that was born a “big fun”. Since I operate the camera myself, Jason and I often had the impression that we were alone doing the scene, in a bubble. We came to have a very intuitive understanding of each other. For example, it was common for us to anticipate each other’s movements on set. I think this is the first of several collaborations. »
A mythology to explore
On the subject of the camera, David Ayer specifies that, at the time of filming, in fall 2022, it was a new digital model: the Arri Alexa 35. This is the director of photography Gabriel Beristain (Dolores Claiborne, Black Widow) who had the idea.
“I have made other films with Gabby: we have a very strong and very technical collaboration. Gabby is forward-thinking. The first digital lights were used on a film I made with him. He is always on the lookout for technical advances, and the camera we shot with was brand new. I think we’re the first to use it for a feature film. This camera loves color, it loves it. It is the first digital camera that behaves like a film camera. To create this look, we used anamorphic lenses, wide zooms, anamorphic zooms… There are a lot of lights, a lot of lighting: I wanted a film with a bit of pop, more colorful and brighter; get away from the usual darkness. »
With his good Samaritan side serving those weaker than him, Clay could obviously experience other adventures, as long as success is there. This is David Ayer’s wish.
“There is something truly special about the concept of a beekeeper. Without bees, no agriculture, without agriculture, no civilization. According to this logic, the beekeeper is essential. It’s the most important job there is. What if, in the same way that the beekeeper takes care of the bees, a person, or even an organization, took care of people who are exploited, abused, cheated… I think that the beekeeper lends itself to a natural mythology. And I would love to explore this mythology in other films. »
With Jason Statham, it goes without saying.
The film The Beekeeper hits theaters on January 12.